Bellahouston Park

On Sunday, we went to check out a new park -- Bellahouston Park promised many splendors: sunken garden, sculpture play area, Mackintosh-designed house, Alice in Wonderland-inspired maze, dry-slope skiing, etc.  As is the norm in life, some things lived up to our expectations and some things fell short.

The sunken garden in my mind was going to be a secret tangle of amazing plants, instead was concrete blocks in the former basement of the house that was part of the estate (owned by the Rowan family from 1726-1871) which became the park when the family donated it to the city.  The maze also was going to be a complicated, mirrored puzzle, but turned out to be quite simple, though it did have some interesting use of metal panels interspersed with the hedges.

The Mackintosh house was closed for a private event, so we couldn't see the exhibits there.

Still, the park was a great place to visit due to its sweeping vistas and multiple sculptures and fabulous pool.  In the middle of the park is a hill from which you can see the expanse of the park itself and the hills beyond -- a truly spectacular view.  At one end of the park is a play area designed by artists, so along with the usual playground equipment there are wooden chairs sunken in the ground, a rainbow bridge, and these giant, metal sculptures.

Sculptures near the Mackintosh house

"Homage to Shipbuilding" -- opposite side is a shipyard worker (owner of the dog)

"Foot and Arch" by Ganesh Gohain

A walled garden with a star-shaped bed -- never have seen that shape before.

Skiing without snow! We didn't try since it seemed a little silly to us, especially the people dressed in snowpants and parkas on a 50 degree day.

But the best aspect of this park, which will make us return again was the swimming pool at the leisure center.   Many choices -- lap lanes, showering fountain, whirlpool, slide.  You could even swim through a door to an outside part of the pool.

On the way back to the subway, we stopped into a chippery where Cormac ordered a hamburger -- it was dipped in batter and deep-fried (not what we expected)!

My dad and Holly arrived yesterday, and after a low-key day of the Botanics and dinner at the flat, today we'll take them on a full day of tourist fun!