Glasgow Events: Electric Glen

Now that we have baby A and lead a somewhat quieter life, we are continually looking for baby-friendly things to do that will allow us to get out and about. When I saw Electric Glen advertised, it seemed exactly what we were looking for.

 

 

After taking a break in 2015, Electric Glen is back with a new trail and interactive installations and promises to transform Rouken Glen Park into an electric wonderland. The event is set to run between the 4th and 14th February 2016 with entrance slots every half hour from 5-8.30pm, closing for the night at 10pm. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, priced at £10 for an adult, £8 for a child aged 5-15 (under 5s go free) and £8 for over 60s. The main route is 1.4km long, although this includes walking up stairs and rough terrain so there is a 0.7km wheels only route for which there are discounted tickets available.

Source: http://electricglen.co.uk/thetrail

Our visit unfortunately coincided with a wet, dreary and freezing cold evening; although living in Glasgow you can't really plan for much else! Luckily as the trail starts at the Boathouse café, we were able to pick up cups of tea to keep us toasty on the walk round. We opted for the 5pm start and started to make our way towards to Boathouse at around 4.45pm as the website advises you to be there promptly. We had parked at the Davieland Road entrance closest to the pond, however this filled up VERY quickly (probably due to the weather) and was a nightmare to get out of at the end as people were parking too close to one another, so on reflection I'd park in one of the car parks a bit further away and walk next time.

Printworks Collective

The trail consists of three separate zones, each of which has its own installations depicting the history of the park. The first was the Geology Zone- which detailed the origin of the rocks which formed the shape of the Auldhouse Burn- then we had the Printworks, which reflected on the history of the Crum family, who owned the local printworks which were powered by the Burn for dyeing and printing. This installation brings together old printwork from the 1800s in collaboration with designs by Hazel Dunn, who recently gradutaed from the Glasgow School of Art. Finally, we experienced Shimmer, which involved lanterns each made of cymbals to act as loudspeakers as vibrations were transmitted through the installation in order to mimic the sound of the machines at work in the Thornliebank Printworks.

 

 

 

I hadn't expected to learn so much, but I found the history behind each installation really interesting, and I'm not usually one for history! If like me, that's not usually your thing, I guarantee you'll still enjoy the walk and stunning light show. The waterfall especially was breath-taking, and as I'm quite sentimental about that section of the park anyway, that's something I'll really remember. Because of the rubbish weather we did rush the trail and were done in 40mins, but carrying a 3-month old in a carrier in the rain isn't an easy task! I'm so glad we took her though- she was mesmerised! I can't wait to go again next year when she's older to see what she makes of it, and I can only hope the weather is better then!