Hamilton

Hamilton lies 12 miles south east of Glasgow, to the west of the M74 where the River Clyde and the Avon Water merge. It is in the west central lowlands of Scotland, in South Lanarkshire.

The town was originally named Cadzow, which means "beautiful castle". It adopted the name of the Hamilton family in the 15th century.

The local landmark, looking like a giant salt shaker, is the Hamilton Mausoleum. It was built for the 10th Duke of Hamilton in the 1850s in the grounds of the palace, now known as Strathclyde Country Park. The mausoleum building is huge, encompassing a church as well as the family tomb and some say it is the largest mausoleum this side of the Pyramids.

Present day Hamilton has over 48,000 inhabitants and offers an interesting mix of its older buildings with the modern designs of its circular town square and its many shopping and leisure amenities.

The Trail starts and finishes at the Low Parks Museum, an interesting and informative place to explore and a lovely place for a coffee or lunch.





This walking Spy Trail is just over 2 miles long and should take about 2 hours to complete. There are no steps involved and only one well-paved slope, making the route suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.