The Cuningar Loop is a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

in Scotland which was converted to a woodland park in the mid-2010s. It lies within the territory of

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

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 ...

, directly east of the district of

Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, gd, Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Pa ...

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 ...

History

The first Glasgow Water Company's Act was obtained in 1806, and the company began to supply water early in 1809. Before the Victorian

Loch Katrine Loch Katrine (; or ) is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond, within the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the contemporary district of Stirling. The loch is about lon ...

aqueduct project was completed in the 1850s, it supplied water to Glasgow. Cuningar Loop was the location of several

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s that raised water from the Clyde and pumped it to a secondary reservoir at Sydney Street, from where it was distributed throughout the city. The Dalmarnock reservoirs were originally designed under the direction of

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

and

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fun ...

. The derelict site was transformed into a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

, augmenting 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 ...

village across the river. The site features boulders for rock climbing, riverside boardwalks, a BMX track, a playpark for children including a 'flying fox', public art installations and a common green area capable of hosting events. In 2019, holes were dug in the park in preparation for a facility to access naturally heated water underground in disused coal mines to provide it to nearby homes. The research was still ongoing in 2021. In the autumn of 2021 the park was the Glasgow area venue for the touring Jurassic Encounter open-air attraction featuring life-size animatronic dinosaurs. Later that year, a -high sculpture by Steuart Padwick titled 'The Hope Sculpture' was installed.

Footbridge

A footbridge over the river connecting the west side of the new park to the ''

Legacy Village Legacy Village is a lifestyle center (retail), lifestyle center in Lyndhurst, Ohio, Lyndhurst, Ohio. Owned by First Interstate Properties Ltd and designed by Dorsky Hodgson Partners of Cleveland, it opened on October 24, 2003.

'' area in Dalmarnock (and joining up with the

Clyde Walkway The Clyde Walkway is a foot and mountain bike path which runs from Glasgow, Scotland, to just above the UNESCO World Heritage Site of New Lanark. The path runs close to the River Clyde for most of its length. It was completed in 2005, and is no ...

and

National Cycle Route 75 National Cycle Route 75 runs from Edinburgh to Gourock via Glasgow. It is often known as the ''Clyde to Forth cycle route''. It then extends via the ferry from Gourock to Dunoon onto the Cowal peninsula to Portavadie from where another ferry co ...

on the opposite bank) was completed in 2016.Cuningar Loop pedestrian footbridge
Robertson Civil Engineering

References

External links

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(chapter of 'Glimpses of old Glasgow', 1894)
Cuningar Loop: a new woodland park in Rutherglen
- video by Forestry Commission Scotland {{Areas of Rutherglen and Cambuslang Geography of Glasgow Rutherglen Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock Parks and commons in Glasgow Parks in South Lanarkshire Water supply and sanitation in Scotland Bridges across the River Clyde Bridges completed in 2016 2016 establishments in Scotland