Glasgow Green

Glasgow Green is Glasgow's oldest park. It has a fantastic history, and is rumoured to have been the site of the first ever old firm game, and was famous for it's political speakers and soap box acts at one time. It has certainly been a stalwart of Glasgow life for centuries, and that is still true today. It hosts concerts, including hogmanay celebrations and the city's annual fireworks extravaganza on 5th Nov, which is attended by thousands of Glasgow's citizens. That means it has big, flat open spaces, connected by a series of paths which are all high quality, flat tarmac paths, suitable for buggies and wheelchairs. The park borders the river Clyde, but the water is fenced off for the park section, and therefore safe for kids. The paths form a big circle, in total making about 2-3 miles of available walking space for people, and tonnes of ball chucking space for the mutts.

At one end of the park is the People's Palace. This is a museum which honours the ordinary folk of the Dear Green Place. It has a fantastic orangerie on the back, housing a cafe, and there is an impressive cast iron fountain to the front, which is lit up at night and worth a click of your smartphone's camera. The building itself is a beautiful creation in red sandstone. I do recommend this museum as it is unique, the cafe inside does a good bowl of chips and a decent cup of tea in keeping with it's location! If you're looking for a more adult drink, there are bars at the edge of the park. For a bar come restaurant, I recommend West, at the people's palace end of the park.

On the other side of the park, there is an enclosed play area with massive wooden climbing frames for the kids. There is also a lit football pitch which can be booked at this end of the park. Right at the very end, at the river's edge next to the college of nautical studies, there is a beautiful red sandstone gate marking the edge of the park.

You'll have lots to look at on this walk, which is popular with young families and joggers as well as those walking the dog. There are all the usual caveats with any city centre space, but the green is well lit and well patrolled by strathclyde's finest, with lots of cctv installed. i have personally walked the dogs loads of times in the summer at 11.30pm, without a hint of fear or a sniff of trouble. Give it a go, and you'll love it.