Chatelherault Park is one of my favourite places on earth. Walking through it’s big, beautiful, ancient forest makes me feel like I’ve gone back in time. We go here with our dogs quite a lot, especially during the week when it’s quiet. Some days you can walk for an hour hardly seeing another person! (Bit of a difference from our local – Kelvingrove.)

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There are loads of walks to choose from. Some have stairs & the park is quite hilly, so it’s not the most pram friendly place in the world. But you can go quite a long way without hitting any stairs & on a few of the walks you can get around them. The old oaks have always been a favourite for some tree climbing, and the view from the Duke’s bridge is pretty spectacular/terrifying depending on how much you like heights.

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I’ve been going since I was a young kid, and I remember loving the adventure playground. Don’t worry – it’s been updated since then. For young kids there’s sand pits galore & quite a few slides, roundabouts and bits to climb on. There’s also quite a few swings & climbers for older kids too.

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The visitor centre (which is the restored Duke’s lodge) has a nice wee cafe and gift shop, plus displays & exhibitions about wildlife in the area and Chatelherault’s story. The formal gardens to the rear of the lodge are quite pretty.

Without traffic it’s about a 20 minute drive from Charing Cross. (A well spent 20 minutes in my opinion). There’s no entry fee and parking is free too.

Chatelherault Country Park is located at Carlisle Road, Ferniegair, Hamilton, ML3 7UE.