Make Your Way Family Fun Days
Get set to have a wheelie good time at the FREE cycle-focussed Make Your Way Family Fun Days, taking place in Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds and Larkhall Leisure Centre on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 March respectively, 10am – 3pm.
It is the perfect opportunity to get dressed up as your favourite Superhero and have a fantastic family day out. Whether you want to walk, cycle or even scooter, there is an abundance of great activities to get involved in!
Use your superpowers to power our Smoothie bike, or why not try pedalling to make the pedal powered sound system sing. To keep your wheels turning, Dr. Bike will be there from CamGlen Bike Town offering free bike safety checks. There will also be bike security marking and balance bike training, alongside the opportunity to try out the portable cycle skills track, and other fun and games. No bike? No problem! Come along and try a range of bikes for free including electric cycles, kiddie carriers, cargo cycles and fun bikes. There will also be the added bonus of some drinks and a few snacks to help you power through.
Organised by Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust, the Fun Days are aimed at families, groups and individuals with a love of cycling, as well as those who would like information and ideas on how to get out and about on their bikes more or even take up cycling for commuting, fitness or leisure.
The events are part of the Make Your Way arts, heritage and active travel project connecting communities in Hamilton, Larkhall and Quarter with Chatelherault Country Park. The project includes a wider programme of FREE walking and cycling activities, certified training, artist-led Celebration of the Land activities, active travel workshops with six local primary schools, and new signage and artworks promoting the lesser known cycling and walking routes into Chatelherault Country Park.
FREE Make Your Way activities are outlined below. Visit www.clydeandavonvalley.org/make-your-way for full information and booking details. All activities are FREE but booking is essential, unless otherwise noted.
- Thursday 8 March, Walk Leader Training: Hamilton Sports Ground, 10am – 5pm
- Saturday 10 March, Bike Ride Leader Training: Hamilton, 9am – 5pm
- Saturday 10 March, Guided Ride: Hamilton Palace Sports Ground – Chatelherault Country Park, 11am – 1pm
- Saturday 17 March, Make Your Way Family Fun Day, Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds, Mote Hill, Hamilton ML3 6BY, 10am – 3pm. Drop-in activities, no booking required.
- Sunday 18 March, Make Your Way Family Fun Day, Larkhall Leisure Centre, Broomhill Road, Larkhall, ML9 1QP, 10am – 3pm. Drop-in activities, no booking required.
- Saturday 24 March, Bike Ride Leader Training: Hamilton, 9am – 5pm
The project is delivered by icecream architecture and Healthy n Happy Development Trust. It is supported by Scottish Government supported Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund and Heritage Lottery Fund and South Lanarkshire LEADER supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP).
Jim Ewing, Bike Town Senior Team Leader at Healthy n Happy says, “We love getting active and putting on community cycle festivals - adults and children have such fun on our cycle skills track seeing if they can cycle the see-saw and beam without falling off. These two events in Hamilton and Larkhall add the new element of the Superheroes Ride - now who doesn’t have a secret super hero in them?”
The Fun Days follow artist-led Celebration of the Land events which took place in and around Hamilton, Larkhall and Quarter on 24 and 25 February, organised by icecream architecture. These events offered families the chance to get to know the lesser known paths and parts of Chatelherault Country Park through creative workshops and events including a wassail and human symphony.
A six week active travel programme, based on Sustrans Scotland resources, is being delivered by Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust as part of the project in Craigbank, Glengowan, Machanhill, Netherburn, St John’s and St Elizabeth Primary Schools.
Members of the public can look out for new colourful signage and artworks that will be installed in and around Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton, Larkhall and Quarter, highlighting routes, walking and cycling distances, as well as heritage and environmental features. The routes connect with the Avon Walkway, the Clyde Walkway, National Cycle Route (NCR) 74 and Strathclyde Country Park, so some can be used for commuting, for short strolls or cycles, or as links to longer explorations through the landscape.
“You can get a sneak peek at the artworks created by the Make Your Way artists as part of their residencies at the Land, Life, Water exhibition at Chatelherault Visitor Centre until Sunday 18 March,” says Sarah O’Sullivan, CAVLP Make Your Way Development Officer.
She continues, “The artists have developed these beautiful artworks that explore the rich history and heritage of Chatelherault Country Park and surrounds by working in collaboration with Blantyre Cubs, Clydesdale Colts Youth Cycling Club, Hamilton Ramblers, Larkhall and District Volunteer Group, Universal Connections Larkhall and Quarter Primary School.”
This second phase follows the first phase of the Make Your Way project which focussed on raising awareness of walking and cycle routes as well as sites of local heritage interest in the five communities of Carluke, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse, in 2017. The Make Your Way trails can be accessed digitally on the Make Your Way page on this website, or paper copies collected from local libraries and Lifestyles Centres. Visitors to each of the locations can enjoy the artworks along the various trails which reflect the heritage of each place, such as blue bricks in Carluke, pattern sliders in Larkhall and historic viewfinders in Lanark.
Find out more on the Make Your Way page and go to the events page for individual event listings and to book.