Pairen one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Route was fairly straightforward, pretty flat. When you get to the retail park with b and q take care when you cross the road as there is no pavement on the other side of the road so you need to cross over the grass to allow you to continue on your walk. Lots of interesting buildings to look at along the way especially as you get to Renfrew town hall.

Leaving Paisley (the plot is vague on leaving the station but there are one or two routes on the ground) the first 40% of the route was along a busy road section with retail parks and lots of traffic, some housing and a college. There were also some very grand buildings, although sometimes boarded up. Then there was a very tricky road crossing on the bridge over the M8 (including the slip road off) with no sign of a pedestrian crossing anywhere nearby.
It was a relief to get on to the quieter residential roads and parks into Renfrew for the pleasant remainder of the route. Knockhill Park had some lovely patches where wildflowers had been allowed to grow. However even along here, there was still a lot of motorway noise and factory noise.
(Rather than walk along the main road, A741, I would have preferred to walk along Brown Street, S & N, and the entered Robertson Park a bit further west. Also, a little earlier, I would have walked straight through Moorpark Square, past the playground. These are fairly small alterations though.)
Walking through Robertson Park was nice, then it was a short walk to reach the town hall and museum (which has a toilet available) and the town centre shops.
A pleasant route badly let down by the nasty road crossing in the middle.
Incidentally, there appears to be a new cycle track connecting these two places, I was able to see it from Google Street View, at White Cart Viaduct where the M8 crosses a former derelict railway line, by the sewage works. This, if completed, could make an excellent alternative Slow Way.

I reviewed this route on a bright day in October 2021. The route out of Paisley begins along the busy Renfrew Road but quickly switches to the adjacent minor road with a welcome reduction in traffic noise. It is worth watching out for the monument to the Princess Marjory Bruce who was fatally injured here in 1316. There are also some interesting old buildings along what must have once been a very prestigious street. Once the route crosses the M8, it heads into housing estates and does not emerge back onto the main road until near the centre of Renfrew. Some of the streets are quite quiet and some walkers may prefer to take the more direct route all the way down Paisley Road. Another slight diversion is into Robertson Park which provides some nice greenery (and a pond with ducks). Eventually the striking tower of Renfrew Town Hall, looking like a fairy tale castle, comes into view, marking the end of the route.
This is an easy walk on good pavements with plenty of interesting distractions along the way. It feels safe but some of the stretches along the main road are not particularly pleasant. It diverts through a few green spaces but these can be skipped out if a more direct route is preferred. I would walk it again and would recommend it to anyone with a spare hour on their hands as an alternative to using a car or bus.

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