Wishaw was once a North Lanarkshire industrial powerhouse before the steel mills closed and it was forced to seek a new identity. The one place in Scotland that is greyer than the overcast sky. There is a theory that Wishaw high street is where shops come to die. It definitely has an ‘end-of-the-world’ feel to it.
Wishaw Main Street on a typically not so sunny day!
Image Credit: lennystan/Shutterstock.com
So… you’re visiting, you say? We will resist the urge to ask why and just get on with the tour.
A Little Wishaw History
Wishaw, in North Lanarkshire, is one step closer to Glasgow than the glorious Clyde Valley behind it. It’s a big place with a larger population than you would expect. Wishaw was one of the first towns to be taken by the Romans around 70AD (in the days before Hadrian got the urge to build his wall). We imagine Wishaw is one of the reasons they decided to build the wall and go home again.
Joking aside, the high street in Wishaw was built on a Roman route probably as a supply village for the soldiers fighting the Highlanders. It is estimated that the town itself wasn’t properly declared until around 1000 AD when some guy built a Kirk in the area. Weirdly, the town itself was not named Wishaw Town until 1792. Originally it was called Cambusnethan… now a suburb of Wishaw.
Lord Belhaven
Clan wise Lord Belhaven has a ruined mausoleum somewhere in the vicinity and the Stewarts, Crawfords and Wallaces all came from the area. It is also likely that there are more than a few Wishaw natives with Roman blood.
The reason Wishaw is still so grey today is because it boomed during the Industrial Revolution. At the turn of the 19th century, the population would have been around 400 people. Nowadays it is probably over to 30k. It grew on the back of the now sadly defunct steelworks, iron mines and coal mines in the area and when they were subsequently closed unemployment soared driving many areas into poverty. The addition of a huge hospital in the area has helped and the retail sector is now a big employer. Overall the boom times are still some distance away but it’s on the right track.
So if you are in the area and you want to amuse yourself among all that grey – what do you do apart from glancing at the wonderful Triamond Sculpture in the town centre? Don’t panic! We got you covered! Here are our top things to do in Wishaw for when you really need to visit!
Wishaw Town Centre has a pretty impressive piece of modern art in the Triamond Sculpture.
Image lennystan/Shutterstock.com
Wishaw Attractions that are Actually Alright
There are a few things to do in Wishaw that aren’t so grey. Here are some of our favourites…
Cambusnethan Priory
Cambusnethan Priory – Now a largely derelict Building
KayVonLee?shutterstock.com
This beautiful old building was used as a medieval banqueting hall back in the sixties and seventies. Now it has fallen a little to ruin. There is a little-known law in Scotland that if you remove the windows and roof from a property it is no longer considered a building. After this point, it cannot be charged Council Tax. For this reason, houses like the Cambusnethan Priory and nearby Carmichael House have all had the windows removed.
Cambusnethan Priory hasn’t been a real priory in forever. It was built in 1820 but was erected on the site of an old tower fort which burned down. It is set in a lovely piece of forest but locals do ask that you take a carrier bag for your rubbish.
Perchy Pond
Perchy Pond is a lovely community garden/green belt area that combines ponds, woodland, peat bogs and forest. The pond itself is home to some rather large, rather fierce, rather chubby swans who seem to live there even in winter. There are a whole bunch of savvy ducks who keep their distance and eat the leftovers.
There are lots of commemorative places in this area. Greenhead Moss Community Park has swing areas and picnic places, old oak trees and resting spots. Two of the most fascinating are the peat bog area where you can see where the old-timers cut the peat into squares. It would be taken and dried out in the cottages, then used as fire material all winter long…back in the pre—coal days.
Anyway, one time a group were out cutting peat and they found a body. They think he was a Covenanter soldier. They erected a monument in memory of the Unknown Soldier… a different one to what the rest of the UK remembers.
New Lanark and the Falls of Clyde
New Lanark is a World Heritage Village and is arguably the birthplace of socialism in Scotland. A Welsh inventor bought up the place around the 17th century and turned it into a hydro-electric, self-sustaining community that was essentially the first-ever Eco-village. He then made education free, gave the worker’s their own cottages, and made sure everyone worked 10 hours a day instead of 16. The guy was a hero.
Anyway… It might be about 20 minutes from Wishaw by car but it is absolutely worth it. The Falls of Clyde are one of the most breath-taking waterfalls you will ever see. There’s even a cave up there that William Wallace hid out in.
Wishaw Sports Centre
So the active who like the indoor/outdoor type games will find plenty of things to do at the Sports Centre. They run regular classes in different activities, notably in Boxing, football, rugby – you name it there is probably a class for it.
Wishaw Sports Centre has a few outdoor areas too, some tennis courts and some five-a-side pitches. It’s right behind the train station so you are well connected to Glasgow via Motherwell – both of which you can read about on our site… just saying.
The Garrion Bridges Antique and Garden Centre
Since you are on the edge of the Clyde Valley anyway, you should pop into this antiques centre while you are on your way to visit New Lanark. This place has some of the best actual antique items in South Lanarkshire. You can take stuff along to be valued… it was once on a very famous TV show…
Pop in, get some lunch, look at some plants, or join in the market on a Sunday. If you continue down across the Garrion Bridge and hang-a-left, you will have a seven mile stretch of garden centres and tea rooms before you hit Lanark. Points of interest along this route include Craignethan Castle and the old Mauldslie Bridge.
Got Five Minutes More?
Come Check out some of the other things to see and do in Scotland… it’s a pretty awesome place.
