Fernbrae Meadows June 2019 JPEG Image Height 720px m186333

Fernbrae Meadows is a public greenspace in

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, located on high ground to the south of Rutherglen, specifically directly south of the Fernhill neighbourhood. It is a proposed local nature reserve.

History

The park was created between 2015 and 2019, following the closure of Blairbeth Golf Course, which had operated there since 1956. It was named Fernbrae Meadows following consultation with the local community. The park lies adjacent to

Cathkin Braes Cathkin Braes is an area of hills to the south east of the city of Glasgow, in Scotland. It lies to the south of the districts of Castlemilk, Fernhill and Burnside, and to the east of Carmunnock. Rising to over in elevation, it includes the ...

Country Park.The Cityford Burn
Rutherglen Heritage Society In 1854, journalist

Hugh MacDonald Hugh John Macdonald (born 31 January 1940 in Newbury, Berkshire) is an English musicologist chiefly known for his work within the music of the 19th century, especially in France. He has been general editor of the ''Hector Berlioz: New Edition of ...

published ''Rambles Round Glasgow'' in which he describes a visit to the area thus:

From Stonelaw to Cathkin the road gradually ascends through a delightful succession of gently swelling knolls and fields in a high state of cultivation, interspersed with clumps of wood and fine belts of planting, the haunts of numerous birds, and at this season of love ringing merrily with their sweetest melodies.

Archaeologists and antiquarians have drawn attention to the existence of prehistoric burial mounds and cairns in the surrounding area.

Biodiversity

The recent development of Fernbrae Meadows has created a number of habitats, including

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

meadow,

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s and marshy

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

. The grasslands contain

holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

rough meadow-grass ''Poa trivialis'' (rough bluegrass; ''UK:'' rough-stalked meadow-grass or rough meadow-grass), is a perennial plant regarded in the US as an ornamental plant. It is part of the grass family. Description It is very common in meadows and pastur ...

, meadow foxtail, bush vetch,

common hogweed ''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed, common hogweed or cow parsnip, is a herbaceous perennial or biennial plant, in the umbelliferous family Apiaceae that includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is nati ...

, sweet vernal-grass,

meadow vetchling ''Lathyrus pratensis'' or meadow vetchling, yellow pea, meadow pea and meadow pea-vine, is a perennial legume that grows to 1.2 m in height. The hermaphrodite flowers are pollinated by bees. As a perennial, this plant reproduces itself over man ...

, broad-leaved dock, field forget me not,

common sorrel Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...

and

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

. Wet areas contain meadowsweet, soft-rush,

marsh Thistle ''Cirsium palustre'', the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial (or often perennial) flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. ''Cirsium palustre'' is a tall thistle which reaches up to in height. The strong stems ha ...

sharp-flowered Rush ''Juncus acutiflorus'', also called sharp-flowered rush, is a rush or a grassy plant of the genus ''Juncus''. As the name suggests, the plant has notable sharp-looking flowers, flowering between July and September. Description The plant has lea ...

, common yellow sedge, oval sedge, marsh-bedstraw and marsh marigold.

References

External links

Friends of Fernbrae Meadows
on Facebook {{Areas of Rutherglen and Cambuslang

History

Biodiversity

References

External links

Categories