BROADCASTER and outdoor enthusiast Cameron McNeish returned to his home city of Glasgow yesterday to officially open the “greenest urban walk in Scotland”.
McNeish joined volunteers, council officials and Glasgow Ramblers to hammer in the final way-marker at the top of the Cathkin Braes to officially open the Magnificent 11 trail.
It comes 14 years after Gary Linstead, a Glasgow City Council countryside ranger, first had the idea of creating this circular route linking green spaces on the Southside of Glasgow.
The 11-mile trail visits several local nature reserves, two city parks, two farms, a site of special scientific interest and Glasgow’s highest point at Cathkin Braes.
Mr McNeish, a past president of Ramblers Scotland, now lives in the Cairngorms but grew up in the city.
He is best known for the BAFTA-winning The Edge: One Hundred Years of Scottish Mountaineering and The Great Outdoors, a six-part series for Channel 4, as well as the Wilderness Walks programmes for BBC Two
He told the Glasgow Times: “I’m quite excited about this because it covers a lot of my old stamping ground, King’s Park, Linn Park, and the River Cart.
“I’m looking forward to this.”
Addressing the crowd gathered for the event, he reminisced about his childhood in Glasgow, which laid the groundwork for his career.
“I was born in Govan, but when I was about six years of age we moved three miles up the road but that area had something that Govan didn’t have: hedges and trees, and best of all, the River Cart, which became our playground,” he said.
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He added: “Later on we moved to Croftfoot, and the back of our garden linked back to King’s Park and that became my playground.
“Best of all, I went to school just down there, at King’s Park Secondary and my maths class window had this view across the city to the Campsie Fell, Dumgoyne, and the Earl’s Seat
“I used to gaze out the window, thinking ‘I wonder what’s on the other side of those hills’ and that led me to a 50-year career in peeping over horizons all around the world.
“All these things come together in this terrific walk and I’ve got so much to thank this area for. It’s a delight to come back here today and see the culmination of the work that’s been done.
“It really is a dream come true for so many people and to have a waymarked path like this will give a lot of people confidence to take on walking.”
The route’s development was led by Glasgow’s countryside rangers and Glasgow Ramblers volunteers, with contributions from friends of groups from Linn Park, King’s Park and Fernbrae Meadows, Castlemilk Park volunteers, Carmunnock Heritage Society, Carmunnock Community Council and Parklea Farm.
From woodland and heaths to wild grasses and bird reserve marshes, each of the four sections of the walk can be independently enjoyed.
The route was developed on a modest budget of less than £5000 and with funding from Ramblers Scotland and the Glasgow City Council’s Wee Green Grant.
Gary Linstead, countryside ranger for South East Glasgow, who first conceived the idea for the Magnificent 11 in 2008, said the spirit of the route lies in making connections.
“When I first looked at the map of my area and I saw the potential for linking up some of Glasgow’s quality green space,” he said.
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He added: “The next step was to connect the people of Glasgow who were around this route with each of their green spaces and with each other to help sustain and maintain the Magnificent 11 into the future.
“It is truly a magnificent walk and for me it is the greenest urban walk in Scotland.
“Over 90% of the route is walking in green space, you can’t walk a circle anywhere with that amount of quality green space around you.
“We always see people these days talking about how they are connected, invariably they are talking about wifi or the world wide web, but how many of us are connected to their natural green spaces.
“That’s what the Magnificent 11 offers, it offers to all the local communities here and Glaswegians all over the city and, of course, our visitors, a fantastic walk.”
In a message relayed by her husband Alan, Catherine Watt, chair of Glasgow Ramblers, said: “We were first on this circuit back in 2015. Since then we walked and enjoyed the route that we now know as Magnificent 11 many times and in all weathers.
“We have also spent days on the route digging ditches, building flights of steps, stiles and bridges and generally making improvement, all under Gary’s watchful eyes.
“After all these years, it’s very gratifying to see people out there, and judging from our Facebook page obviously enjoying the walk. I think it’s a great asset for the city of Glasgow.”
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Baillie Annette Christie, representing Glasgow City Council, said: “This is a route that showcases our green spaces and really celebrates Glasgow’s natural assets.
“Walkers looking to take in the route will be able to enjoy the diverse and impressive wildlife and the greenery that our dear green place has to offer.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has invested their time to create the Magnificent 11 concept, for all the hard work and making it become a reality.”
You can find more information about the Magnificent 11 here.
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