Cuningar Loop

The Cuningar Loop is a meander on the River Clyde in Glasgow. It lies within the area of Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, directly east of Dalmarnock.

Within the loop is a country park, developed as a regeneration scheme on what had been derelict industrial land. A footbridge, the Cuningar Loop Pedestrian Footbridge, now spans the river to give access to the park

History

The first Glasgow Water Company's Act was obtained in 1806, and the company began to supply water early in 1809. The company supplied Glasgow's water until execution of the ambitious Victorian project to harness Loch Katrine (on the Stirlingshire-Perthshire border) with an aqueduct to the city, a project completed in the 1850s. Within the Cuningar Loop were several reservoirs that raised water from the Clyde and pumped it to a secondary reservoir at Sydney Street, from where it was distributed throughout the city. The Dalmarnock reservoirs were originally designed under the direction of Thomas Telford and James Watt.

The derelict site has now been transformed into a country park, augmenting the 2014 Commonwealth Games village across the river. The site features boulders for rock climbing, riverside boardwalks, a BMX track, a playpark for children including a 'flying fox', public art installations and a common green area capable of hosting events.

In 2019, holes were dug in the park in preparation for a facility to access naturally heated water underground in disused coal mines to provide it to nearby homes.

The Cuningar Loop Pedestrian Footbridge

Footbridge

A footbridge over the river connecting the west side of the new park to the Legacy Village area in Dalmarnock (and joining up with the Clyde Walkway and National Cycle Route 75 on the opposite bank) was completed in 2016.

Location

• Location map: 55°50’24"N, 4°12’2"W
• Streetmap: NS622629

Outside links

• The Water Supply of Glasgow (chapter of 'Glimpses of old Glasgow', 1894)
• Cuningar Loop: a new woodland park in Rutherglen - YouTube (Forestry Commission)