Tollcross Park

Run time: 31:18
Distance covered: 3.2m (5.15km)
Soundtrack: BBC Radio 4 drama, The Man With the Golden Gun
Conditions: drizzly



Taking a break from worrying about coronavirus to get out for my first park in a while.

I had been scheduled to run a 10k in Callander this weekend, but unsurprisingly it was cancelled. I'm very much a solo runner, so if Parkrun ends up being cancelled, it won't make any difference to me. I was talking about that with friends who do regularly take part, though and Parkrun is an interesting case. It's not like cancelling a sports match or a rock concert. Because of its semi-organic nature, it's probably impossible to actually prevent Parkrun from taking place, even if the official events are called off, because a lot of people will just show up at their regular park at 9am on a Saturday, whether it's official or not. 


Anyway - Tollcross Park. This is a nice old Victorian park in dire need of some TLC. This is one of the parks with a Wikipedia page, so I know it opened in 1897 and is famed for its international rose trials. They still have the rose gardens, although March probably isn't the optimum time to view them. I do still have this stuck in my head:




Like Kings Park, it has a big old house, this one built in 1848 for James Dunlop, one of the owners of the Clyde Iron Works. Unlike the house in Kings Park, this one isn't flats. It was for a while, then it was an old folk's home, now it's a disused building.


It's a shame, but not as big of a shame as what has happened to the winter gardens. Originally constructed in 1870 in Ardrossan and gifted to the Glasgow Corporation for park when it opened, the structure was damaged by a storm in 2010 and has been closed and falling to pieces ever since.



It's a good example of the importance of location, I guess. It's a good park, surrounded by sandstone tenements and villas. If it was in the west end those flats and houses would be quadruple the value, and the state of the park itself might be better. Though even the parks in more affluent areas aren't immune from local council budget cuts. Ah well, hopefully someone can save the winter gardens before it's too late.

In the meantime, it's still a nice park. Good, challenging run with lots to look at, and pretty hilly in places. I've heard the proper runners say things like "Not a PB route", and I can see why. Great view north at the top of the hilliest section though.











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