Maxwell Park
Run time: 30:10
Distance covered: 3.3 miles (5.31 km)
Soundtrack: Jimmy Eat World, Surviving
Conditions: warm and sunny
I ran a circuit of Maxwell Park when I completed my first 10k a while back, when things were still relatively normal. I was out in the car to do my weekly drop-off of supplies for my dad and my brother, so since I was in the area, I decided to cover it properly, and cross a couple of other small parks off the list at the same time.
One of the weird things about quarantine, speaking as someone who's out on foot quite a lot, is seeing how many more people are out on the streets walking or running or cycling. Around my neighbourhood, it's getting quite crowded on the narrow pavements, so it was nice to visit a part of the city with decadently wide streets and pavements, where everyone can give each other yards of space.
Apparently that's because Pollokshields was developed in the Victorian era according to a plan by the Stirling-Maxwells, the original landowners, and laid out by Edinburgh architect David Rhin. The Wikipedia page is informative, explaining that the western part of the area is mostly giant villas with huge tree-lined avenues, while the eastern part is tightly-packed tenements. The park itself is in the heart of the area, donated by John Stirling Maxwell in 1888, and sits next to the railway station with its Victorian platform building intact.
I started on Terregles Avenue and headed up to the first of the three parks on the list: Maxwell Square. It's the kind of space that would almost certainly be a private garden for the surrounding tenements in the west end, but this one is just a communal bit of green space with a small play park
.
I headed back down Shields Road and up a slope to Titwood Park, a tucked-away green space with a cool overgrown stone garden and a couple of benches. One of those interesting oases in the city that people walk past without having time to explore.
Back along Glencairn Drive towards Maxwell Park itself - another nice, wide avenue where you can run in the middle of the road to keep a safe distance from cyclists and families out for their daily walk.
Weirdest spot of the run: someone hanging their washing out between trees...
Maxwell is one of my favourite parks - not too big, not too small, lots of mature trees, an old boating pond with swans casually drifting by, and some absolutely beautiful villas overlooking it on all sides including some by Alexander Greek Thompson and other noted architects.
It's not as crowded as some of the bigger parks, but it's not deserted either. Just the right amount of bustle. You wouldn't think it's only a couple of miles from the city centre. Basically, it's the Goldilocks park, and so far, it's number one on my ranking.
Distance covered: 3.3 miles (5.31 km)
Soundtrack: Jimmy Eat World, Surviving
Conditions: warm and sunny
I ran a circuit of Maxwell Park when I completed my first 10k a while back, when things were still relatively normal. I was out in the car to do my weekly drop-off of supplies for my dad and my brother, so since I was in the area, I decided to cover it properly, and cross a couple of other small parks off the list at the same time.
One of the weird things about quarantine, speaking as someone who's out on foot quite a lot, is seeing how many more people are out on the streets walking or running or cycling. Around my neighbourhood, it's getting quite crowded on the narrow pavements, so it was nice to visit a part of the city with decadently wide streets and pavements, where everyone can give each other yards of space.
Apparently that's because Pollokshields was developed in the Victorian era according to a plan by the Stirling-Maxwells, the original landowners, and laid out by Edinburgh architect David Rhin. The Wikipedia page is informative, explaining that the western part of the area is mostly giant villas with huge tree-lined avenues, while the eastern part is tightly-packed tenements. The park itself is in the heart of the area, donated by John Stirling Maxwell in 1888, and sits next to the railway station with its Victorian platform building intact.
I started on Terregles Avenue and headed up to the first of the three parks on the list: Maxwell Square. It's the kind of space that would almost certainly be a private garden for the surrounding tenements in the west end, but this one is just a communal bit of green space with a small play park
I headed back down Shields Road and up a slope to Titwood Park, a tucked-away green space with a cool overgrown stone garden and a couple of benches. One of those interesting oases in the city that people walk past without having time to explore.
Back along Glencairn Drive towards Maxwell Park itself - another nice, wide avenue where you can run in the middle of the road to keep a safe distance from cyclists and families out for their daily walk.
Weirdest spot of the run: someone hanging their washing out between trees...
Maxwell is one of my favourite parks - not too big, not too small, lots of mature trees, an old boating pond with swans casually drifting by, and some absolutely beautiful villas overlooking it on all sides including some by Alexander Greek Thompson and other noted architects.
It's not as crowded as some of the bigger parks, but it's not deserted either. Just the right amount of bustle. You wouldn't think it's only a couple of miles from the city centre. Basically, it's the Goldilocks park, and so far, it's number one on my ranking.
Comments
Post a Comment