Coatbridge

Coatbridge is the main town of Monklands, a district on Clydeside in the Central Belt of Scotland, and historically part of Lanarkshire. Other towns here, which have merged, include Airdrie and Whifflet. The area is commuterland for Glasgow; The main reason to visit is the Summerlee Museum depicting its industrial era.

Understand
The Monklands were farmed by Cistercian monks from Newbattle Abbey near Edinburgh; the monks also mined coal. The 1799 Statistical Account described the area in lyrical terms: an immense garden with extensive orchards, luxurious crops, and where rivers abounded with salmon. Then the Industrial Revolution arrived. Airdrie became a weaving and textile town, while Coatbridge grew on pig iron from locally mined ironstone. The population burgeoned as a workforce was drawn in, principally from Donegal, but living conditions were squalid and Coatbridge was a hell-hole of blast furnaces. The iron industry withered in the 20th century (relocating to Corby) as local ores were exhausted and Clydeside shipbuilding declined. In 2016 the population was just under 44,000.

Get in
Coatbridge is 9 miles east of Glasgow and two miles north of M8, exit at Eurocentral interchange.

By train
Trains run every 10-15 min from Glasgow Queen Street to, taking 20 min. These trains start from Balloch, Helensburgh or Milngavie, and most of them continue east through , Bathgate and Livingston north to Edinburgh.

An hourly train from Glasgow Central loops south through the burbs and commuter towns of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Blantyre, Hamilton, Motherwell and Whifflet to , taking 50 min, and continuing to Cumbernauld. Motherwell has fast trains from London Euston, the Midlands and North West England, including the overnight Caledonian Sleeper.

By bus
The direct bus from Glasgow to Coatbridge was axed in 2019. The work-around is to travel to Motherwell then catch the 201, which takes 50 min to Coatbridge and another 15 to Airdrie. This is First Glasgow Bus 201, which runs every 10 min from Hairmyres Hospital via East Kilbride, Burnbank, Hamilton, Bellshill, Whifflet and Coatbridge to Airdrie and Petersburn. The first bus from Motherwell is at 05:40 and the last at 22:00.

Get around
Bus 201 as above is the main link between Coatbridge and Airdrie.

Do

 * Golf Drumpelier GC is at the western edge of Coatbridge, and Airdrie GC is a mile north of Airdrie.
 * Football: Airdrieonians were promoted in 2023, so they play soccer in the Scottish Championship, the second tier. Their home ground is Penny Cars (aka Excelsior) Stadium, capacity 10,000, at Craigneuk Ave a mile southeast of Airdrie town centre. The present club was formed in 2002 when the original club (founded 1878) went bust.
 * Albion Rovers were relegated in 2023 so they play in the Highland League, the fifth tier. Their home ground is tiny Cliftonhill, capacity 1500, half a mile east of Coatbridge.
 * Glasgow Celtic Women play at Penny Cars Stadium in Scottish Women's Premier League, their top tier.
 * Glasgow Celtic Women play at Penny Cars Stadium in Scottish Women's Premier League, their top tier.


 * St Patrick's Day Festival: Coatbridge has many residents of Irish descent, and the festival is held over two weeks in early March with art, theatre, sport, music and film. It culminates in a street event with Irish music and dancing. St Patrick's Day is always on 17 March, whenever that falls in the week.

Buy

 * There's an Asda in the centre of Coatbridge, and a retail park just south.

Drink

 * The Vulcan is a JD Wetherspoon at 181 Main Street Coatbridge, open Su-Th 8AM-00:00, F Sa 8AM-1AM.
 * Others in Coatbridge are Innishmohr on Main St, Segton Bar & St Andrews Bar both next to Central railway station, and The Mint, Smiths & Cul-de-sac all just north of town centre.
 * Airdrie has the Robert Hamilton, Staging Post and others at the top of Bank St, and a whole slew of bars along Stirling St.

Connect
As of May 2023, the area around Coatbridge has 4G from EE, O2 and Vodafone, and 5G from Three.

Go next

 * Glasgow is a must-see, just as much as Edinburgh.
 * Hamilton is where a grandiose palace subsided into the coal mines below: its impressive mausoleum and country park remain.
 * Kilsyth to the north of Coatbridge has remains of the Antonine Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 * Stirling is a pocket-sized Edinburgh, with its well-preserved castle, the Wallace Monument and the historic battlefields of Bannockburn and Stirling Old Bridge.