Stratchclyde Country Park Update

We’ve now entered the final stages of the countdown to the opening of our brand new site at Strathclyde Country Park near Glasgow. Ahead of its opening, we invited independent journalist Andrew Ditton to visit the site and give us a sneak preview of what members might expect.

Report from Andrew:

As a regular caravan commuter between the South East of England and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, I often lamented the ‘Black Hole’ in the Sites Network around Glasgow. Upon hearing that this gap was to be plugged with the Club’s acquisition and complete redevelopment of the Stratchclyde Country Park Site, I was elated to say the least.

For this Anglo-Scottish caravanner, it will make the ideal place to stop off en route to or from the Highlands.

Access is pretty much as perfect as it can get. The site is but 200 yards from junction 5 of the M74 motorway. And it’s just the ‘right’ side of the M74/M73 junction to satisfy members heading to (or from) both the East and the West sides of Scotland. For those of you who don’t yet know, the M74 motorway extension is now complete, skirting the South Side of Glasgow and eventually linking up with the toll-free Erskine Bridge and the A82 up the west side of Loch Lomond.

It’s this incredible ease of access that flags the first thing that you need to be aware of about the site, and that’s the unmistakable hum of motorway traffic in the distance. It’s the kind of ‘white noise’ drone that’s easily ignored by most people, but it is there, it is constant, and it is audible from every pitch.

Acknowledging the fact that this site will get a lot of passing members swinging by for a quick night stop, the Late Night Arrival/Early Departure area is very well thought-out. There are four marked bays that allow you to leave your outfit hitched up for the night. If you’re leaving early, simply reverse into the bay for a quick exit in the morning. If you’ve arriving late, you may prefer to drive ‘nose first’ into the bay and reverse out in the light of the following day.

There’s a total of six EHUs at the Late Arrival Area, so even if the four bays are occupied there is the capacity (and the space) to cope with a couple of additional stragglers.

What about the site itself? Is it ready? Is it finished?

The site is already ready, four weeks before it’s due to officially open. Roadways are down, hardstandings are gravelled and raked, the electric hook-ups are live, the smart new loo blocks are on line, and so on.

As for being ‘finished’, this is a way off yet. The unforeseen wet summer has caused a delay in the grass seeding and landscaping. The grass tent pitches won’t be ready until early summer 2013. Likewise the planting of the trees and shrubs isn’t even going to start until November this year. As any gardener will know, November is the best month of the year to engage in planting of this type. But, of course, nothing is going to grow until next spring. Therefore, if you’re a pioneering visitor during the site’s ‘Discovery’ phase over the coming winter, do be prepared to see some incomplete landscaping in places. But, to me anyway, this is all part of the excitement of visiting a brand new fresh-out-of-the-bubble-wrap site.

All caravan and motorhome pitches are hardstanding. Apparently it rains in Glasgow now and again, so this is good news. There’s a good selection of Service Pitches offering water supply and drainage. There are also a few ‘RV’ pitches dotted around the site that are slightly longer than standard pitches, catering for members with larger American-style motorhomes and 5^th Wheelers. Naturally, all the pitches are of the modern (wide) type that accommodate caravan, awning, and car all on the gravel.

Speaking of motorhomes, the service point is in front of the main facility block, and involves lifting drain covers before discharging grey water.

There are two facility blocks. The ‘main’ block is in the centre of the site and will be open all year. The secondary block is next to the tent pitching area and is biased towards summertime use (eg the washing up sinks are outside at this block.) Interiors are finished in a very pleasing green colour.

For local caravan owners, or those English fans of Scotland wishing to avoid a long tow up the motorway en route to nirvana, there’s a huge storage area, open 363 days a year and covered by full floodlighting, barrier control, and CCTV.

What of the Country Park itself? Well, a mere five minute walk from the site will take you to M&D’s amusement park and the Alona Hotel. During the warmer months the whole family can enjoy the outdoor theme park, whereas the indoor complex and the hotel (offering semi-formal and informal lunches and dinners) are open throughout the year. Across the road from the site is a Toby Carvery and a Holiday Inn Express - a second option for hooking up with non-caravanning friends.

To walk around the enormous lake in the park would take the best part of an hour and a half, although you could cycle it if you prefer. The park looks like the perfect place to unwind and relax.

I didn’t get the time to check out the local bus services, but did manage to establish that Blantyre railway station is a 20 minute walk/10 minute off-road cycle ride away, and frequent trains to Glasgow Central take 15 minutes.

An afternoon here was nowhere near long enough. It looks like there is plenty to discover in this area, and I’m confident that Strathclyde Country Park is going to be a roaring success. It’s certainly going to be a new ‘regular’ of mine!