Dechmont Firing Range is in the southest corner of the city, on the outskirts of Cambuslang. The targets themselves nestle up against the foot of Dechmont Hill, which rises steeply behind them to about 600ft.
The range has been there for as long as I can remember, and has been MOD land since at least WWII - my grandparents met when my grandfather was stationed at barracks there from his home county of Norfolk during the war.
The main building is a fairly dull, low modern thing, then there's a large open area where the ranges themselves are situated. Each target has a long earth and sand bank built up against a concrete wall, behind which is a walkway and the old pulley mechanisms for hoisting the targets up. At the end of the three target ranges is usually a target store. There are three sets of these banks with targets behind them, most of which seem to have fallen into disuse. The western target, however, looks like it may still be used, but with the targets stuck to the wooden number boards in front of the bank instead of on the rusting pulley mechanisms. The sand on the earth bank in front of this target looks better maintained than the others.
Elsewhere on the site, a smaller range seems to exist to the west of the three main targets, no bigger than a football pitch. The shooters would appear to sit in a low tin shelter, and the grass here looks to be regularly cut.
I'm not sure how much the range gets used these days, but I think only the TA and cadets use it. Access to the area is not restricted when shooting is not taking place, but obviously you should avoid just walking in the front door of the main building! There are plenty of stiles and gates from the fields to the east of the range! You'll know that access is forbidden by the presence of flags - various flagpoles are dotted around the site, and you should not venture beyond them when the flags are flying. The most prominent one is on top of Dechmont Hill itself.
Incidentally, I trawled the internet looking for any history of the place, but only really found a brief mention of it on a few MOD sites. I was interested to find mention of it in the Cullen Report into Dunblane, though. Seems Thomas Hamilton once had a bit of a practice there! Despite a few stray incidents where roving bullets had hit car doors in Blantyre and kitchen windows in East Kilbride, the safety of the site was never really questioned until Dunblane, after which it was closed for a few years.
Anyways, on with the pics...
The main building on the right, on the left is a low bank which I presume they shot from? The open area leading up to the targets used to have a few of these banks, but is now so overgrown I can't see if the others are still there!
A curious little structure about halfway along the eastern side of the open area, a broken vent at the side seems to show that it's full of rusting steel wagon wheels! Apologies for the intrusion of Max the dog...
Looking towards the main target now, with Dechmont Hill looming in the background. The main flagpole might just be visible here at the right side of the ridge, and the eastern-most set of targets can just be seen as a low bank at the foot of the hill.
Closer shot of the easern-most targets. The lack of sand on the bank makes me suspect these are no longer used.
The target store at the end of this bank. Most of the target stores look long out of use too, although they are still fairly secure. Plywood cladding on some of the walls is, I guess, additional protection from poorly aimed shots!
Sign on the wall of the target store in the middle of the three ranges - sounds painful!
The other side of this target store, showing the plywood cladding.
Behind the middle set of targets, the concrete wall abutting the earth bank is on the right, and the rusty target hoists are on the left.
Slightly different angle on the above
The targets themselves are all fairly long - this is only halfway along the middle set.
The door on this one had been gotten at, but those army issue padlocks did their job! And do the army really have to always use that typeface??
The western-most of the three main targets, and the one I think might still be used most, due to the sand being fairly intact.
View from the top of these targets, showing the profile of the bank. Darn dog gets in the way again!
Similar view from atop the middle of the three targets.
Close-up of one of the target number boards. It looks to me like they attach the targets to these themselves now, given that the hoists are rusted to buggery. The holes in the wood look to be very small calibre though.
View of the whole site from the summit of Dechmont Hill itself, showing the small range to the left, and the main building in the middle. The views from Dechmont are absolutely fantastic over Glasgow and much of the Clyde Valley, I think I even prefer it to Cathkin Braes doe to the easterly aspects. On the evening I took the pics, alas, the sun was low in the west, so my shots of the city came out largely too dark. Will venture up again earlier in the day to improve on them!
Finally, again from the summit of Dechmont, Gilbertfield Castle stands crumbling away in a field just to the west of the range. I'll get some better shots of this another day and post them also. It's an L-shaped tower house dating from, I think, 1607.
Gary
Nice one.
