Carfin

Carfin (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''An Càrn Fionn'', meaning the White Cairn) is a village situated to the north-east of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of

Holytown Holytown ( sco, 'Holy-Town' - Holytown, gd, Baile a' Chuilinn)

,
Newarthill Newarthill is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated roughly three miles north-east of the town of Motherwell. It has a population of around 6,200. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Carfin, Holytown and N ...
and
New Stevenston New Stevenston is a village situated between Motherwell and Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Carfin, Holytown and Newarthill which have a combined population of around 20, ...
which have a combined population of around 20,000 across the four localities.

Local facilities
Carfin has strong Irish Catholic links, which are exemplified in
Carfin Grotto Carfin Lourdes Grotto, a Roman Catholic shrine in Scotland dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, was created in the early twentieth century. The "Carfin Grotto", as the shrine is locally referred to, was the brainchild of Father, later Canon Thomas ...
a famous pilgrimage place, with extensive gardens and a visitors' centre with cafe. It was built in the early 1920s, when parish priest, Canon Thomas Nimmo Taylor engaged the unemployed miners of the village to build a shrine to
Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, ...
, allowing people in Scotland to venerate the
Blessed Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
without having to travel to France to do so. There are many places of worship in Carfin. A church hall is present and a small mosque for Muslims, which in 2006 was moved to a bigger mosque near
Mossend Mossend is a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, located on the A775 road to the immediate east of its 'sister town' Bellshill, west of the villages of Holytown and New Stevenston, north of the larger town of Motherwell and south of the E ...
,
Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton to the southwest, Viewpark to the w ...
. A community church met in the community centre but due to an increase in attendance has moved to a larger community centre in
Craigneuk Craigneuk is a suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The original village of Craigneuk was located in the area where Meadowhead Road meets the A721 at Craigneuk Street. It was originally part of Dalziel parish, along with the other ...
,
Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it form ...
. The closest
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
is Taylor High School in nearby
New Stevenston New Stevenston is a village situated between Motherwell and Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Carfin, Holytown and Newarthill which have a combined population of around 20, ...
. Since this is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
school, the nearest nondenominational secondary school is
Brannock High School Brannock High School is a non-denominational, co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is situated on Loanhead Road. Feeder schools The school catchment area takes in Carfin, Holytown, New Ste ...
in
Newarthill Newarthill is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated roughly three miles north-east of the town of Motherwell. It has a population of around 6,200. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Carfin, Holytown and N ...
. The nearest public house is the Hibernian Social and Recreation Club (The Hibs Club) 200 metres away to the Newarthill side. Half a mile in the opposite direction is the Carfin Vaults. The ''Bell Quadrant'' is the main shopping area in Carfin. It contains several famous retailers such as
Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on ...
, Farmfoods, Betfred and a Tesco Express. Opposite this site is a Lidl store. The outskirts of Carfin do offer some interest, with a private golf club/rugby fields/driving range complex situated between Carfin and
Holytown Holytown ( sco, 'Holy-Town' - Holytown, gd, Baile a' Chuilinn)
. Carfin is also next-door to the new settlement of Ravenscraig, currently under construction. Carfin doesn't have many sports facilities of note, with nearby Brannock and Taylor High Schools containing both football pitches and athletics tracks. The nearest sports facility is the large Ravenscraig Sports Centre. The golf course, named after
Sam Torrance Samuel Robert Torrance (born 24 August 1953) is a Scottish professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a member of Eur ...
(Torrance Park), was funded by former Rangers chairman David Murray. At the 2001 census, Carfin had a population of 1,048 residents..

Transport
Carfin railway station provides the hub for transport to
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
, with the local bus stops providing easy access to Motherwell and surrounding towns. These services operate a restricted timetable on Sundays. The station is in the Newarthill boundary but is named Carfin.

References
{{authority control Villages in North Lanarkshire Motherwell Mining communities in Scotland