Drumpellier 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 ...

situated to the west of

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

, Scotland. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands council, part of

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

. The park covers an area of and comprises two natural lochs (one of which is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

)), lowland heath, mixed woodlands and open grassland. The

Monkland Canal The Monkland Canal was a canal designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 177 ...

lies towards the southern perimeter of the park. The

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

s and the canal attract many water birds, both resident (such as swans and mallard ducks) and over-wintering migrants, and the loch shores and woodland floor provides an abundance of wild flora. The woodlands are also rich in bird life, small wild animals and many types of fungi. The lochs at Drumpellier are part of a chain of kettle ponds formed towards the end of the last ice age. As the

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

that covered most of Scotland slipped down towards the sea it churned up great tracts of land. This created the great lochs, such as Lomond and Linnhe, and also produced small pockets of water such as the

Garnkirk Garnkirk is a settlement in North Lanarkshire, located a mile (1.5 km) southwest of Muirhead, North Lanarkshire, Muirhead. It is located 10 km northeast of Glasgow's city centre and 23 km southwest of Falkirk. Garnkirk is connecte ...

chain of

Hogganfield Hogganfield ( ) is a district in the Scotland, Scottish city of Glasgow, located to the north east of the city centre. Hogganfield is surrounded by the Glasgow districts of Blackhill, Glasgow, Blackhill, Craigend, Glasgow, Craigend, Millerston, ...

, Frankfield and the Bishops Lochs (an SSI that comes under

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 ...

City Councils administration) that include Drumpellier's Lochs, Woodend and Lochend. The lochside path is approximately long and it is suitable for

bikes A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

. Since July 2019 the park has been the location of Drumpellier Country Parkrun.Drumpellier Country Parkrun
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Etymology

The name ''Drumpellier'' may have a Brittonic origin. The generic may be ''dīn-'' meaning "a fort, a hill-fort" ( Welsh ''din''). Suffixed to this is ''*peleidr'', a plural form of ''*paladr'' meaning "a shaft, a beam". The etymology seems identical to Dunpender, and either name may have been transferred from the other, though there is no evidence of a fort here.

Ancient history

Mankind has left its mark on the park area over many thousands of years. Flint tools of the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

have been found on the shores of Woodend Loch and Lochend Loch (always referred to locally as ''Drumpellier Loch'') once boasted a fine example of a

crannog A crannog (; ; ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually constructed in lakes, bogs and estuary, estuarine waters of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built ...

, a dwelling place of iron-age man situated on stilts in open water for security and protection. The site of the crannog is depicted on Lochend Loch using small coloured buoys. During the medieval period, Drumpellier (then called ''Dunpeleder'') was the farming grange of the Monks of

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercians, Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently became a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by monks from Melrose ...

, which gives rise to the name of Monklands, the historical name for the surrounding area. The name Drumpellier itself means 'ridge where the wheat is stored'. Finally, the

lies at the south end of the park, and is a reminder of the great industrial heritage of Monklands, providing an important link through Glasgow to the Clyde and the high seas.

Drumpellier House

The Drumpellier estate was purchased in 1735 by the tobacco merchant Andrew Buchanan (1690–1759). He was responsible for building the oldest part of Drumpellier House in 1736 and it was extended in the 1740s and 1750s. Additions were made to it in 1840 and 1850. Andrew Buchanan was a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

merchant who became

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. The Lord Provost serves both as the chair of the city council and as a figurehead for the entire city, and is elected by the city councillors from among i ...

in 1740. The son of a wealthy maltman, Buchanan took advantage of the

Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new political state of Great Britain. The treaty, effective since 1707, brought the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Ki ...

which gave Scotland access to the English colonies and amassed a fortune through ownership of tobacco estates in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He also acquired a considerable portfolio of property in

. He purchased the Drumpellier Estate in 1739 and built Drumpellier House as his home two years later. Though no supporter of their cause, he led a group of prominent citizens who met

Prince Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

(1720–88), and was able to considerably reduce the amount of money demanded by the Jacobites not to raze the city. He was buried in the Ramshorn kirkyard. In 1777, the family business failed when their tobacco estates were lost following the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Buchanan Street in

is named after his nephew, another Andrew Buchana

The Drumpellier estate was gifted to

in 1919. Many Glaswegians traveled by tram to Drumpellier during the 1920s and 30s, to spend their weekends camping in the park. The house was demolished in the 1960s. The estate is now a Country Park and golf course. James Stirling (Royal Navy officer), Sir James Stirling RN (28 January 1791 – 23 April 1865) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator, who was born in Drumpellier. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia.

References

External links

{{North Lanarkshire places of interest Country parks in Scotland Coatbridge Parks in North Lanarkshire