Rouken Glen Park

History

Rouken Glen Park won the UK's Best Park as voted by YOU! 2016 Award at the Fields in Trust awards ceremony on 30 November 2016 – coming top in a public vote from 214 nominated parks across the UK.

Features

The glen has many of the typical features of an Edwardian urban park, such as a boating pond started in 1923 by Sir Robert McAlpine to replace a former curling pond. Rouken Glen includes a large waterfall on the Auldhouse Burn surrounded by steep woodland; the waterfall is based on a natural waterfall, doubled in height to form a reservoir to supply the printworks downstream at Thornliebank during the early 19th century. There is a walled garden in the grounds of the former manor, Thornliebank House (demolished 1965).

Directly to the south of the park is a golf course (part of a David Lloyd Leisure club based at Deaconsbank, at the southern extremity of which (close to the Neilston branch railway line) is a 16th-century circular dovecote.

Trivia

The park features in an episode of Scottish comedy series Rab C. Nesbitt, when Rab gets a job sweeping leaves by the pond. A scene from the film Trainspotting was also filmed in Rouken Glen, and the pondside cafeteria, 'Boaters', was featured in an episode of the BBC Scotland drama series Sea of Souls.

References

References

1. "About the park".
2. "About us".
3. "Rouken Glen - A History in Pictures".
4. (1 December 2016). "Rouken Glen Park recognised with top UK title". BBC Scotland.
5. [https://canmore.org.uk/site/197155/glasgow-thornliebank-rouken-glen-park-thornliebank-house Glasgow, Thornliebank, Rouken Glen Park, Thornliebank House], [[Canmore (database). Canmore]]
6. [https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/clubs/glasgow-rouken-glen/at-glasgow-rouken-glen/golf Golf], David Lloyd Glasgow Rouken Glen
7. [https://canmore.org.uk/site/43909/thornliebank-holm-farm-dovecot Thornliebank, Holm Farm, Dovecot], [[Canmore (database). Canmore]]
8. (27 January 2017). "Surprisingly beautiful places that appear in Trainspotting". The Telegraph.