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Make Your Way

Make Your Way is an active and sustainable travel focussed programme, enabling people to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday journeys in rural South Lanarkshire. Launching in 2016, Make Your Way has delivered 16 local active travel mapping initiatives, nine Sustainable Travel Action Plans, two Concept Designs and a Feasibility Study for rural active travel paths, a Feasibillity Study for Speed Reduction and Pedestrian Safety measures, plus the installation of benches, bike racks and a solar powered bin. 

Current projects

In 2023/24, Community Action Lanarkshire are progressing two Make Your Way projects.

Make Your Way Fit For the Future, funded by Smarter Choices Smarte Places, *Auchrobert Community Energy & the Renewable Energy Fund.

We have developed a programme to run 15 events in 5 communities across rural Clydesdale (the wider project will engage with 12 communities) which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing by providing opportunities for people to connect, learn and share skills and knowledge locally. Our campaign brand review will ultimately make it easier for even more people to choose to walk or cycle for short local journeys. We are focussing on 5 core communities - Abington, Crawfordjohn, Douglas, Douglas Water and Leadhills - which will receive new community sited Active travel map boards (this did not happen in previous MYW programmes, for a variety of reasons - primarily Covid 19). 

Our innovative programme of 15 active and outdoor community mapping review events will utilise our highly successful “walk and talk” (and cycle) map review event model developed during the delivery of our just completed Make Your Way programme in Lesmahagow, Blackwood, Kirkmuirhill and Boghead.  

We will run a shorter programme of events in Carstairs Junction, Coalburn, Crawford and Elvanfoot, Glespin, Rigside and Coulter/Lamington to fully update MYW information there. 

If you would like to join us on our Mapping events or would like more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01555 880 551.

*Funding for Coalburn, Douglas, Douglas Water, Glespin and Rigside comes from Auchrobert Community Energy.

Make Your Way: Leadhills - Wanlockhead Active Travel Pathway is currently undergoing Stage 3 Detailed Design and Stage 4 Technical Design, funded by Sustrans Places for Everyone programme.

Connecting the two highest villages in Scotland, the 2.8km path will improve everyday walking, wheeling and cycling opportunities between the ex-leadmining communities, linking key community facilities including local businesses, Leadhills Primary School, satellite GP surgery, the community halls, the Museum of Leadmining and onward bus travel. It will provide accessible provision by foot and by wheel where there currently is none and forms part of the Southern Upland Way Link and Mennock Pass, popular with outdoor enthusiasts.

South Lanarkshire Council are co-ordinating proposals for speed reduction proposals and pedestrian / cyclist / accessible access within Leadhills village, creating safe access to the off-road route to the east of the B797. Project contractors Ironside Farrar are co-ordinating proposals for the off-road route into Wanlockhead which follows the existing path beside the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway. Proposals will follow Cycling By Design guidance.

The programme includes a package of Behaviour Change initiatives which will be delivered alongside and after the construction of the path, bespoke to the needs of the communities.

The project fits in with numerous national and local strategies concerning climate change, health and well-being, reducing inequalities, supporting sustainable economic growth and accessibility, including the national ambition that, "by 2030, Scotland's communities are shaped around people and place, enabling walking and cycling to be the most popular mode of travel for short, everyday journeys," (A Long Term Vision for Active Travel In Scotland 2030).

View the Concept Designs are as follows and are currently in review as part of Stage 3 Detailed Designs: page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4 and page 5.

The project is guided by a community Steering Group meetings. View previous minutes: 11.11.2023.02.2124.08.21, and 01.10.21.

Completed projects:

Make Your Way Blackwood, Boghead, Kirkmuirhill & Lesmahagow: Funded by Paths For All Smarter Choices Smarter Places which focussed on raising awareness of everyday sustainable travel options by a community sourced mapping process. The project delivered sustainable travel maps and community mapboard, cycling sessions and active travel workshops in the five local Primary Schools, Community Cycling Days and associated activities. 

View the active travel maps and active travel resources for Abington, Blackwood, Carstairs Junction, Coalburn, Crawford and Elvanfoot, Crawfordjohn, Glespin, Douglas, Rigside and Douglas Water, Leadhills and Lesmahagow at www.makeyourwayclydesdale.com

View the active travel maps for Carluke, Chatelherault Country Park, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse here.

View the Sustainable Travel Action Plans for Abington, Crawford and Elvanfoot, Crawfordjohn, Glespin, Douglas, Lamington, Leadhills, and Rigside and Douglas Water here.

View the Crawford and Elvanfoot Speed Reduction and Pedestrian Safety Feasibility Study here

View the Glespin - Douglas Active Travel Pathway Feasibility Study here.

Contact

Contact the project team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01555 880 551.