if your mind’s boggling for a tattieboggle this weekend then Bothwell is the place to be.

The South Lanarkshire town is overrun by hundreds of scarecrows for the first ever Bothwell Scarecrow Festival.

Residents and businesses have got behind the festival in a big way, with an incredible array of scarecrows popping up all around the town.

Organiser Harry Marsh got the idea for the festival when he saw a similar event in England. He said “My wife Joan and I were on holiday in Lancashire when we came across the Charnock Richard Scarecrow Festival. We decided to do something similar      at home here in Bothwell and the main aim is to bring the community together.”

The three day Festival comes to a close with the Scarecrow Parade through the town on Sunday afternoon.

Taken from recent correspondence between Bothwell Community Council Chairperson Bob Greenshields and Historic Spokesperson Malcolm Brown………

…..  “It has been confirmed that it would fall to Historic Scotland to apply and pay for any new directional tourist signage.

For signs in Bothwell and Uddingston, application would be made to South Lanarkshire Council and obviously we must adhere to their tourist sign posting policy.

For signs on Motorways and Trunk roads, Historic Scotland is bound by regulations enforced by Transport Scotland, a department of the Scottiish Government. My colleague Susan Loch forwarded to you a copy of current signposting guidance ………..    “that to qualify for motorway signage we would need to have welcomed 50,000 visitors in each of the previous three years….”      which unfortunately is not the case at Bothwell Castle.

Malcoln Brown continues with positve feedback on our Chairman’s recommendation of a further 2 signs within the Bothwell/Uddingston area.

“I am more than happy to look at these locations and investigate whether we can apply for new signs  to be erected. If you send me a note of where the signs should be located it would be most appreciated. Also, if you can provide details of road names, that would be really helpful.”

…………..however a note of caution prevails………

“It should be noted however, that this process can be quite lengthy and in some instances these schemes can take years to progress.

Bothwell Evangelical Church
60 Main Street
Bothwell
01698 854321

St Bride’s R C Church
Fallside Road
Bothwell
01698 852710

Bothwell Castle

Bothwell Castle

Bothwell Castle is one of Scotland’s finest medieval monuments. Built from local red sandstone; it dates from the mid 13th century when Walter of Moray inherited the Lordship of Bothwell from the Olifard family, ancestors of the Oliphant family. Archaeological artefacts of both the Olifard and Moray families were found in the ancient parish church of St Brides in Bothwell.

The rich lands of Bothwell and its castle were fought over many times during the Wars of Independence, with the castle changing hands, between the Scots and English, some six times over a period of just 40 years. The grand castle design of the Morays was never completed as a result of this turmoil and it was only when Archibald the Grim, a Black Douglas, married Joanna Murray in the mid 14th century, was the castle completed to the structure seen today.

With the demise of the Black Douglasses in 1455, King James IV bestowed the barony upon Patrick Hepburn but at the King’s request, Hepburn and the title moved to Hermitage Castle in Liddlesdale, with the Red Douglasses coming to Bothwell. The 4th Earl of Bothwell, James Hepburn, the third husband of Mary Queen of Scots, therefore had no connection with Bothwell Castle.

The subsequent history of the castle is somewhat uneventful and towards the end of the 17th century, Archibald Douglas, First Earl of Forfar, moved out and started to build a fine Palladian mansion, Bothwell House, using much of the stone from the castle. Alas, like Hamilton Palace, just five years before it, Bothwell House was demolished in 1926, a victim of subsidence from coal mining. The only remaining structure being the current entrance to Bothwell Castle Golf Club. However, nearly 800 years later, Historic Scotland is proud to maintain Bothwell Castle as part of the nation’s built heritage.

Riva, Italian restaurant
25 Main St
Bothwell
01698 850888
address will change September/October

Grapevine, bar and restaurant
27 Main St
Bothwell
01698 852014

Winifreds, restaurant
35 Main St
Bothwell
01698 854526

A Donalds Ltd, butchers
55 Main St
Bothwell
01698 853134

Bothwell Convenience Store
63 Main St
Bothwell
01698 854210 

Olympia, fish and chips
83 Main St
Bothwell
01698 850444

Canapé Wines
85 Main St
Bothwell
01698 854455

Amran Tandoori Carry Out
87 Main St
Bothwell
01698 852330

Douglas Arms
42 Main St
Bothwell 
01698 852128

I Love Food                                                                                                                                Main Street, Bothwell.

Cooperative
16 Main St
Bothwell
01698 850301

China Cottage, restaurant and take away
34 Hamilton Road
Bothwell
01698 852217

Cricklewood, Bar and Restaurant
27 Hamilton Road
Bothwell
01698 853172

Da Luciano Restaurant
2 Silverwells Crascent
Bothwell
01698 852722 ]]> http://www.bothwellcommunitycouncil.org.uk/2008/09/food-and-drink/feed/ 0 http://www.bothwellcommunitycouncil.org.uk/2008/09/health-and-beauty/ http://www.bothwellcommunitycouncil.org.uk/2008/09/health-and-beauty/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:45:17 +0000 admin http://www.bothwellcommunitycouncil.org.uk/?p=41 Bothwell Physiotherapy
28 Hamilton Road
Bothwell
01698 854474

Bothwell Salon, Hairdresser
9A Main St
Bothwell
01698 852279

Beauty@71 Main St
71 Main St
Bothwell
01698 858580

Bothwell Podiatry Clinic
79 Main St
Bothwell
01698 850333

The Changing Rooms, Beauty
50 Main St
Bothwell
01698 853225

The Bothwell Clinic, centre for Holistic Health
10 Main St
Bothwell
01698 854805

Bothwell Medical Centre, Doctors
3 Uddingston Road
Bothwell
01698 852299

Murphy and Dardis, Dentist
73 Main St
Bothwell
01698 854048

Paolo’s Unisex Salon
48 Main St
Bothwell
01698 853885

McMillan Hair and Beauty
52 Main St
Bothwell
01698 8522333

Lo Scrigno Glass, crystal and other objects of extreme quality
65 Main St
Bothwell
01698 852832

Clydesdale Bank
75 Main St
Bothwell
01698 852085

Bothwell Primary
Blantyre road
Bothwell
01698 852919

Bothwell Out of School Care Ltd
The Parish Church Centre
Main St
Bothwell
01698 850058

Bothwell Montessori Nursery School
53 Main St
Bothwell
01698 850000