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!

Victoria Park

This weekend, Liam was busy with a meeting and a Celtics vs. Rangers football game.

And wanting to keep my kids separated from their video games, streaming TV, and Facebook chatting, I decided to explore Glasgow's parks.  If you've been reading the blog, you know that we spend a lot of time at our closest parks, the Botanics (here) and Kelvingrove (here) and frequent the neighborhood playgrounds (here), so we needed to venture a little further afield.  After checking out parks on-line, I found there were two within walking distance of our flat.  On Sunday, we headed out to Victoria Park.

This park is small, but clean and well-maintained.  There is a large pond where many swans and ducks were hanging out.  The requisite statue -- every park has at least one.

The boys appreciated the mini-trampoline and the inflatable slide.

I enjoyed the variety of rhododendrons.

Finally, there is the Fossil Grove, which contained stumps of trees about 330 million years old.  Inside a building are some of the fossilized trees preserved in stone.  At one time, Glasgow's climate was similar to southern Florida, so these trees would have been part of a giant swamp.

A good outing including some new playground elements, but this park is not as expansive or interesting as the two closer to our flat.

Our Neighborhood -- West End Playgrounds

Thankfully, my kids have not reached the age where they refuse to go to playgrounds, so over the past few months we've explored all the playgrounds we can find close to our flat. This research came in handy when my four year old niece and two year old nephew were visiting. We knew the closest, the most little-kid oriented, the dirtiest, etc. Here are our ratings of four West End playgrounds, vetted by kids with ages ranging from 13 to 2.

Kelvingrove Park (off Kelvin Way -- map)

This playground is perfect for the younger set, with a mini-ropes course, airplane and train equipment, and smaller climbing structures. Close to the Kelvingrove Museum, it's a great spot to let out some energy. Adjacent is a skate/bike park, so you can also watch kids do tricks. And, there's always an ice cream truck parked here. Great park for kids age 2-10 (not much for older kids).

This equipment piece is called a witch's hat, which my children knew from reading Beano and Dandy, classic British comics that they borrowed from our friends, Martin and Lesa's collection.

Old Station Playground (on Hyndland Rd and Hughenden Rd, near Western Lawn and Tennis Club -- map)

This playground is a little off the beaten track, but worth the trek if kids want to climb ropes or play football (soccer). Although the football pitch is a little grubby with cracked pavement and beat-up goal posts, it's a good place to kick the ball around. Better for older kids, as Fenna at four years old was on the edge of being able to use the equipment.

Children's Play Area at Botanics (at the convergence of Byres Rd, Queen Margaret Dr, and Great Western Rd -- map)

This playground has the advantage of being the closest to our flat, but until the arrival of my niece and nephew we didn't go there too much (we would walk along the Kelvin Riverway instead). Once we had a two and four year old in tow, we hit this park twice in their four day stay and could have probably gone there every day. Although it can be crowded, the equipment is varied with some fun stuff for older kids (twirly things to stand on) and play structures suitable for the 2+ crowd. If you're visiting the Botanics and glasshouses (described here) with kids, this is a must stop!

Declan says the merry-go-round is too slow, but Fenna and Pepe enjoyed it anyway.

Check out those flying pony-tails!

Dowanhill Park (on Highburgh Rd, near Hyndland St and Dowanhill St -- map)

Declan's favorite, this park is nestled in the middle of a residential area, quite near Byres Road. It is often empty, so if you want a quiet playground with equipment appropriate for 4+ years, this should be your pick. Also, this playground is two blocks from the farmers' market (dates and described here), so it's a great stop-off when you're headed to buy fresh fruit and veg (and meat, scones, curry, sausages, etc.)

Declan says the merry-go-round is the fastest at this park.