Public Access and Visitor Centre
See also: Wind turbines on public displayWhitelee has become an eco-tourist attraction aided by an on site visitor centre. The visitor centre is host to an interactive exhibition room, cafe, shop and education hub. It was officially opened to the public in September 2009. The visitor centre also give access to a network of over 90 km of paths for cyclists, ramblers and horse riders. The visitor centre is managed by Glasgow Science Centre and offers activities for education and community groups. There is also a dedicated - free - electric vehicle charging station.
Whitelee wind farm has a Countryside Ranger Service operted jointly by East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire councils that works to promote and develop access opportunities for the public within the wind farm and wider area, as well as operating an annual program of free activities and events open to the public. The Whitelee Countryside Ranger Service also work to encourage and assist community and charity organisations to make use of the access opportunities within the wind farm for fundraising and charity events. The ranger service forms part of the Whitelee Access Planning Group which is made up of the wind farm operators, land owners, the three local authorities the wind farm comes within, local community groups and other interested parties to the site.
The Whitelee Access Planning Group are developing plans for a purpose built single track mountain bike course. The development will use a former borrow pit, created to supply stone during construction of the windfarm. The site lies just 500m from the popular Whitelee visitor centre. This exciting development is being led by East Renfrewshire Council on behalf of the Whitelee Access Planning Group. The unique track design has been created by Phil Saxena of Architrail Ltd – renowned designer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games XC courses.
The project has followed strong public demand for more technical MTB facilities at Whitelee. Its setting within Europe’s largest onshore windfarm will make it unique amongst trail centres. The plans will provide graded trails to suit a wide range of users, from beginners to more experienced riders. Careful design will deliver a course with a mix of route options, technical sections and challenges. The facilities will extend across an area of approximately 12 hect
In June 2012, Whitelee wind farm became the first wind energy project in Scotland to join the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions. The management took the decision after nearly 250,000 people had visited the site since its opening since July 2009. ScottishPower Renewables said that nearly 10,000 pupils had so far visited Whitelee on school trips. In addition, at least "another 100,000 people had accessed the wind farm's 90km (56 miles) of trails for recreational purposes such as jogging and cycling".
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