Bogside Racecourse

[ninatoo]

They still have the Marymass festival and the greasy pole is still there I think. I read the guestbook at this site and it is mentioned:

http://www.marymass.org/index2.htm

Nina

[PlasticDel]

I remember seeing the Marymass races up at Bogside, but I believe it was at the Cadgers course - Bogside itself is probably too far out and overgrown to be used for races these days, even if it is only ponies. I'm from Kilwinning originally and remember many a turn about up there in my not so distant youth.

On a Marymass tip - am I the only one that remembers the greasy pole? I tried to tell my fellow Ayrshire colleague about this the other day, and she looked at me like I had just pooed in her pocket...

Greasy pole is still in existence. Played on one o' the munts (forget which one) on the moor. Although, only one team entered the other year, and it was looking at getting scrapped because of H&S issues.

Sure yer colleague wisnae just looking at ye funny 'cause yer fae Kilwinning...

[mooshimooshisan]

Says you from Irvine

She's from Stevenston, so she cannae talk!

[job78989]

Jings crivens help ma boab, that ayrshire banter.


John

[maxpower]

Says you from Irvine

She's from Stevenston, so she cannae talk!

I'm from Stevenston too, and still here sadly. Your collegue had a lucky escape!

[PlasticDel]

I thought I only posted that comment in a dream...

[maxpower]

Another big bump, some self-plugging and a thank you:

Some of the pictures that I posted at the start of this thread were today featured in the Observer newspaper. Although the newspaper got in touch with me via Geograph, a Google search for 'Bogside Racecourse' brings up this thread as the first result so I'm sure this is where the folks at the paper would have originally seen the photos. So I'd just like to thank Hidden Glasgow for being partially responsible for getting me my first ever published photos.

Cheers

[mooshimooshisan]

whoop! well done.

What were they writing about Bogside? Let me guess, they're building houses on it?

[maxpower]

Nah they do a weekly article on old sports grounds and it was Bogside this week. No houses yet, its meant to be being kept as a nature reserve or whatever but we'll see.

Ravenspark Hospital next door however has got some flat/house building in progress on the site now...

[mooshimooshisan]

Man, really? I was in Kilwinning for first time since Nam at the weekend there but didn't make it to Irvine. It's all changed since my day!

[hughie]

In the mid-1950s my brother and I often worked for the local farmers to earn a few bob. At one time we were working for a farmer from West Kilbride who had a tattie field in the centre of Bogside Racetrack.

One day we gathered about three stone of lead covered copper wire which was scattered at random in the potato field. This was near to the boundry fence of the ICIs Ardeer Factory. Anyway, we duly visited the local scrap man Charlie Smyth in Stevenston and were justly rewarded.

Later found out a gigantic explosion in 1913 in the ICI would have caused that lead and copper to get there. Link

[Josef]

Later found out a gigantic explosion in 1913 in the ICI would have caused that lead and copper to get there. Link

Consternation prevailed in all these localities

A lost art of newspaper reporting.

[maggie1873]

Having gone to Bogside Stables mid-late 80's, hopefully I can shed a little more light on the subject.

Don't know exactly when ICI bought the land but they owned it when I was going up to the stables. After the National was moved to Ayr, 1966, the stables were still used for stabling horses. The Hunt also used the track for Point to Point meetings.

The two grandstands, which were situated to the right of the main gate at the top of the hill facing the paddock and track, were the first casualties of ICI, being demolished 1988-89. Then the tower in the field across the track in the field adjacent to the paddock was the next to go. Finally the stables, hall and house were the last to go (not sure when as I had moved away by this time).

Not too sure, but ICI were wanting to build on the land as this is why everything was demolished, but it is now a nature reserv and there isn't much left of the Ardeer site (shame!).

Having moved back to Irvine 3 years ago, I still haven't ventured back up to where I spent my youth to see what its like now. I was very sad to see the state of this once proud site of the Scottish Grand National, and having so many happy memories from there, a little disgusted (its like there wasn't a history of the race before Ayr).

As for the Marymass Racing, Cadgers Course facing the old Ravenspark Hospital (now being converted into houses) is where they hold the Marymass meeting every year, the third Saturday after the first Monday in August. It has never been held up at Bogside. This is before you come to Bogside Golf Club (in between lies the raliway line). The stables lie further up the road which was always dodgy to negociate. The greasy pole is still a major attraction on this day and such a great laugh. Where else can you see people trying to get up a big greasy pole for a ham shank?

[jasm]

Thought I would revive this subject as I have fond memories of Bogside Racecourse. We lived on the racecourse from 1966 until the 70s. My dad build many of the jumps and maintained them for the point to point races held there 3 or 4 times a year. My mum ran the canteens there on race day, suppling the hot (short's) pies and soup.
Not to forget starting up and running The Bogside boarding kennels (for dogs) that ran there for many years.

[Nosht]

A truly great racecourse, Lester Piggot even rode here, as the ground was always raceable even in the coldest winter.
It closed as ICI had bought the area for expansion, which never happened & all fixtures were transferred to Ayr.
I have many happy memories of point to pointing here during the 70's but the course latterly was closed to the public because of the dangerous state of the buildings & only some stables remained, with the fixtures also being transferred to Lanark, Ayr then to Overton Farm in Carluke.

Regards,

N.