Renfrewshire Council

Renfrew Heritage Trail

Discover more about Renfrew's rich and varied heritage by exploring the sites of stories ranging from a 6th century saint to daring air service men and women of the 1930s, learn about the navigation of the Clyde or take a stretch into Gallowhill and find out about the dramatic birth of an early King of Scotland. 

The trail will take you to the Argyll Stones at the Normandy Hotel; Ferry Green on the Clyde; the Air Ambulance Memorial in south Renfrew and the Marjory Bruce cairn in the Gallowhill area of north Paisley.

Along the way, you'll see lots of different views and pass many points of interest: from the riverside walkway keep an eye out for Cormorant, Redshank and Oystercatchers or see if you can spot the vanilla-scented Holy Grass growing on the river banks; look out for the wonderful mature trees of what is now Renfrew Golf Course and pass the spot at which Queen Victoria alighted on 22 August 1888 when she stayed at what was then Blythswood House and Estate.

You can also get up close to the town's industrial archaeology and see a fine example of a side lever engine from a paddle tug boat; pass through Renfrew's busy town centre with its many shops and eating places as well as its fabulous A-listed gothic Town Hall and Museum; take in the locally distinctive building styles of James Steel Maitland, the burgh architect of Renfrew in the 1930s; before ambling through Robertson Park, one of the town's many attractive green spaces.

The trail, starting and ending at the Argyll Stones, is approximately 5.5 miles (9 km) long. Visiting the Marjory Bruce cairn will add almost 2 miles (3 km) each way.  Renfrew is well served by local buses or, if you prefer to drive the route, parking is available just a few paces from each of the sites.

A Renfrew Heritage Trail map and information sheets about sights of interest are available in the Related Documents section.