I’ve driven to Greenock lots of times and love the view you get as you pass the last sign for the Erskine Bridge and head straight in the direction of Langbank where the blue of the River Clyde (on a nice day!) appears. As a driver and passenger, the journey goes so quickly – too quickly for me – and I’ve always wondered where I could see that view elsewhere.

Thanks to my OS Maps subscription, I discovered that there’s a park and a castle near the M8 and right on the coast- so I decided to check it out.

Kelburn Park

Kelburn Park can be easily reached by public transport, the nearest train station is Woodhall and there is a cycle path that will take you to the entrance of the park. If you drive, I would recommend parking at Newark Castle and start the walk from there.

From Kelburn Park there are spectacular views, I visited on a cold wintry day but the sun was shining on the hills and the river – like something out of a watercolour painting.

On your walk around the park, you will see timber ponds sticking out of the water. These were used by the shipbuilding industry to store timber but as the industry moved towards metal, the ponds were no longer needed.

Whilst in the park, follow the water and keep walking through the park, you will see a bridge over the motorway. Don’t take this path, instead take the path that goes down onto a platformed walk.

Keep walking along this and at the end, you will end up at Newark Castle.

Newark Castle

Newark Castle is owned by Historic Scotland, if you’re a member you can get in for free. The castle looked well maintained – I was expecting to see more of a ruin. There is a small children’s play area surrounded by a small section of grass which I imagine in the summer is a popular picnic spot.

From the park, it is about a one mile walk to Newark Castle. I enjoyed this walk, it was good to be able to walk between two places without taking the car and to also be off-road for the whole walk.