The Nature Reserve at Dalzell Estate

 


Here we are back at Dalzell Estate, due to Covid restrictions as it was deemed necessary not to travel to far from our home. In this case we decided to travel the short distance and have a closer look at the loch and nature reserve. The last time we had a walk around the Japanese garden and the woods in general, by passing the large stately home that is almost impossible to miss. This time we headed in the opposite direction. 

The Route

Our route took us west from the car park and out onto open countryside and then south beside some trees. After a 1km or so it joins onto the Wetland route which, next to the loch. We continued along this path a little too long and after the first hide we should have turned left, switching back along the outer end of the loch. We had to double back on ourselves, but we had only gone 100m or so in the wrong direction. 

Path

Bird Hide

On the far side where the path is trapped between the river Clyde and the loch, the vegetation is high here and there is limited opportunity to get a good view of the loch. There are a few break out areas where there is a hide to stop and spot wildlife. These are free to use but you need to bring your own binoculars. It should be noted that at a section of the walk, the path has deteriorated badly and forced us to walk in amongst the trees for 5 minutes before rejoining the path. 

River Clyde

Eroded Path


Chestnut Walk

With kids it took us an age to walk along this section of the route but once we had cleared the loch we turned up Chestnut Walk, a section of the path that is lined with chestnut trees. We were too late to pick any as they had disappeared. We continued along and took the bridge on the left that again took us past the graveyard and up the White Cart Walk back to the car park. This is a flat walk that can be enjoyed by all different age groups and especially for those that want to check out the local wildlife. 


Graveyard

Autumnal Colour

Distance and Height


Total distance: 4.3km

Time Taken: 1h 57 mins



Location: Dalzell ESTATE, Dalzell Burn,, Motherwell ML1 2SG, UK

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