The Castle Walk


Bothwell Castle


Walks with Kids

There was a time, a few years ago, that I spent considerable effort to strategically plan my walks with the wee ones. This walk, in contrast isn't one of these, although the walk around Bothwell Castle is a pleasant one. Our trip out was decided at the last minute. I realised that we had to get out the house for a little while and the option to go for a walk seemed better than spending time at a play park. 
The Route


There is plenty of parking for cars outside of the castle but there isn't a structured car park, more of park on the grass verge situation. Our idea was to have a walk around the area before checking out the castle. The grass area at the front of the castle is large and good for sitting to have lunch and to do gymnastics. We decided to walk around the castle building first before walking down to the path along the river. 
Bothwell Castle

Running About

Some Holes Here

The track hugs close to the river and was soon disappeared into the woods. It was soon apparent that the river looked more swollen than usual. As we trekked down into the woods, we found that the path was considerably flooded. Although we managed to walk around the large section of water we were soon stopped again by another section of path that was flooded. 
Track by the River

Swollen River

Flooded Path

We decided at that point to double back and walk the path the opposite way. This looked better for a small while until we came across the same problem, more flooding. The reason for this has been heavy rain during the summer. This time, instead of walking back along a path we saw that there was a staircase up through the woods to a higher path. We took this and found our self in much drier conditions. The woods here are quite thick and cool. We followed the track as it curved back behind a row of houses and brought us back out at the far end of the car park. Our walk done, we decided to have a closer look at the castle.
More Flooding

Stairs Through the Woods

Woodland Walk

Bothwell Castle

Bothwell castle is located on the banks of the Clyde. Built in the 13th century it changed hands many times during the wars of independence. For a small cost, you can have a look around the castle. At the time of visiting Bothwell Castle a section of it was closed off due to repair work. Still, once past the small visitor centre, there are a few areas to explore. We headed upstairs to the ancient and large dining area. There are windows to look out over the surrounding area. The castle doesn't have a roof and so it is open to the elements. After checking out the dining hall we trekked down to the cellar before looking around the rest of the structure. There are places in which to sit on the sandstone structure. It is unclear as to whether this is allowed but there was no signs to say otherwise. 
Castle from the large hall

What's left of the castle

Exploring the castle

Although our time was brief at Bothwell, it will be a place we can come back to try some of the other walks around the area. Hopefully next time the paths will not be flooded. 

 Time Taken: 52 minutes
Distance: 1.3km
Highest Point: 42 m

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