by Mike Ritchie GLASGOW’S parks are a natural treasure and have been a major part of life for the Dear Green Place’s citizens down the years. During the current pandemic they have been used as places to escape lockdown, to enjoy fresh air and a sense of freedom. There are more than 90 parks or green spaces in Glasgow – the smallest is Festival Park and the largest, and most dramatic, is Pollok Country Park on the southside of the city, home to a photogenic herd of Highland cattle and a range of wildlife. Nearby, Bellahouston Park has hosted two papal visits – Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in front of 300,000 in 1982 and Pope Benedict who did the same to 60,000 in 2013 – and several top music acts such as Eminem, The Cure, Paulo Nutini and Calvin Harris, as well as the World Pipe Band Championships, while Rouken Glen Park, a few miles away, has hosted sell-out Electric Glen winter light show.
12,000 miles apart: Glasgow has a special link to Christchurch THEY are nearly 12,000 miles apart. but Springburn and the New Zealand city of Christchurch have something surprising in common. In October, the Glasgow Times wrote about ambitious £8.1 million plans to transform Springburn Winter Gardens into a thriving community asset. And after the story went to print, we were contacted by a reader in Christchurch with the fascinating story of the city’s Winter Garden. Cuningham House, the glasshouse in Christchurch s Botanic Gardens, is a replica of ours in Glasgow - and both are to undergo renovations. While Springburn Winter Gardens was allowed to fall into disrepair and has lain derelict since 1983, Christchurch has nurtured its Winter Garden.