Le Cirque De La Knightswood. Anniesland.

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This is a walk that does not appear in many, if any, guide books but it is a five star green walk in the north west of Glasgow that is well worth doing, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area and the districts you will travel through.  The title is a nod to the Cirque de la Solitude on the GR20 in Corsica, which I have done decades ago. This is a famous high level mountain bowl on that Corsican backpacking route and it was looking across 'The Knightswood Alps' from one hill top towards the other, (across the rim of the bowl in other words) that I thought of it as a cirque... and a spectacular balcony trail. Which it is.

And you have fantastic free standing monoliths to gaze at every bit as interesting as mountain pinnacles and spires... in this case a large collection of high rise towers.... and magnificent woodland in the valleys...and alpine meadows covered in flowers. Takes 2 to 4 hours to do the walk at an easy pace.

You can either start it from Anniesland Cross (train or bus to this point) or park car on Archerhill Road near Knightswood Park pond. Walking from Anniesland Cross starts at Bearsden Road then heads up Glencoe Street. At the right angle turn on Glencoe Street you will find this opening to a tarmac path, seen above,...and below. Anniesland Tower in distance. A Cat A listed hi rise. Only one in Scotland. So a good start point.... for the 4 hour walk.

This is the opening on Glencoe Street and you go forward then turn right here. This tarmac pleasant green path takes you between various districts then crosses Fulton Street and past the Hut and Temple Road Recreation Ground then up Trinley Road and Trinley Brae. This is the 4 hour walk as it now links in with the 2 hour walk,  returning to Anniesland Cross either via the Forth and Clyde Canal on foot.... or bus or train... after completing the circle walk though. If parking at Knightwood Park Pond ( free parking beside the pond or in adjacent quiet streets.) this 2 hour walk is an easier circular one. To start...... explore north through Knightswood Park to reach Great Western Road. Cross that to the old red brick school on Blairdardie Road where you will find Trinley Brae, a wildflower meadow on a hillside.

A flight of stairs climbs this hill directly but trend right instead either up a tarmac diagonal path with lighting poles, seen here, or a grass one, as here, to reach the start of Mace Road. ( Many of the Knightswood street names have a medieval theme to them. Reputedly Templar Knights lived here in the past. 12th century or thereabouts.  Hence Knights Wood.)

From the start of Mace Road a high level balcony trail, seen here,  leads across Trinley Brae towards Rotherwood Avenue and Tower Hill. 

Views across Glasgow and Paisley are usually excellent. This is the Yoker /Renfrew Swing Bridge as seen from Trinley Brae. The 4 white poles marking the route of the River Clyde.

Knightswood Park and Lincoln Avenue Hi Rise Flats from Trinley Brae.

Having traversed Trinley Brae from Mace Road to Rotherwood Avenue you will find the Forth and Clyde Canal below so follow that down through Blairdardie towards Clydebank. Just watch out for bikes here coming up silently behind you as this section is popular with cyclists.

All this walk so far has been very lush and green using sylvan corridors, meadows, park lands and hillsides so if that's not the case you have gone wrong somewhere. Forth and Clyde canal path here in photo running beside Blairdardie. At Kelso Street you leave the canal altogether and head for Dyke Road where you pick up the wee park beside Clarion Road. This green strip runs along the north edge of Knightswood Golf Course.

This is the 'wee park' seen here above which leads you back to Knightswood Park pond. Other optional variations on this walk include a circuit of Knightswood Golf Course via Loanfoot Avenue and Lincoln Avenue then up through the high rise flats there to reach Pikeman Road.

This is Knightswood golf course from Loanfoot Avenue. A quiet and pleasant minor road.

The Pikeman Road stairs. This is the other half of the Cirque...the opposite hillside.

 Which looks across at Trinley Brae, seen here in the distance. It is an easy route to follow and an enjoyable one, with great views, which is why I've added street names to pin it down. From here you walk along Pikeman Road to Knightswood Cross then up Knightswood Road past the local shops there to reach Trinley Brae. Basically a circle walk with the straight walk from Anniesland added on as an option. Hence 2 or 4 hours at an easy pace. With a leisurely lunch stop of course. Might as well enjoy the experience.

I'll let the rest of the photos from this walk speak for themselves. Covid memorial bench. Pikeman Road.

The view from that bench looking north.

Sweet Mock Orange. An aromatic profusion of white petals found along the canal.

Blairdardie from Trinley Brae.

Erigeron. Sea Breeze. Colourful daisies usually found beside the coast or planted in rock gardens.

Vanessa Cardui or Painted Lady butterfly.

A sweet treat for me halfway round. Local shops at Knightswood Cross. Yum yum. Loved these since 14 years old. Still do.

The BMX Centre sits right beside Knightswood Park pond and in June/ July it is a mass of clover, busy bees, and butterflies.

Ringlet Butterfly.

Clover Meadow. BMX Centre.

Daisy Strip. BMX Centre.

Orange Hawkweed. Vivid colour splurge.

Pink Thistles.

Swans on the canal.

High Knightswood and Trinley Brae traverse. Walking right to left along it.

BMX Centre. Back path to Hi Rise Flats.

and a link to one of the best films about childhood adventures you will ever see. Moonrise Kingdom. If you haven't seen it... you are really missing out. It's magical stuff. Genuine Alchemy.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28ddc7

 

Levengrove Park. Dumbarton. Havoc Grasslands. A Garden in Eden.

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As a full week of good warm weather had been predicted for early July my thoughts soon turned to a few favourite, easy to reach, walks I'd enjoy at this time of year. First up was Dumbarton and Levengrove Park. Dumbarton and The Lang Craigs, above.

25c predicted today and only 30 minutes drive in the car with The River Leven and the River Clyde bordering two sides of this fantastic park ( free car park right beside it.) so a good spot for any cool breeze wafting off the water.

Not only a large open park with sweeping grass meadows running down to the seaside (River Clyde Estuary here) but with an ever changing and stunning flower and ornate tree garden as a centrepiece. A real gem of a place

And at this time of year... a hedonistic delight... and the nearest Scotland gets to a tropical paradise... or heaven on earth. Yet so easy to reach. And cheap. Bus and Train available. Another solo visit this time.... by car.

Happy dog with a ball.

A beautiful park and well maintained.

A day of sunshine and infrequent humid showers but gentle rain falling so just the job for cooling the air. Levengrove Park and Dumbarton Rock.

After visiting the flower garden I continued on down to the waters edge and followed the coastline path west towards Castlehill and Ardoch.

 From formal strict glory to wilder flower meadows.

Levengrove Park Fountain.

It did turn fairly dark and murky at times with the threat of a proper drenching but sullen and brooding it remained. Light drizzle only. Renfrewshire here, above, awaiting its fate. Thunderstorm building slowly in the damp sultry heat .... or not. Gloomy and green it stayed. So I got naked.

The hot weather seems to have prompted my taste buds to try new things. 35p packet soup. B and M store. Very tasty. Not exactly filling but memorable. I'd get it again just for the taste alone. 5 minute cook time. Chuck contents into boiling water, stir well , wait 2 mins to expand fully....with heat off ....then eat it

I'd also get all three of these again at the Lidl store. Mango and Coconut Ice Cream. Green Tea and Lemon Ice Cream and Dragon Fruit Ice Lollies. All three excellent. A scoop of each one in a bowl together making an enticing mix of different flavours. Explore the world with Lidl and Aldi.

On the path to the Havoc Grasslands.

Which is a pleasant coastal strip of wild flower meadows and buttercup lawns. Shoreline birds, assorted insects, fox and feline await.

Some parts full of lush dog roses, above.... The perfect scent... treasured above all others. 

....and in some places waist to head high sweetly scented blooms, beloved by bee and butterfly...and frankly containing some hideously deformed tiny crawling creatures... on the edge of sight. But still there.

Some parts open and empty. A buttercup meadow.

And in some parts .. a horrible hidden world awaits. Of damselflies and secretive stealthy little hunters.  (Look closely for them, above.)

The return walk goes inland at either the havoc road exit ( football pitches. car park. caves. tarmac road) or carry further on to sewage works area then via an inland path over railway line then up through woods to the western edge of Dumbarton. Both routes then return via Cardross Road A 814 on pavements back to the park and car.

I was inspired by the beautiful gardens here so much I thought I would replicate the exotic tropical theme in my evening meal. So.....A chilli Chicken soup first....

... then boiled rice, Uncle Ben's Sweet and Sour pineapple with sweet pepper mix. Garnish of golden sultanas and raisins. Superb. A great day out. A  lovely meal afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IoaKGENB1k&list=RD9IoaKGENB1k&start_radio=1 

and a real tropical Eden in this link. A unique moving painting. A beautiful and fitting end.

Cardonald Murals. Bellahouston Park. The Great Forest.

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As it was a day of sunshine and showers I thought I would have a solo trip a couple of weeks ago to Bellahouston Park. One of my favourites for views. Three gable end murals sit close to each other on Paisley Road West just across the road from these flats and near the junction for Mosspark Boulevard.

The first is for Winnie Drinkwater. The first female to hold a commercial pilots licence... anywhere on earth. And she went on to be an aeronautical engineer... also one of the first females to get into that profession... anywhere. And she came from Cardonald. Hence the mural.

The next gable end down and only a minutes walk further on is the new 'Still Game' mural. A popular long running Scottish comedy about two pensioners and their friends based in a Glasgow housing estate. The very first episode of which took place in South Nitshill ( Whitriggs Road) then moved to hi rise flats in Maryhill. The pub they drank in was in Ruchill. And their local Paper Shop was in Townhead. The golf course episode they played on was located in Knightswood and this district was also the setting for many other episodes as well. (For distance 'views over the city' type scenes along with Maryhill canal basin outdoor views.) Victoria Park was the location for the park bench episode... and Central Station for the elastic bat episode....so they definitely got in their 10,000 healthy steps a day going round that lot. More than I do every day. Funnily enough I don't remember Cardonald ever featuring in it :o) One of the few areas of Glasgow that didn't appear. But maybe I missed that episode.

The third mural in this area is another gable end one a minute away. At the junction of Paisley Road West and Mosspark Boulevard. A traditional Scottish piper image. An image known world wide, especially at international football matches and weddings but outside of that... and the Scottish tourist industry... not what we generally wear. I've only put on a kilt on three occasions in my life... all for weddings... then immediately back into the hire shop again afterwards. And very few if any Scottish football fans wear one to their local football matches. Rangers, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen, etc. Not a single kilt on show there.... or seen on the street in general life normally. But it works a treat abroad... expected even. 

An older mural I liked on a previous trip, seen from Cardonald Cemetery. Schoolkids input obviously but brilliant. Love the faces and the vivid colours.

I then parked the car on Mosspark Boulevard to go into Bellahouston Park and was lucky here as they were just installing the fences for the Summer Season of Concerts. 27th of June to 4th July 2026. Major music acts appearing so I was glad I missed that just by lucky chance as it would have been mobbed. 30,000 to 80,000 folk predicted. Look at the woods here, above. This is my concert hall since birth. And it's always been free. The first world wide web... Evolving and brewing magic over many millions of years. Infinitely complex and beautiful. All I need in life. The great forest.

A flying grizzly bear. Shouldn't be able to do it...fly that is...as aerodynamic as a fridge freezer or a washing machine with wings... but nobody told the bumblebee.

The bee meadow at Bellahouston Park. Common Spotted Orchid. Funnily enough all the bees were elsewhere.

I found them all in the walled garden instead. No wind, plenty of flowers, easy commute between plants.

The complexity of flowers.

High Rise Flats from the Walled Garden... which is next to C.R Mackintosh designed 'House for an Art Lover.'

I like this aspect of it. Pretty.

And this side is ok as well...

But I've always thought this side was not. Reminds me too much of deck access estates and brutalist architecture. If I lived here... seeing this everyday... I'd be depressed...

so I thought...

I'd change it... 

with some tasteful subtle additions...

...it does have art in the title after all...

 Much better... a house that's always happy to see me.

Even the tame elephant that wanders around the vast plains of Bellahouston Park thought it was an improvement... and came over to see it...

 Suits a forest environment better I think. Free the Bellahouston Forest Elephant #  Boo. Give it a companion at least. Chains are for children...

Mosspark view.

Cardonald view.

The tower and the raven.

Much further up Paisley Road West there are other murals.

Cat and dog.

The colours of June.

This is probably one of the most beautiful 5 minute films you will ever see in your lifetime. And the most profound. Will we save the planet? Is that still an option? And if this is a single teaspoon of life... does it get even smaller than this? Is there any end point for living things? A stage/level too small to have any life existing in it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1JiJhWkM9M&list=RDf1JiJhWkM9M&start_radio=1