From Strathaven the A726 led us northwest-towards the Glasgow satellite town of East Kilbride. For the first few miles we had a good footpath running alongside the road but beyond the village of Chapleton we were forced onto the grass verges, changing from one side of the road to the other to find the safest walking.
The seven miles or so melted away and we soon came to the outskirts of East Kilbride. It was a breezy but hot day and we stretched out in the sun for half an hour overlooking the start of the urban landscaping that Is so much a feature of E Kilbride. On this the south side lies a large industrial estate with modern clean lines, no sign of pollution, no hint of noise. Here we were in 'silicon glen', where state of the art Hi Tech industry thrives.
Our route through East Kilbride led us alongside about four miles of dual carriage way , but we were provided with a footpath some distance from the road. At busy Intersections pedestrian underpasses were available. Walking was pleasant. At about one o'clock we stretched out on the lawn of a garage service centre four our lunch, It was sunny and warn, I managed to doze off for a while before we were an our way once more. Along this stretch were modern shopping parks, a Macdonalds, D I Y emporiums and other such facilities. We passed the Plaza Tower home of 'The Great Outdoors'.
