North Lanarkshire
Once Scotland's industrial powerhouse, North Lanarkshire's heavy industries are now consigned to history and the area boasts a range of attractions and activity centres well worth exploring.
Lanarkshires coal mines, steelworks and heavy engineering may be gone but they're definitely not forgotten. In fact they're actively celebrated at the Summerlee Heritage Park in Coatbridge, eight miles east of Glasgow, where you can go down a coal mine, ride on a tram or go inside a reconstructed miners cottage. It also has a hall of working machinery, which clanks and turns all day. (Please note that Summerlee will be closed on from late October 2006 until spring 2008 for a major redevelopment, including a major new visitor centre.)
More of the area's history can be discovered at Motherwell Heritage Centre, which tells the story of North Lanarkshire. The centre's use of hands-on technology, with talking figures, recreated streets and foundry scenes really brings the industrial hey-day of the area to life.
The Forth and Clyde Canal - the region's main transport artery during the Industrial Revolution - has recently been re-opened to small vessels and you can book day-trips in a covered and heated passenger cruiser, the MV 'Voyager'.
If your preference is for enjoying the fresh air, you can choose from a number of parks and estates to explore. The largest in the area is Strathclyde Park which offers a range of land- and water-based activities together with plenty of scenic walks. It's also home to M&D's theme park, a huge fairground with indoor and outdoor rides and games for the whole family, not to mention the worlds first spinning roller coaster!
Other popular outdoor spots include Motherwell's Dalzell Park and the Baron's Haugh Nature reserve, Coatbridge's Drumpellier Country Park, and Kilsyth's Colzium-Lennox estate, with historic Colzium House and 60 acres of parkland. The grounds of the estate are the setting for the mid-August Kilsyth International Carnival, an increasingly popular one-day music and cultural festival.
The North Calder Heritage Trail starts just by Summerlee and 16 km of purpose-built paths take you past Airdrie to Hillend Reservoir and the Glasgow-Edinburgh cycle route also passes between Coatbridge and Airdrie.
Airdrie boasts one of Scotland's three public observatories, part of the town's library in Wellwynd.
