Calderglen Country Park is a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

in the town of

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

, Scotland. It is situated along the eastern edge of the town and is its principal greenspace and recreation area.

Description

The park opened officially in 1982 and features a small zoo, children's play facilities, display and exhibition venues, a tropical hothouse, and several sports clubs including Torrance Golf Club. The visitor centre and adjoining facilities are based in the 17th-century Torrance House – a

Category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) *Category (V ...

– and the remains of its adjoining landscaped policies. The central area of the park is approached from the old entrance lodge house via the tree-lined driveway of the old estate. The park comprises the gorge portions of the once much more extensive Calderwood and Torrance Estates, with Calderwood Glen occupying the northernmost stretch of the Rotten Calder Water, and Torrance Glen the southern part. Several miles of nature trails run through the park (some prone to landslips),Repair work on crumbling paths at Lanarkshire beauty spot underway
Daily Record, 6 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022 with the longest routes running along the western banks from Flatt in the south to the Hamilton to East Kilbride Expressway (A725) in the north. The northern part of the park is a site of special scientific interest for is carboniferous geology, and the river features a number of waterfalls along its course. The designated woodland within the park totals . Calderglen is situated near to the

industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban ...

Kelvin The kelvin (symbol: K) is the base unit for temperature in the International System of Units (SI). The Kelvin scale is an absolute temperature scale that starts at the lowest possible temperature (absolute zero), taken to be 0 K. By de ...

, the established residential district of St. Leonards and a small 21st century development, Crutherland.

Gallery

File:Snowy driveway to Torrance House - geograph.org.uk - 970449.jpg, Driveway through the park after snowfall File:The Sports Club, Calderglen Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 605142.jpg, The Sports Club, Calderglen Country Park File:Riverside Path in Calderglen Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 1022164.jpg, Typical forest walking path along the banks of the Rotten Calder File:Torrance House, Calderglen Country Park, East Kilbride - geograph.org.uk - 60278.jpg, Torrance House courtyard with picnic tables

Recreational Facilities

* Mini

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

, featuring small animals such as meerkats, prairie dogs and owls outdoors, and reptiles and fish in a tropical glasshouse * Ornamental gardens and pond with a chilling statue of

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

(previously located at

Castlemilk House Castlemilk House was a country house located in what is now the Castlemilk district of Glasgow, Scotland. The house was the ancestral home of the Stirling-Stuart family and was built around the 15th-century Cassiltoun Tower during the 18th and ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

- Castlemilk and Torrance House were both owned for centuries by the Stuart family) * Football facility

K-Park Training Academy K-Park Training Academy is a stadium and training ground for football in the St Leonards area of East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire. It is located within the site of Calderglen Country Park. It is the home ground of League Two club East Kil ...

and small stadium which is home to

East Kilbride F.C. East Kilbride Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of , the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system. Formed in 2010 with the intention of bringing ...

* Rugby grounds which are home to

East Kilbride RFC East Kilbride RFC are a rugby union side who are based in East Kilbride. History Established in 1968, their home games are played at the Torrance House ground within Calderglen Country Park. The team currently compete in the . EKRFC moved to ...

* Tennis facilities operated by East Kilbride Lawn Tennis Club * Cricket pitch, home to ''East Kilbride Cricket Club'' formed in 1962 * ''Torrance House Golf Club'' opened in 1969, available for public bookings50th anniversary plans in full swing
Torrance House Golf Club, 18 March 2019 * Woodland walks through glens and gorges formed by the Rotten Calder river near to the Calderwood residential district, including the site of

Calderwood Castle Calderwood Castle was located in East Kilbride, Scotland. The castle was situated near the banks of the Rotten Calder Water in what is now Calderglen Country Park. Most likely constructed in the early to mid fifteenth century by the Maxwell f ...

* Modern outdoor

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

for children * Gift shop and cafe within the historic Torrance House

References

External links

*
Calderglen Sports HubTorrance House Golf Course

South Lanarkshire Council park profile

VisitScotland park profile
{{authority control Zoos in Scotland Country parks in Scotland Areas of East Kilbride Urban public parks Buildings and structures in East Kilbride Parks in South Lanarkshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Clydesdale and South East Glasgow 1982 establishments in Scotland