Politics & government > Speech of Lord Belhaven, in the Scotch parliament, at the making of the union

BOTHWELL CASTLE.
veil the outer sides of the -walls. The view from the
J sminence on which the Castle stands is perhaps the
> jnest thing of the kind in Scotland,—the broad river
> sweeping round the base, the lofty banks clothed with
learly every variety of tree, on the one hand serving
is the frame to an extensive view of the open country
jeyond, and on the other terminating in a graceful
jend of the course of the stream,—all conspire to excite
imotions of delight in even the most prosaic observers.
Few of our feudal strongholds have more frequently
changed masters than this ancient fortress. Since the
time of Edward I. it has been successively the property
jf at least ten different families. The residence of the
present owner, Lord Douglas, stands near the old castle,
on a beautiful lawn, adorned with some of the finest
trees in the country; and on the opposite side of the
.river, very picturesquely placed on the brink of a per¬
pendicular rock, are the ruins of Blantyre Priory. By
^he courtesy of the noble proprietor, the grounds are
sthrown open to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Holytown, Coatbridge, Gamkirk, and
Steps Eoad Stations,
Succeed each other within a distance of 13 miles. The
district is chiefly occupied by iron-works, coal-mines,
■brick-works, &c.; the former, particularly Calder and
Carnbroe, on opposite sides of the line, sending forth
: torrents of flame, and at night illumining the country
for miles round. There is little else calling for special
notice, except the very lofty viaduct over the Calder
valley, a quarter of a mile long and 120 feet high, and
a short but intensely dark tunnel between Holytown
and Coatbridge. The latter place bears the usual marks
1 of prosperity in possessing among other fine buildings a
. handsome church built in the Gothic, and an Academy
[ in the Italian style. The Germiston embankment, dis-
tant one mile from Glasgow, is three quarters of a mile
' long, thirty feet broad on the top, and nearly forty-five
; feet in height.