View source for Cuningar Loop

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
[[File:Cuningar Loop Park entrance (geograph 6884361).jpg|thumb|'Evolve' metallic sculpture by [[Rob Mulholland]] at park's southern entrance]] 
The '''Cuningar Loop''' is a [[meander]] on the [[River Clyde]] in Scotland which was converted to a woodland park in the mid-2010s. It lies within the territory of [[Rutherglen]], [[South Lanarkshire]], directly east of the district of [[Dalmarnock]] in [[Glasgow]].

== History ==
The first Glasgow Water Company's Act was obtained in 1806, and the company began to supply water early in 1809.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Before the Victorian [[Loch Katrine]] aqueduct project was completed in the 1850s, it supplied water to Glasgow. Cuningar Loop was the location of several [[reservoir]]s that raised water from the Clyde and pumped it to a secondary reservoir at Sydney Street, from where it was distributed throughout the city.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} The Dalmarnock reservoirs were originally designed under the direction of [[Thomas Telford]] and [[James Watt (inventor)|James Watt]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

The derelict site was transformed into a [[country park]], augmenting the [[2014 Commonwealth Games]] village across the river.<ref>[https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/cuningar-loop Cuningar Loop],  Forestry and Land Scotland</ref><ref>[https://www.robertson.co.uk/news/marking-opening-green-space-heart-glasgow Marking the opening of green space in heart of Glasgow], Robertson Civil Engineering, 24tOctober 2017</ref> The site features boulders for rock climbing, riverside boardwalks, a [[BMX]] track, a playpark for children including a [[Flying fox (cablecar)|'flying fox']], public art installations<ref>[https://www.axisweb.org/p/jameswinnett/workset/226196-the-cuningar-stones-the-farme-castle-stone/ The Cuningar Stones: The Farme Castle Stone], AxisWeb</ref> and a common green area capable of hosting events.

In 2019, holes were dug in the park in preparation for a facility to access [[Geothermal heating|naturally heated water underground in disused coal mines]] to provide it to nearby homes.<ref>[https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/disruption-cuningar-loop-world-leading-15010636 Disruption at Cuningar Loop as world-leading research site is created], Daily Record, 7 May 2019</ref> The research was still ongoing in 2021.<ref>[https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/could-abandoned-coal-mines-in-glasgow-support-the-uks-net-zero-ambitions/ Could abandoned coal mines in Glasgow support the UK's net zero ambitions?], [[British Geological Survey]], 27 May 2021</ref>

In the autumn of 2021 the park was the Glasgow area venue for the touring Jurassic Encounter open-air attraction featuring life-size animatronic dinosaurs.<ref>[https://news.stv.tv/entertainment/dinosaurs-set-to-roam-and-roar-on-the-banks-of-the-river-clyde?top&amp Dinosaurs set to roam and roar on the banks of the River Clyde], Jenness Mitchell, STV News, 30 September 2021</ref> Later that year, a {{convert|23|metre}}-high sculpture by [[Steuart Padwick]] titled 'The Hope Sculpture' was installed.<ref>[http://www.clydegateway.com/news_post/soaring-23m-hope-sculpture-unveiled-at-cuningar-loop/ Soaring 23m Hope Sculpture unveiled at Cuningar Loop], Clyde Gateway, 10 December 2021</ref>

Since March 2025, the park has been host to Cuningar Loop [[parkrun]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=cuningarloop |date=2025-03-08 |title=Event Number 1 – Saturday 8th March 2025 {{!}} Cuningar Loop parkrun |url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/cuningarloop/news/2025/03/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=www.parkrun.org.uk |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Footbridge==
[[File:Footbridge to Cuningar Loop (geograph 5650116).jpg|left|thumb|New footbridge connecting the park to the [[Athletes' Village (Glasgow 2014)|Dalmarnock Legacy Village]]]]
A footbridge over the river connecting the west side of the new park to the ''[[Athletes' Village (Glasgow 2014)|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.<ref>[https://www.robertson.co.uk/project/cuningar-loop-pedestrian-footbridge Cuningar Loop pedestrian footbridge], Robertson Civil Engineering</ref><ref>[https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst93896.html Cuningar Loop Pedestrian Footbridge], [[Gazetteer for Scotland]] </ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline|Cuningar Loop Park}}
*[http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/airgli/airgli0114.htm The Water Supply of Glasgow] (chapter of 'Glimpses of old Glasgow', 1894)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0nGOEB80RU Cuningar Loop: a new woodland park in Rutherglen] - video by [[Forestry Commission|Forestry Commission Scotland]]

{{coord|55|50|24|N|4|12|02|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

{{River Clyde}}
{{Areas of Rutherglen and Cambuslang}}

[[Category:Geography of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Rutherglen]]
[[Category:Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock]]
[[Category:Parks and commons in Glasgow]]
[[Category:Parks in South Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:Water supply and sanitation in Scotland]]
[[Category:Bridges across the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 2016]]
[[Category:2016 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Parks established in the 2010s]]