Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park is a 150-acre park, on the South side of Glasgow with extensive views over the city. It was acquired in 1857 and developed as one of the parks essential to a growing residential district. The designer was Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-65), the famous gardener and architect. The park’s name is a tribute to the memory of Mary, Queen of Scots, who lost the Battle of Langside near to this site in 1568. It also gives its name to the Queen’s Park Football Club (founded in 1867). The Camphill estate was added in 1894 with Camphill House as a costume museum, later converted into flats. The park, with its manicured lawns and bedding areas has many sport and recreational facilities and attracts a variety of wildlife. There is an earthwork running over the top of the hill, thought to date from the Iron Age. The annual Southside Festival is held here, and a music festival (The Wee Chill) in the Glasshouse. There is a farmers’ market at the edge of the park, near Shawlands Cross, which is held twice a month. In Winter the park’s grassy slopes are popular for sledging.