This is of course Bothwell Bridge. Photographed from the Bothwell side looking across to the opposing riverbank which would in time become the lido park, later the expressway.

An engraving by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, the bridge had been remodelled only a couple of decades earlier, widening it, making it more level and removing a large central portcullis.

Some 17 years later, on Saturday 2nd April 1864, Prince Alfred, the son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, arrived by carriage at Hamilton Palace accompanied by Lord Belhaven and a Royal Escort. After seeing Chatelherault and the Cadzow Oaks, his carriage went to Bothwell Bridge, then on to Bothwell Castle. The men then took a boat across the Clyde and visited the ruins of Blantyre Priory! Perhaps the first Royal visit to Blantyre!

Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said:

Rena Caullay I remember great picnics at the lido