This week Blantyre Project conducted a poll sampling a significant proportion of people on Social media who live in Blantyre, to see how people refer to the area many of us know as “The Calder”. Do people refer to it by its written name or more slang, or Scots derivatives.
The question was “Speaking of the current day, do you call our western woodland and rivers : The Calder, The Cawther or the Cawder?“
With 468 people taking part, the sample was significant enough to get an idea of trends and popularity of each of the names and the results were a little surprising!
216 people (46%) prefer to use the term “The Cawther”, as in “going doon the Cawther”.
133 people (29%) call it “The Cawder” and
119 people (25%) call it “The Calder”
Some may argue it’s always been the Cawther, but written historical evidence would suggest otherwise. The difference of opinion with outright winner with a clear majority using “The Cawther“, is sufficiently good evidence that the popular post Millennium term for our lovely green space, is now known locally as “The Cawther“.