Calderglen, East Kilbride

Summary

Calderwood estate was once dubbed 'one of the loveliest of western glens, magnificent in its grouping of craggy heights, sprinkled with trees and with the amber-tinted Calder winding through the richly wooded and festooned valley'. It was opened to the public in the early 1900s under the ownership of the Scottish Cooperative Society, but the formal gardens and indeed the whole estate later fell into disrepair, with the Castle itself being demolished in the 1950s. Today the estate is a Country Park and this circular walk explores its attractive wooded glens.

Grade (key)

Bog Factor (key)

Rating

Terrain

Good woodland paths.

Public Transport

Bus from East Kilbride to 0.5km from start.

Start

Visitor Centre at Calderglen Country Park, East Kilbride. Open in Google Maps.

Walk Statistics

Distance: 2.75km / 1.75 miles
Time: 1 hour
Ascent: 55m (Profile)
Start Grid Ref: NS653526

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Walk Description

User reports (5)

Stage 1

Calderwood Country Park is composed of the two former country estates of Torrance and Calderwood. Starting from the car park, pass to the right of the zoo/conservatory building, noting a totem pole off to the right and soon reaching an adventure play area. Turn right here, signed for Langlands, South and Tor Trails as well as Horseshoe Falls.

Stage 2

The path gives a view of Torrance House, which dates to the 17th century, over to the right. Soon keep left at a fork; the path descends in a series of zig-zags through rhododedron bushes to emerge on the banks of the Rotten Calder. Turn right here, then go left to cross the river on a footbridge; there's a low waterfall beneath. On the far bank turn right to follow the river upstream through very attractive woodland.

Stage 3

The path leads through a fine wooded glen, enclosed by some broken crags in one or two places. Eventually a path junction is reached - turn right down the steps to reach and cross another footbridge.

Stage 4

You can extend the walk by exploring to the left here, but our figure-of-eight route turns right, following the other side of the glen below more broken rocks. At path junction keep right. Eventually the path emerges back on the outward route and a left turn would cut the route short here; however to continue the figure-of-eight, turn right to again follow the zig-zag path downhill back to the Rotten Calder. This time turn left, heading downstream and keeping by the river, ignoring any branch paths. Soon the attractive falls of Torrance Linn are reached.

Stage 5

At a junction just beyond turn right down a flight of steps to stay near the river. Beyond this the path slopes to the left uphill through the trees. Again, you can extend the walk by instead exploring further down the glen, but our walk turns left at the next junction; soon a larger path joins in from the left. At a signpost turn left again to follow a path that heads back to the play area. Continue through this to return to the start. As well as the zoo off to the right, there's a cafe within the historic Torrance House.

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