StyleNest heads to Lanarkshire for festive, family-friendly fun…
You might have noticed we’re all counting down to Christmas – and if you’ve got a family, you could be thinking about using the holidays to take off for a few days on a ‘staycation’. Scotland is an extra festive part of the world: think snow-capped Highlands, warming whisky and Hogmanay. So why not head north of the border as the year ends?
A very special part of the country is Lanarkshire, in central Scotland. We headed to the New Lanark Mill Hotel for a winter break. Unlike any other in the country, the hotel was originally an 18th century cotton mill. After years of restoration by the New Lanark Trust, the hotel opened in May 1998, and has become popular not just because of its facilities, but because of its location. Right in the heart of New Lanark World Heritage Site, the hotel is nestled in the spectacular south Lanarkshire valley, close to the Falls of Clyde and less than an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
We had already visited the New Lanark World Heritage site with the children before, and they love it. No wonder: it is a living, breathing 18th century village based around a cotton mill. People still live there, but the site and the amazing landscape around it is protected. The visitor centre, in the old mill building, tells the story of the village and the people that worked in the mill through interactive rides and displays. Children can follow the life of Annie MacLeod, a 10-year-old millworker who lived in 1820, play in an old school room, visit millworkers’ cottages and even buy sweets from an old sweet shop. The visitor’s centre always puts on a very festive display and the gift shop is a Christmas shopping paradise.
For Jake, 7 and Phoebe, 4, staying in the village itself, in the New Lanark Hotel, was like a dream come true. The hotel has 38 bedrooms with spectacular views across the River Clyde and the surrounding conservation area. We arrived in the morning, knowing that the attraction can easily fill a day – it’s both fun for the kids and fascinating (and – be warned – moving) for the adults. At 3pm, we were shown to our accommodation – we’d picked one of the two-bedroom self-catering Waterhouse cottages that are built over the river. Beautifully warm, comfortable and well equipped, the children loved watching the river from the window and playing in their huge, comfortable twin bedroom.
After we’d made ourselves at home, we went for a swim in the pool (the children loved the bubble pool and we grown-ups enjoyed some tag team parenting and squeezed in a sauna and a steam). There’s also a gym and beauty rooms offering a range of treatments. In the evening, we had an aperitif in the Falls Bar & Lounge, and an excellent meal in the Mill One Restaurant – there’s a great kids menu.
The next day we set off to explore a bit more of Lanarkshire and went to Summerlee – The Museum of Scottish Industrial Life. Summerlee was one of Scotland’s most important ironworks and the remains of its furnaces can be seen on the 22-acre museum site. We just couldn’t believe that such a great day out was completely free – even the parking didn’t cost anything. The children were in heaven: Jake went down a mine, Phoebe had a ride on a tram and we could hardly drag them away from the street of miners cottages, each recreating a different eras from the past, from 1840 to 1980. The main exhibition hall is a great space full of lots of interactive displays, and the playpark was a good way to burn off energy after a tasty lunch in the café.
Lanarkshire is a hidden gem – but so easy to get to from the big Scottish cities. And New Lanark is a really special place where you truly feel like you’re stepping back in time. It’s a perfect part of the country for a winter break. We’ll be booking in to a Waterhouse lodge again soon – they would be complaints from the children if we didn’t….
New Lanark Mill Hotel, Mill No.1, New Lanark Mills, South Lanarkshire
Need to know
Rates: Two bedroom self-catering Waterhouse, sleeps four, £600 a week. Minimum stay of two nights available.
Facilities: 38 spacious and stylish bedrooms with free Wi-Fi internet access, selection of 1 and 2 bedroom self catering Waterhouse cottages, Mill One Restaurant, Falls Bar & Lounge, Business and Meeting Facilities with 8 suites accommodating from 2 to 200 delegates, Wedding & Events Centre catering for up to 200 guests, Health & Fitness Club with pool, sauna, steam room, bubble pool, gymnasium and beauty rooms offering a variety of treatments.
Check out time: 10am.
How to get there: New Lanark, by Lanark, is around an hour’s drive from Glasgow (25 miles/40km) or Edinburgh (35 miles/56km) and is well sign-posted from all major routes. We feature on the brown tourist information signs on both the M74 and M8 Motorways as New Lanark World Heritage Site. Follow these signs until you reach the town of Lanark. Continue to follow the brown tourist information signs as you go through Lanark. These signs will bring you to Braxfield Road. Follow this road until you arrive at the roundabout. Take the first exit off the roundabout. You will then see in front of you a large white sign ‘Welcome to New Lanark World Heritage Site’. Opposite this sign you will see a junction on the right hand side with a signpost stating ‘Restricted Access’. Please take the road on the right hand side next to the restricted access signpost. This road will take you into New Lanark Village. When you reach the village, pass by the red telephone box on the right hand side and watch out for the village gates also on the right hand side. Proceed through the gates keeping right and follow the drive down to New Lanark Mill Hotel, which is facing you.
For more about Lanarkshire, visit www.visitlanarkshire.com. For information and prices, visit newlanarkhotel.co.uk, call +44(0)1555 667 200 or email [email protected]. To find out more about Christmas events and offers, visit newlanarkhotel.co.uk.