Discover a spring landscape in Glassford

Round and About; Borelands; and Love and Landscape trails

Enjoy the best of spring by stepping out to try out three routes in the tranquil village of Glassford, offering spectacular views and taking in heritage features such as Glassford Kirk and the Horse Pool.

The routes – Round and About; Borelands; and Love and Landscape - make use of existing tracks and vary between 1.8km and 5.5km in length, with links to National Cycle Route 74 and the Avon Walkway.

Follow the Love and Landscape trail to discover a fairy-tale bluebell wood that bursts into life from April, adjacent to the Hole Burn. Look up at the trees as you walk to spot queen bumblebees feeding on willow tree flowers.

Blackthorn hedgerows bloom in spring and provide homes for nesting birds. White and similar to hawthorn, the flowers are a source for insects at a time when it can still be hard to find flowers.

Look out for birds with beaks full of twigs as they build their nests high up in the trees. The chiffchaff, with its distinctive “chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff” call, is a summer visitor to Scotland, feeding on insects high up in trees.

Pack a picnic and stop off at the Horse Pool where you might spot a drake goosander or other birds. With the installation of the new fish passes over historic weirs on the Avon Water in 2016, salmon will be able to pass through the river here once again. Look out for coltsfoot which is one of the earliest flowers to appear in spring. This pretty little yellow flower looks like a dandelion and the leaves appear after the flowers have started to die back, their hoof shape giving the plant its name.

The routes have been developed as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership Make Your Way arts, heritage and active travel project. To view and download the Glassford map, as well as maps in Carluke, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse, click the links on the right of this page and find out more on the links below.