Cuningar Loop - the new Glasgow Zoo

[jim]

Its a deal!

Where shall we meet and does anybody else want to come?

And is there anywhere else in tha vicinity worth a look?

[kelvin_hall]

I lived for a while in the flats across from there. It is indeed a haven of wild life protected by lazyness of folk who can't be bothered to get to it. We used to go over to pick apples and brambles.

[crusty_bint]

I think this is a great idea... better than flets! I welcome it whole-heartedly and wish it all the success in the world!

Was talking to Sharon about it and it was suggested coming up with our own "master plan" for the Loop... answers on a jpg folks!

Crusty

[Socceroo]

The following is taken from the book “From Glasgow’s Treasure Chest” by James Cowan :

THE LINKS OF CLYDE (ON THE SOUTH BANK) (July 1933)

“.......I was now on the biggest loop of the river, and found it a very pleasant walk, with fields of corn, cabbages, and potatoes, filling up most of the land enclosed by the river; so that when I came round to the other side and i still saw fields of corn, cabbages, and potatoes beside me, although I was now walking in exactly the opposite direction, I was impressed by the extent of this cultivated area, until I realised I was merely on the other side of the same fields.

Part of this ground is being filled up by refuse from Rutherglen, and the smart dust-carts of that town passed and repassed me as I approached Dalmarnock Bridge......”

[scallopboy]

From http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5057752.html

£2m country park gives new life to derelict land

A NEW £2million country park will form the centrepiece of a multi-million pound regeneration plan in one of Glasgow's most deprived areas. The 77-acre park on the banks of the Clyde will be modelled on Mugdock Park, near Milngavie. It will be sited on a derelict greenfield site near Cuningar Loop, where the Clyde curves between Dalmarnock and Rutherglen. The park will feature cycling paths, picnic areas, nature reserves and areas set aside for country walks and horseriding. Bosses are also looking into the prospect of maximising its close proximity to the Clyde by creating water sport facilities. It will form part of a massive £248m Clyde Gateway Regeneration project, which will create around 21,000 jobs, mainly in construction, 1000 homes and clear 865 acres of derelict and contaminated land. Although the park will be primarily for residents living in the new residential developments, project managers hope it will be used by residents across the East End. City-based landscape architects Gillespies have been drafted in by South Lanarkshire Council to oversee the project, which is expected to be completed by spring 2008. Project manager Steve Nelson said: "The park is the first piece in the jigsaw puzzle of the regeneration project. "It is not intended to be a formal park like Glasgow Green. We are thinking more along the lines of Mugdock. "We will be maximising the lush vegetation already there and introducing wildflower meadows, cycle paths and conservation areas. "The plan is that this will be a park for the future community but we hope it would be used for recreational purposes across the city. "We hope it would encourage people to enjoy some fresh air and get some exercise." The Clyde Gateway regeneration area stretches between Bridgeton Cross, Shawfield and Rutherglen, focusing on the Dalmarnock area, south of London Road. However, plans for a £35m Amazonian zoo near the new park site have been thrown into doubt after the project failed to win a £250,000 lottery grant. Bosses are looking into other ways of funding the scheme. Last month, Dalmarnock was confirmed as the site for Glasgow's Commonwealth Games village, with 1000 houses built for 6000 athletes if the city wins its games bid.

[conn75]

So which is it? Country Park or Biodome?

And how would a £35m project fail because £250,000 of Lottery money wasn't forthcoming?

[bigboab5]

Hey Guys,

I have been reading through your forum, on and off for a wee while. I have always been curious about the loop, and became even more intriqued when I started using the cycle path that runs along the opposite bank from it about 3 years ago. When I first started using it I notice what seemed like a little island at the northern end of it. After almost 3 years of cycling along here, I only noticed this summer, that it is not a natural formation, but a Man made construction of some kind. It piqued my curiosity even more. So I studied some OS maps of the area from .... Oh I forget when, the 1850's I guess. And to my surprise I discovered that the loop was at one time the location for the water supply for the city. Also on the map, I noticed a ferry, and it looks like it could be around the area that the "Island" is in. So my question is. What is/was this structure? It must be man made, as the masonary is far to rectangular to be natural stone.

Any ideas folks?

Some pics

[Bee]

Thanks BigBoab5 for posting the maps and photographs!

The structure is very curious indeed, I really hope that someone will be able to solve this mystery.

In regards to the plans for the area, I guess that a lot of them have been changed since The Commonwealth Games got the green light. According to an architect I spoke to recently, there has been a lot of "whacky" proposals for the loop but nothing has had the go-ahead yet. Presumably the fact that the land is contaminated complicates things. I hope those brambles and apples were sound to eat...

It is a very interesting area, I hope to be able to visit and document it myself before it gets transformed.

[Fossil]

Thanks BigBoab5 for posting the maps and photographs!

The structure is very curious indeed, I really hope that someone will be able to solve this mystery.

In regards to the plans for the area, I guess that a lot of them have been changed since The Commonwealth Games got the green light. According to an architect I spoke to recently, there has been a lot of "whacky" proposals for the loop but nothing has had the go-ahead yet. Presumably the fact that the land is contaminated complicates things. I hope those brambles and apples were sound to eat...

It is a very interesting area, I hope to be able to visit and document it myself before it gets transformed.

If you go Bee mind those holes you fall down one its a long way back up. Also watch out for the Japanese knotweed which is cordoned off

Fossil

[bigboab5]

Thanks BigBoab5 for posting the maps and photographs!

The structure is very curious indeed, I really hope that someone will be able to solve this mystery.

In regards to the plans for the area, I guess that a lot of them have been changed since The Commonwealth Games got the green light. According to an architect I spoke to recently, there has been a lot of "whacky" proposals for the loop but nothing has had the go-ahead yet. Presumably the fact that the land is contaminated complicates things. I hope those brambles and apples were sound to eat...

It is a very interesting area, I hope to be able to visit and document it myself before it gets transformed.

Thanks for the reply Bee, but just what is it "contaminated" with? Is it a remnant of when it was a resevoir? or did it have another use after that? I am fascinated by this piece of land, and wanna know all I can about it. Please, someone enlighten me. You see, I'm gonna be leaving this place in about a year and half, taking the Mol back to the States. If anybody is going down to the loop for a donner , please lemmie know.....

[Bee]

Regarding the "contamination" I am none the wiser. It was metioned to me by one of the architecs involved in the commonwealth game's athletes village, which is right on the other side of the river from the loop. I think that most land in Dalmarnock and surrounding areas has to be treated before it is built upon because of its industrial past. I think that Clyde Gateway is responsible for the loop's future.

I went for a walk around the area on Thursday last week and noticed that there is construction work right opposite the wierd "structure". God knows what they're building. On the picture at the very bottom of this page it looks like it could be some kind of bridge? http://www.urbanrealm.co.uk/features/26 ... _gold.html

[Bee]

Here is a note on the derelict land problem http://www.urbanrealm.co.uk/news/2209/W ... oblem.html

[Socceroo]

If you go Bee mind those holes you fall down one its a long way back up. Also watch out for the Japanese knotweed which is cordoned off

Fossil

Do you mean Giant Hogweed which is the one that has the huge stems, white flowers and burns your skin? Japanese Knotweed is the purple stemmed cane like one that's roots grow everywhere and can damage roads and foundations etc.

Saying that probably both of them will be found in the Cuningar Loop.

I reckon the stone structure in the River is probably the remains of an old Jetty where the boats tied up into when serving the Water treatment works there. I have quite an old large scale OS Map of that area from around the 1920's, I will need to dig it out and have a look to see if shows anything.

[bigboab5]

Hey there, thanks for all the replies, most interesting. before the path was closed off for more work to be done, just near where the "island" is, on the north side, they dug out 4 very large holes on the ground between the path and the river, they were deep enough that a man could stand in them and not see over the top. As bee has suggested to me in a PM, it does look like they are gonna build a bridge across at this point. so perhaps these holes were part of the foundations. The cycle path reopens in Oct, so perhaps I will find out then. though I am not holding my breath on that one.

[War Baby]

I lived at Allan St, Dalmarnock from 1976 till 1990, and often wondered about the long, narrow "island" in the river, as shown in the photographs. I kept thinking: Is that just a natural thing? But it never looked like it to me. The idea mentioned that it was an jetty in the old days seems a good answer to me.

Further up the river, I had an allotment, just beside Belvidere Hospital, and would walk the path from the high flats to there all the time, and now and then I would see Ben Partridge, in his boat with the outboard motor at the back, coming up and down the river. Once, I saw him hauling a dead body out of the river, just opposite to where that old jetty is.

Around that time (the early eighties), some folk who lived in the high flats in Allan St made an attempt to preserve the isolated part of the loop, and made a film which they named: "The Only Piece Of Countryside We've Got" and they advertised that it would be shown soon to the general public somewhere around Bridgeton Cross. I can't remember exactly where it was (does anyone remember this?) but I went to it one evening, and it was a very well made film. Throughout it they played the classical piece of music called "The Rites Of Spring" which suited the film perfectly. They had filmed flowers in the "island part" of the loop, and birds, and they made a commentary to it. It was a really slick piece of work!

I just wonder if this film still exists. Has anyone else seen it or heard of it?