Carluke

Carluke is a town five miles north of Lanark with a population in 2020 of 13,810. Carluke is mostly a commuter town for the Glasgow-Motherwell industrial corridor.

Understand

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.

Get in

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.

Get around

JMB Bus 47 perambulates around town M-Sa every 30 min, including the railway station and Tesco.

Taxi operators are Rocket (☏ +44 1555 773318) and Ian Thomson (☏ +44 1555 772000).

See

War memorial in the old market square

• 1 Town centre is Victorian low-rise. High Street has been traffic-calmed with wide pavements.
• 2 High Mill along Chapel St was built in 1797. Only its tower stump survives.
• 3 Tower of Hallbar or Braidwood Castle is a 16th-century tower house. It fell derelict but has been restored as self-catering accommodation.
• See Lesmahagow for sights west of the river such as Craignethan Castle.
• See Motherwell for Cambusnethan Priory to the northwest.

Do

• Carluke Leisure Centre is half a mile east on Carnwath Rd. it has a gym, fitness classes and swimming pool.
• Golf: Carluke GC is on Mauldslie Rd a mile west of town. White tees 6003 yards, par 70, visitor round £20.
• Football: the town teams only play soccer at park-amateur level. Head into Motherwell for a pro game.

Buy

• Supermarkets: Tesco is half a mile south on Lanark Rd. It's open M-Sa 8AM-11PM, Su 8AM-9PM and has a filling station. Aldi also on Lanark Rd is closer.
• Ramsay of Carluke, 22 Mount Stewart St, Carluke ML8 5ED, ☏ +44 1555 772277. Sa M 8AM-noon, Tu-F 8AM-4PM. Trad butchers established in 1857. (updated Nov 2022)

Eat

Vista of Carluke

• Sit-in eating places include Prego, China Cuisine, and Fat Yankees.

Drink

• Town centre pubs are Wee Thackit Inn and Railway Inn. No, Capital Inn is just another Chinese takeaway.

Sleep

• Try Motherwell for a much wider choice.
• 1 Popinjay Hotel, 15 Lanark Rd, Rosebank ML8 5QB, ☏ +44 1555 860441. Decent mid-price hotel but far side of the river from town. B&B double £70. (updated Nov 2022)

Connect

Carluke and its approach roads have 4G from all UK carriers. As of Oct 2022, 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• Lanark won't entertain you for long, but you go that way to reach New Lanark, a well-preserved 18th-century industrial village and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Motherwell has Strathclyde Country Park, and far better visitor amenities.
• Glasgow needs several days to explore, don't just rush through its transport hub.
• Biggar is where you escape the industrial sprawl to enter the Tweed valley.

Routes through Carluke

Kilmarnock ← junction ←	SW  NE	→ Livingston → Edinburgh
Lanark ←	S  N	→ Airdrie → Glasgow