May began with a trip to North Street to take in the Hit The North Street Art Festival, getting photos of the pieces of artwork as they were created, and then the finished artwork.
The following weekend, I treated myself to a trip to Scotland, spending most my time in Edinburgh, getting photos of Street Art (of course) and walking up Arthur’s Seat and going for a stroll in Colinton.
It would have been rude not to go to a football match, Livingston v St Johnstone being my match of choice before a day trip to Glasgow saw me get more Street Art photos and visit Cathkin Park, an abandoned football stadium.
Towards the end of the month, it was all about Friday nights, first of all winning a ticket to see Ulster v Sharks.
Then, the last Friday of the month, I went to see Queen (well, half of Queen, but it was still so good) at The Odyssey.
After two and a half years, here’s part two of a series of me visiting abandoned Football Stadiums. I wouldn’t get your hopes up for part three.
Part one was a visit to Drumahoe in November 2019. Legal Disclaimer – photos taken through a fence and no illegal entering.
It might be my only visit to an abandoned Drumahoe, as it has been confirmed that it is set for demolition.
This one, was a lot easier to get access to, and one that I had been wanting to visit to a long time.
Cathkin Park in Glasgow was once the home of two time (1889 and 1905) Scottish Cup winners Third Lanark.
I say once the home, because there hasn’t been a professional match there since 1967, when Third Lanark went out of business, a quick decline for a club who finished 3rd in the top flight in 1961.
They were a place above Celtic that season, who were travelling in a different trajectory in the Summer of 1967.
I can’t be bothered researching, but it’s highly likely that Craig Brown or Sir Alex Ferguson would have played here. A tangible link to modern football.
Cathkin Park, is still mostly there, but now forms part of a public park.
The pitch, unsurprisingly is now used as a football pitch, or for just walking along the grass if you wish.
When I visited, there were a couple of people sunbathing and some guy was practicing his golf chips into an umbrella.
You can still walk along the terracing and watch those playing football. Although you may have trees blocking your view in some parts.
There is a group of local volunteers who help with the maintenance throughout the year.
Crush barriers are still in place, not there will ever be a crowd there to make use of them.
I had planned to go there during my last visit to Glasgow in 2015 for the Scotland v Northern Ireland match.
I’m not the best with directions so I couldn’t find it. I did vow to go there the next time I visited Glasgow. I didn’t anticipate that would be seven years.
This time, I decided to get a taxi, which left me outside it.
For future reference, there is a train station across the road called Crosshill, so I can get the train for any future visits.
It was a really enjoyable visit and a bit eerie, but it was definitely well worth making the visit.
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