BIGGAR AND BETTER

We leave the borders behind (we'll be back in the future) and veer off into what was Lanarkshire. Biggar is first on the list. The railway station closed to passengers in 1950, though Ben Brooksbank photographed the remains in 1962.

The Crown in Biggar provides some respite from the journey.

Carnwath was a station on the Carstairs to Edinburgh line of the Caledonian Railway.

Wilsons was a bus company based in Carnwath village.

Nationwide, previously at Lanark, moved their depot to Carnwath.

Carstairs Junction station, now named just Carstairs, though it's some distance from the village itself, is an important place on the West Coast Main Line. LMS 4009 is seen there in 1947.

The diesel depot was still active in 1976.

In Carstairs village was the HQ of Stokes, a local independent.

And so, to the county town of Lanark. The railway station is at the end of a branch line off the WCML and is still busy today.

As was mentioned earlier, Nationwide was based in Lanark.

After deregulation, Nationwide took to stage carriage work in Lanark.

Central SMT was the main bus operator in Lanark.

Independents over the years have included Wilsons of Carnwath, Irvines of Law, Stuarts of Carluke and McKindless.

It's beer time! First, the Wetherspoons, the Clydesdale Inn.

The Wallace Cave was a decent pub, but now has no cask beer.

It looks as though the Horse & Jockey has gone onto keg beers only too.

After that disappointment, we move on to the historic place called New Lanark, beside the River Clyde. It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More info here.

Back to the WCML and Symington station, sometime around 1935.

Symington station is long gone, so is Abington, but the King was expected in 1906.

Across the hills now to Muirkirk, where we meet a former branch of the Glasgow & South Western Railway.

Rowe's was a bus company based in Muirkirk.

Western SMT was the main bus provider in the village.

Directly to the north is the small town of Strathaven, with its church.

Henderson Travel serves Strathaven, running towards the industrial towns further north.

Heather Ales had a brewery at Craigmill, Strathaven, though production has since moved elsewhere.

Those photos were taken in 2001. Right, that's it for this post. The next one will see us in a much more urban setting. Follow the route here.