Photos

This picture is taken of the lower, or west, side of Lanark from Kirkfieldbank, looking north across the valley of the River Clyde. The historic burgh of Lanark was the location of the first meeting of the Scots Parliament in 978. Today it is one of the most important towns in the Clyde Valley, and has a bustling market. Lanark Market is one of Scotland's largest farming markets.

A few hundred years after the first Scots Parliament took place in Lanark, William 'Braveheart' Wallace resided in the town. There are tributes to Wallace's fight for freedom in Lanark.

In Lanark lie the ruins of the church of St. Kentigern's, which date back to 1180. The present St. Kentigern's was built upon the site of an earlier church and can be seen to the right of the photograph. Tradition tells us that this is the church where Wallace is supposed to have been married to Marion Braidfute. It is very likely that William Wallace attended St. Kentigern's.

Wallace would also have known what is now the parish church of St. Nicholas. However, when he was alive it was only a small chapel. It is unfortunate that little of that period has survived, with the exception of a few carved stones which date back to the early Middle Ages.