Adventure Is Where You Find It. A Local Ski Day.

                                           ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN

  A day of snowfall at low levels, during what has been so far, a very mild winter, was not to be overlooked so I immediately got out the cross country skis  and set off for a local glide and slide around the area. The Forth and Clyde Canal at Anniesland here, above. By using this normally green but now white corridor snaking through the north west corner of the city you can link up several parks/ green spaces/ quiet minor roads to make a satisfying walk or cross country ski route.

 I did not know how long the snow would last but assumed it would melt quickly so I wanted to take advantage of it as it freed up a large chunk of land normally out of bounds to the general public. Kilpatrick Hills here seen from Lincoln Avenue in Knightswood.

 The land in question being Knightswood Golf Course, normally busy with golfers and bouncing golf balls but under snow transformed into a new chunk of empty ground to go exploring in. And unlike the higher hills no uneven ground, boulders, holes, or tussocks to trip over or slow you down. Glasgow, and Edinburgh, sits at the same latitude as the frozen Hudson Bay in Canada, the lower wooded parts of Alaska, and is further north than both Moscow and Lake Baikal in Russia. Granted, they have a much colder climate than we have with the slender island of the UK warmed in winter by the Gulf Stream/ North Atlantic Drift and no part of it far from the influence of the sea. An amazing fact nevertheless that many people don't even think about in familiar old Britain with its usually temperate climate so better hope that wonderful Gulf Stream stays stable.  Dog walker on golf course here, above.

 Only when the wind brings weather from the Arctic North or from the East, across Siberia, do we get bitter spells of weather and this winter, so far, it has arrived from the South bringing much warmer air with it.

 I just enjoyed taking advantage of a brief cold spell, sliding over smooth flat ground normally out of bounds the rest of the year.

 Of course when we do get air from these places the temperature can drop alarmingly and I remember taking these photos when the River Clyde froze solid after several weeks of sub zero temperatures when it got down to minus 10 in Glasgow for over a week, and dropped to minus 20 in the Scottish Highlands. The Tuxedo Princess here, a floating car ferry turned into a nightclub, which dates this photo to the late 1980s as it was normally berthed in Newcastle before that, and returned back there, still used as a floating nightclub, popular with celebrities, until the early 2000s  Originally built in Dumbarton for ferry crossings from Stranraer in Scotland to Northern Ireland.

When I took these in the late 1980s  the River Clyde was solid right down to the Renfrew Ferry... in those days a much larger, heavier craft than the current one used this crossing so was able to act as an icebreaker in the river, carving an open corridor through the ice, bank to bank, with everything downstream cracking open as a result freeing the rest of the river which only had chunks of ice floating in it, moving gently downstream and aided in part by tidal salt water flowing up to remain unfrozen below that point. A memorable sight. A harsh winter for wildlife though.

On another occasion, March 2018, ( the infamous 'Beast from the East') we had a large dump of snow, even at low levels, like here, within the heart of  Glasgow City Centre bringing normally busy streets to a standstill and causing public transport to grind to a halt, albeit briefly.

 I took advantage of that time as well, catching a morning bus into the city centre, having a walk around then getting one of the last buses back out again  to my house on the outskirts before the snow got too deep for them to operate in.

 

In the city parks it was even deeper, allowing locals to build snow tunnels and igloos in six foot deep snow drifts.

 

This present fall was just enough to have fun with and in the city of one hundred hills... and many urban mountain ranges... ie the  various hi rise flat clusters...I had no need to fly away to Alaska, Canada, or Siberia to enjoy myself. I was already there...in my imagination.... for a few hours at least.

 

There's something very inspiring about any tall structure standing in the landscape... be it jungle pyramid, lofty mountain range, huge trees... or in this case... skyscrapers. Always awe inspiring...
 

...and ascetically pleasing. This is a modern temple and these are the  stairs leading up to it. Hard to reach on old fashioned cross country skis though.

 

Once up there however it was flat again and any minor roads held enough snow to glide along happily. (or shuffle and slide in my case) 

From this higher location good views opened up over the district of Knightswood and the Kilpatrick Hills beyond.

 

Drumchapel tenements and the snowy hills behind...

 

Who needs to escape elsewhere when you have all this? Loganair plane landing at Glasgow airport with its distinctive tartan tail fin.

 By using this golf course (or the adjacent Wee Park running along beside the Garscadden Burn nearby if golf course is out of bounds again)...Knightswood Park, Trinley Brae, and the canal tow path, all fit together... and a good walk or ski under snow can be worked out of a few hours duration. Within an urban area yet mostly undertaken through green sections of pleasant land. Knightswood Cross and twin churches here, above, from another green hillside section.

Looking across at Trinley Brae and High Knightswood... where I was heading next.

The view from Trinley Brae towards Scotstoun and the hidden River Clyde...

Glasgow...Winter in North West

 

Radnor Park Flats in Clydebank.

Evening sunlight in Knightswood Park.

 'Carpe Diem'    as they say in Rome. The next day it melted and we are back to milder conditions.