Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park
Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park is the collective name for areas of countryside set aside for conservation and recreation on the South Clyde estuary in Scotland.
The Park covers an area of 108 square miles (280 km2) of Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, stretching from Greenock in the north, down the coast to Largs and West Kilbride and inland to Dalry and Lochwinnoch.
It consists of Castle Semple Loch and Collegiate Church, The Greenock Cut Centre (formerly Cornalees Bridge), Muirshiel Country Park, Barnbrock Farm, Lunderston Bay, Locherwood, Haylie Brae and Knockendon.
A Regional Park designation for the area was first proposed in 1947. However it was 20 years later that Renfrewshire County Council proposed the Renfrewshire Regional Park and implemented a programme to manage an area of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) including the creation of Muirshiel Country Park in June 1970. Castle Semple Water Park followed in 1971 and the Cornalees Bridge Visitor Centre opened in 1973. Responsibility for the parks was taken over by Strathclyde Regional Council in 1975 before the Clyde Muirshiel Park Authority came into existence in 1990. Today the Authority's committee comprises councillors from the three local authorities as well as Scottish Natural Heritage.
Two Country Parks with visitors centres are located within the regional park at Castle Semple Loch and Muirshiel, together with a separate visitors centre, the Cut Centre, at Cornalees Bridge, Loch Thom, to explain the Greenock Cut. An outdoor activity centre and boat and bike hire facilities are based at Castle Semple. Barnbrock hosts a campsite, and community woodlands are to be found at Locherwoods and Outerwards. The sandy beach at Lunderston Bay is connected by a shore walk along the coast to Inverkip. Loch Thom and the Greenock cut provide easy walks in a context of industrial history, and the Collegiate church and Castle Semple are of interest to historians of an earlier era. There are numerous other sites, such as the Haylie Brae, with car parking for visitors to enjoy picnics, good views, wildlife, walks and cycles, and wide opportunities for hillwalking.
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