Carluke

Carluke in Gaelic is Cathair MoLuaig - "car" means a strong point, as in Cardiff or Carlisle. Carluke is not an obvious defensive position, but a group of monks venerating St MoLuaig (better known as St Malo) thought it a healthy spot and shifted their church here from across the Clyde. Their new home was on a plateau above the river, which has cut deep into the sandstone bedrock. It was a draughty place suitable for windmills, but the power of these was limited and erratic, and weaving was by hand looms. Then steam power arrived in the 19th century, with the High Mill converting from wind to steam in 1830, and Carluke's industries took off. There was corn milling, and Lanarkshire-mined coal fired kilns for bricks and glass. Apples, pears and soft fruit also grow around town, and tomatoes were cultivated once glasshouses became practical. But all these businesses were small-scale and succumbed to competition. It used to be part of Lanarkshire and is now within Clydesdale.

By train:

Trains run every 30 min from Glasgow Central via Motherwell and Wishaw to Carluke, 50 min, continuing to Lanark (10 min). From the south change at Motherwell, which has fast trains from London Euston, the Midlands and Manchester.

1 Carluke station is half a mile west of town centre. It has a staffed ticket office and machines but no toilets. There is level access to Platform 2 (towards Lanark). Platform 1 for Glasgow can be reached by ramp from the car park.

By bus:

Stuarts Coach 240X / 241X runs from Glasgow Buchanan station M-F hourly, taking 40 min via Motherwell and Wishaw. From Carluke they continue to Braidwood and Lanark, another 10 min.

JMB Bus 41 runs from Hamilton every 20 min via Motherwell and Wishaw, and continues from Carluke to Braidwood and Lanark.

Change in Lanark for buses to New Lanark Mills, Biggar (for Tweed valley) and Lesmahagow.

The buses make several stops in Carluke and there isn't a bus station.

By road:

From Glasgow take M8 east to junction 6 for A73; conversely from Edinburgh take M8 west to junction 6. From the south take M74 to junction 8 onto A71 towards Newmains, and cut off onto B7011 to Carluke.