Heritage Paths ~ Old Lanark Road
Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde and Lanarkshire
Old Lanark Road Return to Map
Start location: Road east of Dunsyre (NT 080 488)
End location: Track leading to West Linton (NT 138 518)
Geographical area: Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde and Lanarkshire
Path type: Civil Road
Path distance: 6.75km
Accessibillity info: Suitable for Bikes, Suitable for horses, Suitable for pedestrians
From Dunsyre, this old route heads northeast past Walton and Medwynbank. At the crossing of the West Water, it is met by the Boston Cottage Drove Road, then continues past North Slipperfield and the West Linton Golf Course to meet the Old Biggar Road.
OS Landranger 65 (Falkirk & West Lothian) and 72 (Upper Clyde Valley)
This is a very important old road forming part of the main route between Edinburgh and Lanark for a long time. There are a number of large Neolithic cairns on the route, which may well have been useful in helping travellers to navigate - especially helpful in the snow.
The Old Lanark Road now forms part of the waymarked Pentland Way from Dunsyre to Swanston. Friends of the Pentlands produce a free Pentland Hills map which includes this old route - if you'd like one, it is likely to be available locally or write to ScotWays at the address top-right enclosing a large letter SAE and they'll post one out to you.
