New Lanark — Attraction in Scotland

We arrived and we’re not disappointed, the place is huge the photo’s don’t give you the true enormity of the size of the buildings!

Booked into our WaterHouse No:2, having brought our,pet dog, Alfie…, only place your allowed to stay with your dog!

The best of the 8 water houses is No: 1 which has a large waterside patio secure area with furniture…, very short walk from the car parking area to the rear of the reception.

The Waterhouse was excellent, on two levels with the bedrooms down stairs which had 2 rooms, 1 a 3 single beds and the master with a very large almost Queen size bed, no en-suite as the toilet/bathroom is upstairs just off the main corridor the stairs are a little steep but not really a problem for me as I have mobility issues!

A little strange having to go downstairs to bed!

Lovely views of the river from all of the 8 sash windows of the house, would have liked a little more original look in the rooms rather than the bland plasterboard that’s every where hiding the history of the rooms themselves!

All the rooms were comfortable and had everything needed for self catering, you had only need to ring to arrange wither dinner or breakfast via reception.

Suggest the walk to the falls via the boardwalk it has a wonderful feel to it and your walking so close and over the river at times but be careful as my walking poles kept getting stuck in the many planks the make up the boardwalk…, Alfie our dog had no problems either, kept wanting to get into the river (not advised).

Arrived first at the hydro Power station after the boardwalk which up to then had been a fairly moderate walk then the landscape change to a very steep climb via several sets of steps until we reached the viewing area of the falls which didn’t disappoint at all.

We had our planned picnic before returning back to our proposed visit to the exhibition building for the tour of the working historic woollen mill which are still maintained and produce a range of products that can be bought in the shop after walking through the restaurant. You can get direct access to the Shop/restaurant through the doors below the tour’s sky walk that connects the reception to the main building!

All in all it was a full day of entertainment and history…, highly recommend a visit for a couple of days or even longer!

The historic site was both entertaining & enlightenment with the 11 minute Disney type of tour ride showing, through the eyes of a 10 year old girl of the time, what life was like and how they...

So disappointed in what used to be one of Scotlands gems! I don’t know if it’s because it’s January/winter but the place is so run down and like a ghost town. £32 for 2x adults and 1x 5 year old visiting. Not a single paying family on the site at the same time as us, just dog walkers (let that speak for itself!). It used to be so busy! We visited on a Sunday too!

Shockingly the cafe was completely shut up (told to go to the hotel if we required refreshments). The hotel when we arrived for some lunch had no one on reception. We stood maybe five minutes without any staff coming or going until eventually a member of staff began to walk past us without any acknowledgment. I stopped her and asked where to go for the restaurant, to which she pointed us to a bar area. When we went through, the staff seemed flustered as though just having dealt with a big rush of people, but it was extremely quiet, and they were in no hurry to assist us with where to sit, menus or how to order, so we left.

There was not a single member of staff anywhere on the site (visible) except the school house where a man at reception asked to see our tickets, the ticket box for paying for entry, the gift shop with one member of staff, and one member of staff to operate the ride for Annie experience. It meant you could have walked in and out of all the exhibits completely free of charge (bar the school house) as no one was there in any buildings.

Many exhibits were broken or missing parts, particularly the childrens interactive sections, and rooms were cordoned off in almost all areas with signs up saying shut or work in progress.

It screamed renovation works and lack of staff, but the price did not reflect this. Such a shame for somewhere that held a special memory for me growing up it has been...

This was our second visit although many years between. I was disappointed to see not that much had changed. There was very little sign posting so never sure quite where to go. We eventually found the reception and bought our tickets, £9 each. We were directed through a door and that was it. Eventually we found the Annie McLeod experience which was exactly like before. Then after that a large empty bare room, with a very small exhibit of one woman's sewing box and a few pictures. The rest of it went on in this vein, looking where to go, lacklustre exhibits in big spaces with no inter active information and very dry dull descriptions. Eventually we found the cafe and shop. It was about 3.30pm and the cafe was shutting at 4.00pm as was the shop. There was nothing left to eat at the cafe except some toffee shortbread. By the time we got this and ate it the shop had closed. Several people came in after us and walked out as cafe closed. They accept viewers up until 3.15pm so closing the cafe and shop at 4.00pm a bit much. We left after that, disappointed and a bit cheesed off. To cap it all, the car parking machine not working properly so we were double charged! This place is such a let down. It is a missed opportunity to really inform what life there was like. Not the childish sanitised and idealised version given in the "experience". This place could be better, much better. It should have people in period costume giving it a living museum vibe. Better exhibits, inter active exhibits, much better information. Get rid of the Annie McLeod thing or make it realistic. And finally a cafe and shop that stays open to cater for customers. It's a wasted opportunity to tell a great story of life in a mill in the...