New Lanark 2004, 2005, 2006

Bell's Tower

New Lanark was a cotton mill that operated from 1785 to 1968. The buildings have been preserved and became a "World Heritage Site" in 2001. It is located in South Lanarkshire in the South of Scotland, about an hour by train from Edinburgh or Glasgow.

It became more well known under the management of Robert Owen (1771-1858), who married the eldest daughter of David Dale, the former owner of the New Lanark cotton mills. He took over the management in 1800 and introduced a number of social reforms.


The whole area lies idyllically in the Clyde Valley. The mills are surrounded by pretty woodlands and  the Clyde Walkway, which leads to the "Corra Linn" waterfall. As I'm quite interested in the history of the Industrial Revolution, New Lanark was a must-see for me.

Robert Owen's House

I was deeply impressed when I visited New Lanark for the first time, in 2004. The grounds were much bigger than I had imagined; so presumably the buildings must have included flats for the workers. I quickly understood that people did not just work there but had lived there, too. Some buildings have been converted into holiday accommodations and you can choose between hotel, flats and a youth hostel. The other buildings remained as they were and can be visited. They are beautiful examples of industrial architecture in the countryside.

You can visit the following: Visitor Centre ( former "Institute for the Formation of the Character"), the School for Children, the Millworkers' Houses, the Village Store and Robert Owen's House. Moreover, there's a café (Mill Pantry) and an Edinburgh Woollen Mill Shop.

School for Children

In the Visitor Centre I read more about the history of New Lanark, especially about the working conditions. There are some machines that operate and show what work was like in the past. When I entered the room with these machines, I immediately noticed the noise and got an idea of the circumstances people had worked in in those days.
During his management, Robert Owen inspected  a large amount of factories and found dreadful working conditions. He reported them to Parliament but sadly resulted only in the passage of some weak laws in 1819. He decided to bring about a change in his own mill.

Look from Mechanic's Workshop

I was very moved by all the social reforms Robert Owen had introduced: free medical care, a sickness fund, street cleaning services, an early kindergarten, an infant school and school playground (both first in the world), a school for children, a new Village Store (forerunner of the Co-operative Movement), weekly flat cleaning to improve health and hygiene, progressive education, phasing out of child labour and shorter working hours.

The "School for Children" and the "Institute for the Formation of the Character" were built because Robert Owen believed that education was the key to creating a society without crime and poverty. He forbade children to work in the mills until they were ten years old. In these times of the early 19th century there were no work restrictions for children. The "Act of Labour" was set in 1849, much later than Owen had set up his own working conditions in 1816.

After having explored the Visitor Centre, I walked to the former school for the workers' children. A little cinema inside showed the "Annie-MacLeod-Story", a short film about the life of a child in the early 19th century. School lessons included the following subjects: singing, dancing, art, history, geography and nature study.

Corra Linn Waterfall

Before these evening classes, lectures, concerts, a reading room and dancing for all ages were provided, Robert Owen had shortened the working hours to ten per day (formerly twelve to fourteen).

I went on to the workers' flats and learnt that the furnishings had been ahead of their time. At first, one room was allocated to each family, then in the course of time they got two rooms.

Robert Owen impressed me so much because he changed some things for the better and didn't let himself be held back by others. He stood up for his ideas and convictions and never stopped saying what he thought. He never gave in and went on improving working conditions. He keenly recognized a lot of problems of society and changed them in his domain of influence.

Clyde Walkway

Besides New Lanark, I also found the "Scottish Wildlife Trust" there and took part in two guided tours, one by day to watch new pairs of Peregrine falcons and one at night to watch badgers and bats. First, our small group of people had to be very silent and wait for some time. Finally, our patience was rewarded. I've never seen these animals in their natural surroundings before so I've got some magical moments to remember.
I really enjoyed walking on the Clyde Walkway and passing the "Corra Linn" waterfall, which was totally breathtaking.

I can really recommend going to New Lanark. It is definitely worth a visit, especially for history lessons. You can even book a tour guide for school classes.