Running the Parks

Run time : 30:25 Distance covered : 3.29 m (5.29km) Soundtrack :   David Tennant's podcast Conditions : sunny, early autumnal  Before I moved to the suburbs and became a boring dad, I used to have a flat in the west end of Glasgow. I still miss the old neighbourhood whenever I come back, particularly when I'm in one of my favourite spots, like the Botanic Gardens. I already knocked off a big chunk of the west end parks on my run back in June. I covered Victoria a couple of weeks ago, and I'm saving Kelvingrove for the big finish, so that left just two west end parks. One I was very familiar with, and one which I had never visited before. The latter was Bingham's Pond. Another park I must have driven by a hundred times without noticing. It's nestled between Great Western Road and Gartnavel General Hospital. Having run so many parks on this project (96 as of today), I've noticed them falling into categories: e.g. Classic Victorian, Uninspiring 60s, Nature Reserve,...

Run time : 31:08 Distance covered : 3.33m (5.36km) Soundtrack :   Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast Conditions : overcast Another excursion to the north. There are still quite a few destinations to work through in the north and north west, because lockdown meant I was focusing on the closer and more familiar south and south east over the summer. As I've said before, the north of Glasgow is the part of the city I know least. I don't tend to have to go to it or to it to get anywhere, so it's almost like visiting an area of a different town entirely. First I headed across the Forth & Clyde canal to Possil Marsh . Technically not a park but a wildlife reserve, but it's the same idea as Robroyston Park , except more interesting.  The marsh is managed by Scottish Wildlife Trust, and was once part of a network of marshes across central Scotland. It has a looping footpath that takes you around the edge and connects to the canal walkway. It's a good flat run wit...