Pollok Country Park | |
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Type | Country park |
Location | Glasgow, Scotland |
OS grid | NS5545262170 |
Coordinates | 55°49′40″N4°18′45″W / 55.82778°N 4.31250°W Coordinates: 55°49′40″N4°18′45″W / 55.82778°N 4.31250°W |
Area | 146 hectares (361 acres) |
Operated by | Glasgow City Council |
Open | Open all year |
Awards |
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Public transit access | Pollokshaws West railway station |
Pollok Country Park is a 146-hectare (361-acre) country park located between Shawlands, Crossmyloof, and Pollok in Glasgow, Scotland. [1] In 2007, Pollok Country Park was named Britain's Best Park, [2] and in 2008 it was named the Best Park in Europe, beating competition from parks in Italy, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden. [3] Despite this, by 2019 it was considered that the park was 'underused' with plans drawn up to encourage more visitors. [4]
The park, through which the White Cart Water flows towards Paisley, is the largest within the city of Glasgow. It was originally part of the Old Pollok Estate, which was home to the Maxwell family for over 700 years. [5] In 1966 Mrs Anne Maxwell Macdonald gifted the estate, including Pollok House, to Glasgow Corporation with the condition that it remained a public park. [6] [7]
In 1878 the Poloc Cricket Club was established. [8] Their Shawholm ground is one of several sporting facilities which ring the core of the park, including public playing fields at Nether Pollok near Shawlands [9] (once containing the home ground of Pollok F.C. until 1926) [10] and Norwood near Pollokshields, [11] the private fields of Police Scotland [12] and Hutchesons' Grammar School, (previously, Craigholme School), [13] the rugby ground of Cartha Queens Park RFC, Dumbreck Riding School [14] and two golf clubs: Haggs Castle (founded 1910) located next to the M77 motorway [15] and Pollok (1892) [16] to the north of Barrhead Road, a dual carriageway which is the only direct route between the east and west sides of the park approximately 1.4 miles (2.3 km) in length. On the other side of the road is a further golf club, Cowglen (1906). [17]
In 1954 the park also became home to Pollokshaws Bowling Club, the land donated by Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell of Pollok House; the club moved across Pollokshaws Road to celebrate its centenary. It is located near to Pollokshaws West railway station on the Glasgow South Western Line which is the nearest to the centre of the park and one of its entrances; [18] Shawlands on a different route (Cathcart Circle Lines) is also fairly close to one of the main entrances.
The park also contains the Burrell Collection, a purpose-built building designed to hold the large, eclectic antique and art collection of shipping magnate William Burrell, who donated the collection to the City of Glasgow on his death. Another feature of interest is the award-winning fold of Highland cattle, which is the most accessible of this species for the majority of Scots. In 2004, three mountain biking routes were opened by Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy. Strathclyde Police's mounted and dog-handling divisions are based in the park. There are two allotment gardens, one near Haggs Castle Golf Club and one at Pollokshaws.
In the early 1990s the park was the site of a road protest camp, the "Pollok Free State", which attempted to prevent the M77 motorway from cutting through the south-west side of the park and separating it from the nearby housing schemes. The road cost £53 million and destroyed 5,000 trees in a 7-mile (11 km) stretch of the park. Protesters, including local schoolchildren, attempted to prevent this using tactics such as building and occupying treehouses and tunnels. There was also a "Carhenge" of burnt-out and half-buried cars, from as far afield as Brighton, placed in the path of the road. Eviction of the camp by Wimpey bailiffs and police began on 23 March 1995, arresting 15 and injuring one. Though the camp failed to prevent the road being built, it was a formative experience for many Glasgow activists who had no previous experience of direct action. It also led to the resignation of M.P. Allan Stewart. [19] As campaigners feared, the motorway has disconnected the park from communities to its north and west (Pollok, Corkerhill and Mosspark) with almost no direct access - there is one walkway on the north bank of the White Cart from near Corkerhill); by contrast, the eastern side of the park has three vehicular routes and two more access points for pedestrians and cyclists.
In early 2008 a campaign to "Save Pollok Park" was formed, protesting against outdoor adventure company Go Ape; the company was invited by Glasgow City Council to enhance outdoor recreational activities within the park. Over five thousand residents objected to the proposals to site a high wire forest adventure in the ancient North Wood. [20] [4]
Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the Strathclyde region.
Pollok is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,000 at its peak, its population has since declined due to the replacement of substandard housing with lower-density accommodation.
Pollokshaws is an area on the South side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the residential neighbourhoods of Auldhouse to the east, Eastwood and Hillpark to the south and Shawlands to the north, with the Glasgow South Western Line railway and the open lands of Pollok Country Park to the west. The White Cart Water flows through the area.
Pollokshields is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok Country Park and the Dumbreck neighbourhood beyond, by the Inverclyde Line railway and other branches which separate its territory from the largely industrial areas of Kinning Park, Kingston and Port Eglinton, and by the Glasgow South Western Line running from the east to south, bordering Govanhill, Strathbungo, Crossmyloof and Shawlands residential areas. There is also a suburban railway running through the area.
Shawlands is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, located around 2 miles south of the River Clyde. The area, considered the "Heart of the Southside", is known for its independent restaurants and cafés, art scene, public parks, period terraces, and red and blond sandstone tenements. Shawlands was named one of the best places to live in Scotland in 2022 by The Sunday Times, and one of the world's coolest neighbourhoods by Time Out Magazine with judges describing it as "the city's best area to live and socialise”. It is located between Pollok Country Park, the home of the Burrell Collection and Pollok House, and the acclaimed Victorian park Queen's Park.
Crookston is a residential suburb on the southwestern edge of the city of Glasgow, Scotland.
Pollok House, formerly the family seat of the Stirling-Maxwell family, is located at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
Crossmyloof is an area on the south side of Glasgow situated between the districts of Pollokshields, Strathbungo and Shawlands in Scotland.
Corkerhill is a neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, southwest of the city centre. The area was originally a farm and a few houses built for workers of the Glasgow and South Western Railway at the Corkerhill Depot. The engine sheds and sidings are still present, although Corkerhill signal box to the rear of the houses now facing Mosspark shops was demolished in the late 1970s.
Bellahouston Park is a public park in the Bellahouston district on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of 71 hectares. The main part of Bellahouston Park was acquired by Glasgow Corporation in 1895 for the sum of £50,000, and opened to the public in 1896. Three years later, the city's second municipal golf course was established at Bellahouston, following the success of the course at Alexandra Park. The park was extended in 1901 by the addition of a part of Dumbreck Lands purchased for £2,824 from Sir John Stirling-Maxwell. A further addition was made in 1903, at a cost of £40,222, by including the lands of Ibroxhill, from which commanding views of the city are available.
Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet, KT, DL, FRSE was a Scottish landowner, Tory politician and philanthropist.
Newlandsfield Park is a football ground in Newlands, Glasgow, Scotland. It is the home ground of West of Scotland Football League side Pollok F.C.
Shawlands Academy is a state secondary school in the Shawlands area of Glasgow, Scotland.
Deaconsbank is a neighbourhood in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde. The main feature of the area, which falls into the Greater Pollok ward of Glasgow City Council and directly borders the East Renfrewshire council region, is an estate of around 639 private houses built in the late 1970s by Barratt Developments, prior to which the area was open farmland. Deaconsbank is bordered by the M77 motorway to the west and by Rouken Glen Park and golf course to the east. The northern parts of the suburban town of Newton Mearns are a short distance to the south, as is Patterton railway station.
Auldhouse is an area of the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde along the banks of the Auldhouse Burn, a tributary of the White Cart Water.
Poloc Cricket Club is a cricket club based at Pollok Country Park in south Glasgow, Scotland.
Linn Park is an 82-hectare (200-acre) park in Glasgow, Scotland, surrounded by the suburbs of Cathcart, Muirend, Simshill, and Castlemilk, also bordering Netherlee in East Renfrewshire. It is Glasgow's third largest park, after Pollok Country Park and Dams to Darnley Country Park, although Dams to Darnley is half in East Renfrewshire. Both Linn and Pollok parks have the White Cart Water flowing through them. Some areas in the park are unsuitable for prams and the infirm.
Newlands/Auldburn is one of the 23 wards of Glasgow City Council. Situated south of the city and the River Clyde, it is represented by 3 members as of 4 May 2017, one each from the Scottish National Party, Scottish Labour, and Scottish Conservatives.
Eastwood is a residential neighbourhood in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and is part of the Newlands/Auldburn ward under Glasgow City Council.