Across Glasgow from the Cathkin Braes - geograph

Cathkin Braes wind turbine (geograph 3570374)

Cathkin Braes Country Park - the viewpoint - geograph

Cathkin Braes is an area of hills to the south east of the city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, in Scotland. It lies to the south of the districts of

Castlemilk Castlemilk ( gd, Caisteal Mheilc) is a district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies to the far south of the city centre, adjacent to the Croftfoot and Simshill residential areas within the city to the north-west, the town of Rutherglen - neighbourhoo ...

, Fernhill and Burnside, and to the east of

Carmunnock Carmunnock ( gd, Cathair Mhanach) is a conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural reso ...

. Rising to over in elevation, it includes the highest point in the Glasgow City area. It was a rallying point in the

Radical War The Radical War, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820, was a week of strikes and unrest in Scotland, a culmination of Radical demands for reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which had become prominent in the earl ...

. It includes The Big Wood and Cathkin Braes Park Woodland, both areas of mature beech, sycamore and oak trees. In addition there is grassland, heath, hedgerows and wetlands. These natural areas provide foraging habitat for a number of species, including kestrels and owls. A number of mountain bike trails have been constructed in the area. These were used for the 2013

British National Mountain Biking Championships The British Mountain Biking National Championships are organized by British Cycling, and the winner has the right to wear the national champion's jersey for the following year. The races are only open to riders of British nationality British ...

, and was the venue for mountain biking at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

. These trails include one orange, two red, and one blue. There is also a skills park and pump track at the bottom of the hill. The skills park includes drop off practise, jump practise and rock roll practise. Since 2013, a single 3 MW

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

– in height including the blades – has been in place at the brow of the Braes, just inside the Glasgow City boundary (a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

and

transmitter station A transmitter station or transmission facility is an installation used for transmitting radio frequency signals for wireless communication, broadcasting, microwave link, mobile telephone or other purposes. Choice of location The location may b ...

a short distance to the east are within

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

). Due to its prominent location, the turbine can be seen from across the city. It is unclear if more are planned for the area, with subsidy funding for onshore windfarms cut by the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

in 2015, although local bodies were supportive of further projects. The vista of the city from its summit was used as the original

title card In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

for the police drama ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 19 ...

''.

References

External links

*
CCathkin Braes Country Park
– Glasgow City Council
Painting of view from Cathkin Braes showing Castlemilk House and stables
by T. Williams, hosted at

Art UK Art UK is a cultural, education charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Since 2003, it has digitised more than 220,000 paintings by more than 40,000 artists and is now expanding the digital collection t ...

(work itself held at

Hamilton Low Parks Museum The Low Parks Museum is located in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland and traces the local history of South Lanarkshire through numerous exhibits on provincial industries and events of local historical importance. History The Low Parks Museu ...

)
City of Glasgow HD
(composite image photographed from Cathkin Braes, April 2013) at

GigaPan GigaPan Systems is a global, privately held technology company that provides hardware, software, and services to create and share high-resolution, interactive gigapixel panoramic images. The company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. History G ...

Geography of Glasgow Parks and commons in Glasgow Parks in South Lanarkshire Rutherglen 2014 Commonwealth Games venues Sports venues in Glasgow 2018 European Championships venues Cycle racing in Scotland Mountain biking venues in the United Kingdom {{Glasgow-geo-stub