Not one to be visited at night, Ruchill Park nevertheless holds a special place in my heart for various reasons (we go way back).
I'll get the basics out the way first before I indulge in a pool of memories. It's big enough, with entrances near Firhill Stadium and out at Bilsland Drive. There's a small playpark in here which has been updated to offer more to local kids, and some pretty flower beds, but notmuch exciting if you're looking for exotic hot houses and statues. It's one to steer clear of at night since it becomes occupied by local youths who will go out of their way to terrorise you at every opportunity. But it's fine for dog walking during the right hours of the day.
I love this park however, because my gran used to take me here when I was almost too young to remember properly. I returned in my teenage years since my best friend used to stay around the corner. We would escape to the top of the hill and take to the swings (which have now sadly disappeared). It was a great place to talk about life's greatest mysteries (namely for me to wail about how my geeky ass couldn't get a boyfriend), and to swing as high as we could because it would feel like you were propelling yourself out to fly across the skyline.
Speaking of skylines, the view up there is so beautiful it's almost unbearable. It gives the most insightful and accurate view of Glasgow in my opinion, with a panoramic view of skyscrapers residing to one side, and the spires of the university to the other (with some tenements and high rise blocks thrown into the middle). Every part of it is gorgeous, and it's like looking into the architectural history of the city. It's underrated as a filming location, and my boyfriend's pals once took advantage of the breathtaking views by filming some drama up there.
Hidden in the trees is the old Ruchill Hospital, which has been lying disused since 1996. They've started work on it now to turn it into a school so it's not so mysterious, but for a decade it was veiled in mystery. It was so creepy Stuart and I had to explore it, and it was as much fun spying into the rot of the old wards as much as it was getting chased away by security (they never found us before we are secret superheroes). I could write some reviews on urban exploring, but since that would technically be Yelp cheating I'll leave you wondering why the hell I would bother risking falling through the old floors of buildings. It's a fun hobby, but maybe it's a blessing I can't return to the hellmouth since staring at the daisies is probably less dangerous than scumming around in asbestos ridden ex-hospitals. Each to their own! read more