Lanark (/ˈlænərk/ LAN-ərk; Scottish Gaelic: Lannraig[2] [ˈl̪ˠaun̪ˠɾɪkʲ]; Scots: Lanrik[3]) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton.

Lanark was a royal burgh from 1140 to 1975, and was historically the county town of Lanarkshire, though in modern times this title belongs to Hamilton.

[4] Lanark has served as an important market town since medieval times, and King David I made it a royal burgh in 1140, giving it certain mercantile privileges relating to government and taxation.

These would be centres of Norman civilisation in a largely Celtic country, and would be established in such a way as to encourage the development of trade within their area.

This location was chosen because the land was relatively flat, the racecourse already had facilities for a paying public, there were stables to act as hangars for the aeroplanes and the racecourse was accessible by both road and by rail, especially as The Caledonian Railway Company were prepared to construct a new station near the main entrance.

The aeroplanes were transported to the meeting by rail, as aviation technology at the time was not advanced enough to safely fly there.

Some are named after an original shop owner, one is named Wallace close as it depicts key moments of William Wallace's life in Lanark [10] Visitors to the town can visit the nearby World Heritage Site of New Lanark,[11] close to the Falls of Clyde, the Corehouse estate and the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Corehouse Nature Reserve.

This historic background forms the basis for the Lanark Lanimers, which take place each year for one week in June.

On the Monday night the Perambulation of the Marches takes place, when townspeople turn out to walk around half the town boundary, following the Lord Cornets past and present as they inspect the border-stones.

On the Thursday morning, schools and other organisations parade before the Lanimer Queen in themed dress, accompanied by pipe bands.

The best Lanimer Lorries win prizes, and after the parade the crowning of the Queen takes place on a temporary stand erected in front of St Nicholas' Church, under the statue of William Wallace.

The Queen holds a reception party in the town's Memorial Hall[17] on the Friday night, where children perform songs and dances.

A key leader in the Scottish Wars of Independence, he is known to have first "drawn his sword to free his native land" at Lanark in 1297, killing the English sheriff Haselrig.

[18][19] An 8-foot statue of Wallace sits on St Nicholas Church at the town cross dating back to 1817 which was sculpted by Carluke-born Robert Forrest.