Victoria Park, Glasgow


Victoria Park is a park located in Glasgow, Scotland, adjacent to the districts of Scotstoun, Whiteinch, Jordanhill and Broomhill. The park was created and named for Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1887. The main entrances to the park are from Westland Drive, Victoria Park Drive North, and Balshagray Avenue. The Friends of Victoria Park is a West Glasgow group set up to protect and develop Victoria Park.

Main features

There are a number of features within Victoria Park:
Victoria Park has the following facilities;
At the instigation of the Council, the work of building the park was supervised by Isdale Robertson who had his premises in Anderson Street, Partick. The workforce was made up of unemployed men in need of an occupation to see them through a difficult period. It was this team of men who unearthed the fossil grove. It was also at the insistence of Isdale that the four faced clock was placed in the park. According to his adopted daughter, Meg Crerar, it bore the inscription "Now is the day of salvation, Now is the accepted time, Now is the day of Salvation". The gates were paid for by local women who subscribed a penny each, said to be partly in gratitude for providing work for their men and partly for keeping them sober, Whiteinch having been designated a "dry" area. Isdale Robertson was an active member of the Whiteinch United Free Church and a dedicated promoter of temperance. He joined Partick Town Council in November 1903 on that platform. By 1978 it was still a "dry" area.
The park was formally opened by the Provost of Partick, Sir Andrew McLean on 2 July 1887. The arboretum section of the park was originally designed as an educational facility. During the 1960s, a large section of the park was removed in order to make way for the approach roads to the Clyde Tunnel and Expressway.

Events

Victoria Park plays host to several events such as the Whiteinch Fair Festival and the Indian Summer music festival. The park is also home to the Victoria Cricket and Hyndland FC rugby club. Throughout the summer, the Countryside Rangers arrange walks to educate children about the environment. The park is now home to the fledgling Scottish Australian Rules Football League clubs, the Glasgow Sharks and the Glasgow Magpies and is understood to be the UK's only dedicated Australian Rules Football ground. It is also the home ground of the Glasgow Centurions Touch Rugby Club.

Travel

The park featured in the Scottish sitcom Still Game in the episode 'Hot Seat'. The programme features views of the park and scenes of the surrounding area.
The park is also featured in Limmy's Show, in a sketch in which Limmy bemoans the poor state of the railings around the park.