BINGO!

We've now left Motherwell and arrived in nearby Hamilton, calling in at the depot of a famous coach company, Parks.

 

The Ranche was a fantastic pub on the outskirts of Hamilton, but it has long since gone. Here it is in 1986. There was a riot here, further info here.

At Hamilton fire station, this old Albion lorry was found.

318261 calls at Hamilton Central.

Central SMT was once the main bus operator.

Kelvin Central, then Firstbus followed.

Hamilton is a good place for independents. Here are a few; top to bottom:-

Henderson Travel

Hutchison

Whitelaws

McKindless

Stokes

Horsburgh

To the north is the working class town of Bellshill. Here's the railway station in 1961 (Ben Brooksbank CC).

Lanarkshire Tramways once served Bellshill.

Bingorama was a Bellshill based concern running ancient buses to get ladies to their bingo.

The Rowan Tree was a great real ale pub.......until Covid. The pub is still open, so decent beer may return.

Nearby Bothwell once had two railway stations, both photographed by Ben Brooksbank in 1961, both closed by then. Here's the ex Caledonian Railway one.

The former NBR station.

The Camphill Vaults in Bothwell has a fantastic interior and it's on CAMRA's heritage list.

Now we come to Blantyre, with its railway station, again photographed by Ben Brooksbank in 1961.

Beaton's was a coach company with a yard in Blantyre.

We end this post at the Barnhill Tavern in Blantyre, now called Hoolet's and lacking real ale.

Next time, we'll be wandering around the area to the south of Glasgow. There's a map here.

WETHERSPOONS SAVES THE DAY

Across country now to the recently reopened station at Larkhall.

 

Next stop, Carluke's Caledonian Railway station.

Central SMT had a depot at Carluke.

Law seems like a nice place to visit!

Irvine's was a bus company based in Law - don't confuse it with Irvine's of Salsburgh. Anyway, here's Law depot.

An AEC Reliance of Irvine's on service in Law village, 1976.

Not far away is Overtown, where Hutchisons had their depot.

This old timer was once found in Hutchisons' yard.

To the north is Wishaw, with its railway station.

Central SMT was the main bus company in Wishaw.

Other Wishaw operators included Hutchison, Irvine's, Nationwide and Coakley.

This is NOT a good area for real ale, but at least there's a Wetherspoons, the Wishaw Malt.

Onwards to Motherwell, we first visit the BR loco shed - 1983.

Ten years later, 91027 propels an up express into Motherwell station.

Local trains were in PTE orange livery.

Here's the more recent colour scheme.

Kelvin Central became the principal bus operator.

Later, Firstbus took over.

There have been plenty of independents, including McKindless, Whitelaws of Stonehouse, Coakley, CBC, Clan Travel and Slocach.

Finally, there's time for a pint in Motherwell, again at the Wetherspoons - The Brandon Works.

The next post will find us in the industrial belt south of Glasgow. Few tourist hotspots here! Follow the route on this map.