Home Report Carluke

Carluke is a town of around 13,300 residents in the heart of the South Lanarkshire countryside overlooking the River Clyde, just under five miles northwest of Lanark and about four miles southeast of Wishaw. It is the largest town in the Clyde Valley and the epicentre of Lanarkshire’s fruit-growing area.

Carluke is a former Royal Burgh but prior to the 1800s was an area of only a few houses and residents. However, the onset of the industrial revolution brought with it an influx of new worker residents and prosperity, further propelled by the building of the Glasgow to Carlisle trunk road and a dedicated train station. This infrastructure brought much industry to the town from corn milling, cotton weaving, coal mining, the manufacture of bricks, glass, confectionery and jam. Despite the inevitable downturn in these industries that followed in later years, it set Carluke down the path to what we know it as today.

Carluke now is predominantly a commuter town with a variety of its own amenities but acts as an important local hub for nearby villages of Braidwood, Forth, Kilncadzow, and Law. It has a locally important shopping centre, and it has seen a recent boom in house building thanks to its direct train link with Glasgow. The town centre was redesigned in 2006 as part of the town’s Streetscape Project to create an attractive shopping environment to encourage people to the local high-street.

Not only does the town benefit from its direct rail link with Glasgow Central Station, but there are also regular bus services to surrounding towns as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh. The town is easily accessible by car from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Lanark with the nearby M74 and a bit further the M8 motorway.

In terms of amenities, Carluke town centre has a variety of the usual businesses, local cafes and restaurants. For golfers, Carluke Golf Club is a parkland course nearby generally well-received. Mauldslie Bridge and Woods, formerly part of Mauldslie Castle, offers rural walks connecting to a longer trail along the River Clyde that can take walkers from Crossford to New Lanark. Indeed, there are many woodland and nature walks to be found throughout the Clyde Valley woodlands. Families with children will benefit from The Bubbles Factory, a soft play and café recently voted the best in the UK.

As for local education, Carluke currently has six primary schools: Carluke Primary, High Mill Primary, Kirkton Primary, Crawforddyke Primary, and St Athanasius Primary. Braidwood primary is not part of the Carluke area proper but is considered amongst primary schools of the area. It has one secondary school; Carluke High School, which also serves Law village, Braidwood and Forth. Additionally, Carluke is home to a state-funded Special School, Victoria Park, which provides education for primary and secondary pupils aged 3 to 18 with special educational needs.