Strathclyde Country Park
55°47′51″N 4°01′23″W / 55.79750°N 4.02306°W / 55.79750; -4.02306
Strathclyde Country Park is a country park located on the outskirts of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, named after the former Strathclyde region of Scotland. It is often commonly referred to as Strathclyde, or simply Strathy.
Description
The park covers some 4 km2 (1+1⁄2 sq mi), centred on the artificial Strathclyde Loch. It is located next to the River Clyde between Hamilton and Motherwell. Strathclyde Park forms what used to be known as the Low Parks of the now demolished Hamilton Palace and still includes buildings associated with the palace. When the loch was created in the early 1970s it involved the flooding of the old mining village of Bothwellhaugh.[1][2] The park offers many amenities and attractions such as coarse angling, woodland walks, watersports, and a camping and caravanning site. One of Scotland's theme parks, M&D's, is located in the park. Until 1996, the music festival T in the Park was held here.
The west side of the park is bounded by the River Clyde, which was diverted when the loch was built in 1975. The original course can be seen between the east loch shore and the island. The east side of the park is quieter, with woodland and paths leading up the slopes to Motherwell.
The remains of Bothwellhaugh Roman Fort and a Roman bathhouse can be seen in the park, where the South Calder Water flows into the loch. There is an arched Roman bridge across the South Calder nearby. The site of the Battle of Bothwell Bridge (1679) is to the north west of the park.
Although the focus of the park is on recreation, a variety of habitats are present, including wetlands and native woodland.
The Greenlink Cycle Path start-off point is located in the park and travels to Motherwell Town Centre. Also, a section of the Clyde walkway, from Glasgow to New Lanark, runs through the park.
Rowing
Major events held at the loch include the rowing events for the 1986 Commonwealth Games,[3] the 1996 World Rowing Junior Championships (and the World Rowing Championships for non-Olympic events), the 2005 World Rowing Masters Regatta, the 2007 World Rowing U23 Championships the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Rowing Championships.[4] and the 2018 European Rowing Championships.
The loch also hosts the British Rowing Championships[5] once every four years, which are normally held in Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, and also every four years hosts the Home International Regatta.
The park is home to Strathclyde Park Rowing Club,[6] Edinburgh University Boat Club,[7] Heriot-Watt University Boat Club[8] and to the Scottish Rowing Centre, and acts as a secondary training centre for St Andrew Boat Club.
Sailing
The park is home to Strathclyde Loch Sailing Club which is a Royal Yachting Association accredited sailing and powerboat training centre.[9]
Major events
The watersports events of the 2005 Glasgow Special Olympics and the 2006 Scottish Triathlon Championships were staged at the park.
Since 2005, the park has been the venue for the annual Stereofunk music festival.[10][11] The park was also the venue for the T in the Park festival between 1994 and 1996.
In 2009 the park was used to host the first ever Great Scottish Swim, a mass participation open water swim event. The event was due to be held there again in 2010 but was cancelled due to poisonous blue-green algae in the loch.
The park was an official venue for the 2011 International Children's Games.[12]
In 2014, Strathclyde Park hosted the triathlon event of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[13] The 2018 European Triathlon Championships were held at the Strathclyde Park as part of the multi-sport 2018 European Championships.
The park hosts a Parkrun event at 09:30 every Saturday morning.[14] It has also hosted an 'Inflatable 5k' event, popular with families and participants collecting charity donations.[15]
In the news
On the June 2012 Strathclyde Country Park was host to the Western District Open Water Swimming Championship that attracted up to 70 competitors.
Following the race 57 people were discovered to be suffering from stomach cramps, sickness and diarrhoea 5 of the 57 tested positive for norovirus. All water based activities were subsequently temporarily suspended.
Experts attributed the incident to heavy rainfall prior to the event, with council officials confirming that tests of the water quality in the days before the event within the accepted open water guidelines.[16]
The loch previously had issues with open water events affected by blue and green algae growth, resulting in the cancellation of the Great Scottish Swim in August 2010.[17] In summer 2011 algae growth also put a stop to water sports just two months before the start of the International Children's Games.[18]
See also
References
- ^ "Bothwellhaugh". Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Bothwellhaugh[dead link]
- ^ "Strathclyde Loch". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of international games. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. p. 122. ISBN 0-7864-1026-4.
- ^ "Commonwealth Rowing Championships 2014". Archived from the original on 16 August 2014.
- ^ "British Rowing Junior Championships 2022". British Rowing.
- ^ "Strathclyde Park Rowing Club". www.strathclydeparkrc.co.uk.
- ^ "Edinburgh University Boat Club".
- ^ "Heriot Watt University Boat Club".
- ^ "Strathclyde Loch Sailing Club". RYA Find a club. RYA. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Stereofunk Festival to celebrate 10 years at Strathclyde Park". Evening Times. 20 April 2015.
- ^ "About us". Stereofunk Festival.
- ^ "Strathclyde Park". International Children's Games. [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Strathclyde Park". Glasgow 2014.
- ^ "home | Strathclyde parkrun | Strathclyde parkrun". www.parkrun.org.uk.
- ^ "Inflatable 5k". UK Running Events.
- ^ "57 fall ill after swimming in Strathclyde Loch". Daily Record. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ "Algae levels force cancellation Great Scottish Swim". Daily Record. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ "Algae in Strathclyde Loch cancels Great Scottish Swim". Daily Record. 18 August 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
External links
- Information from North Lanarkshire Council
- Information from Visit Lanarkshire
- Bothwellhaugh, the former mining village now largely submerged under Strathclyde Loch
- Strathclyde Country Park at Gazetteer for Scotland
- v
- t
- e
- Lucerne 1962
- Bled 1966
- St. Catharines 1970
- Lucerne 1974
- Nottingham 1975
- Villach 1976
- Amsterdam 1977
- Copenhagen 1978 (lightweight)
- Cambridge 1978
- Bled 1979
- Heindonk 1980
- Oberschleißheim 1981
- Lucerne 1982
- Duisburg 1983
- Montreal 1984
- Heindonk 1985
- Nottingham 1986
- Copenhagen 1987
- Milan 1988
- Bled 1989
- Tasmania 1990
- Vienna 1991
- Montreal 1992
- Račice 1993
- Indianapolis 1994
- Tampere 1995
- Motherwell 1996
- Aiguebelette-le-Lac 1997
- Cologne 1998
- St. Catharines 1999
- Zagreb 2000
- Lucerne 2001
- Seville 2002
- Milan 2003
- Banyoles 2004
- Kaizu 2005
- Dorney 2006
- Oberschleißheim 2007
- Ottensheim 2008
- Poznań 2009
- Cambridge 2010
- Bled 2011
- Plovdiv 2012
- Chungju 2013
- Amsterdam 2014
- Aiguebelette-le-Lac 2015
- Rotterdam 2016
- Sarasota 2017
- Plovdiv 2018
- Ottensheim 2019
Bled 2020Shanghai 2021- Račice 2022
- Belgrade 2023
- St. Catharines 2024
- Shanghai 2025
- Amsterdam 2026
- Rotsee (1962)
- Lake Bled (1966)
- Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course (1970)
- Rotsee (1974)
- Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre (1975)
- Lake Ossiach (1976)
- Bosbaan (1977)
- Lake Bagsværd (1978 lightweight)
- Lake Karapiro (1978)
- Lake Bled (1979)
- Hazewinkel (1980)
- Oberschleißheim Regatta Course (1981)
- Rotsee (1982)
- Wedau (1983)
- Notre Dame Island (1984)
- Hazewinkel (1985)
- Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre (1986)
- Lake Bagsværd (1987)
- Idroscalo (1988)
- Lake Bled (1989)
- Lake Barrington (1990)
- New Danube (1991)
- Notre Dame Island (1992)
- Račice (1993)
- Eagle Creek Park (1994)
- Kaukajärvi (1995)
- Strathclyde Country Park (1996)
- Lac d'Aiguebelette (1997)
- Fühlinger See (1998)
- Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course (1999)
- Jarun (2000)
- Rotsee (2001)
- Guadalquivir (2002)
- Idroscalo (2003)
- Lake of Banyoles (2004)
- Nagaragawa International Regatta Course (2005)
- Dorney Lake (2006)
- Oberschleißheim Regatta Course (2007)
- Ottensheim (2008)
- Lake Malta (2009)
- Lake Karapiro (2010)
- Lake Bled (2011)
- Plovdiv (2012)
- Tangeum Lake (2013)
- Bosbaan (2014)
- Lac d'Aiguebelette (2015)
- Willem-Alexander Baan (2016)
- Nathan Benderson Park (2017)
- Plovdiv (2018)
- Ottensheim (2019)
Lake Bled (2020)Dianshan Lake (2021)- Račice (2022)
- Lake Sava (2023)
- Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course (2024)
- Dianshan Lake (2025)
- Bosbaan (2026)