Strathaven (/ˈstreɪvən/ ⓘ; from Scottish Gaelic: Strath Aibhne [s̪t̪ɾah ˈajnə]) is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is the largest settlement in Avondale.

[2] The origins of Strathaven Castle are obscure, but it is believed to have been held by the Bairds until after the end of the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1357.

[8] Dungavel House on the outskirts of Strathaven was the place where German Deputy Führer, Rudolf Hess, originally intended to land on the evening of 10 May 1941 in a misguided attempt to seek peace talks with the Duke of Hamilton.

However bad weather and poor navigation resulted in Hess having to land at Floors Farm in Eaglesham.

Built in 1650 at the behest of William, the 2nd Duke of Hamilton, the mill remained in operation until production ceased in 1966.

The building, after having undergone repairs and refurbishment since its time in use as a mill, now operates as an Arts and Heritage centre.

The miller disapproved of the young man, finding him unworthy of his daughter's company, and decidedly put an end to the affair.

The higher of the two is the George Allan Park which features a boating pond, an ornate cast-iron bandstand installed in 1902 and a miniature railway.

The Parish was founded in 1859 to serve the growing Catholic population of Avondale following migration from Highland and Irish communities following the Clearances and the Great Famine.

[31] The ecumenical body "Hope Strathaven" consists of six churches in the area, which work together bringing a mix of community projects.

[33] Strathaven Hotel houses a small seated venue holding acoustic music gigs under the title FRETS.

Artists performing have included Arab Strap, Norman Blake and Euros Childs, Lloyd Cole, Altered Images, Robyn Hitchcock and Michael Head.

[34] In the Third Statistical Account of Scotland, County of Lanark, the Reverend C. Arthur Robertson, writing in 1953, quotes from the diary of a John McGowan, a native Strathavonian himself writing in Minnesota, U.S.A. c.1810 wherein is described some of Strathaven's folkloric history, "A small natural rock situated about a mile south of the town of Strathaven on the north bank of the River Avon in the parish of Avondale.

of the bed of the Avon, and was supposed to be the haunt of a water kelpy in the dark ages of romance, superstition and ignorance.

'On a stormy afternoon, as a cow-herd was gathering his cattle for home, he heard a voice more than human, just at the site of this old mount (the waters of the Avon were rising rapidly), call out, 'Carry me from Dabbie Dancie into Winkins Waas'.

This mount too, it is said, has the honour of Scots laws and ancient rites and superstitions delivered here by chiefs, and so public justice executed.