Take a step back in time with this fascinating photograph taken by Jim Brown in December 2007. What you’re looking at isn’t just a peaceful woodland scene – it’s actually the original route of the Rotten Calder River before the railway arrived in this area in the 1880s.
When the railway was constructed through the gorge, engineers diverted the river through a new tunnel beneath the railway embankment, permanently altering the landscape. The quiet, tree-lined pool seen here is all that remains of the former river channel, a hidden reminder of the dramatic engineering works that reshaped this part of Blantyre all those years ago.
Today, nature has reclaimed the old riverbed. Moss-covered rock faces, tangled woodland and still water give little clue that this was once the main course of the Rotten Calder, flowing long before Victorian railway builders transformed the area forever.
It’s an extraordinary glimpse into Blantyre’s industrial and natural history, showing how the landscape we know today has evolved over generations.
📷 Photo: Jim Brown (2007)
💬 Did you know the Rotten Calder once flowed along this completely different route before the railway was built?
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