# The Old Animal Park, April 2014



## Cuban B. (Apr 7, 2014)

This is a former animal park that was partly demolished last year. There are still a few intriguing parts left that I set out to document before mother nature reclaimed any more of the park. Although there was not much left, what was there turned out to be very interesting in more ways than one. Here is some background and history on the site:

Set in the hills the Animal Park is well signposted from the town centre road network. It is less than half an hour's drive from Glasgow, Motherwell, Stirling or Falkirk. Established in the early 1970s, the Animal Park was been developed around the objectives of conservation, environmental education and countryside recreation. 

More than 40 hectares of what was once a bleak upland farm have been planted with hundreds of thousands of native trees and shrubs. This new, sheltered environment provided a sanctuary for wildlife including thriving populations of roe deer, badger, fox and hare as well as sparrowhawk, kestrel, long-eared and short-eared owl.

The animal collection was unique in Central Scotland and provides an opportunity to see many rare breeds in addition to other friendly farm animals. Rare breeds include Eriskay ponies, North Ronaldsay and Boreray sheep, Shetland and white park cattle, Bagot and Guernsey goats, Tamworth pigs and Scots grey and Scots dumpy poultry. Many of these animals were registered with the appropriate breed society enabling us to make a positive contribution to the breed's survival. The animal keepers were on duty every day of the year and every effort was taken to keep livestock in a manner promoting natural behaviour and quality of life.

The Animal Park included displays, interpretative panels, exhibition area, lecture theatre, and longhouses, as well as nature trails and places of historic interest, including evidence of coal mining and peat cutting. It was possible to climb to the heights of the treetop walkway and enjoy the bird's-eye view of buds, branches and leaves. 300 hectares of grassland, moorland, woodland and ponds ensured a haven for wildlife, providing breeding sites and places of refuge.

The countryside ranger service based in the park specialised in tailoring environmental education in the countryside to meet the demands of the national 5-14 curriculum, youth groups and adult groups. The Badger Set, Animal Parks nature club, met regularly to enjoy a range of outdoor activities in a safe and stimulating environment. Families could also join the fun through our annual programme of informal guided walks and special events. Visitors could walk the 10km network of nature trails and footpaths and see the rare breeds and wildlife collection. Nearby on a Moor rare bean geese were known to feed.

On to the pictures:

A warning of security cameras as we approached the site






Beware, quad bikes





Part of a wire fence enclosure with a horse in the background





You can see part of another enclosure





The advice for visitors





Possibly a fuel tank for a tractor?





A very interesting find - a map of the location





An old weight bench. Did they train animals on it?





Burnt sleepers. One theory that the park closed down is that it was a victim of an arson attempt





Freshly cut branches





Now we're talking





Guess what was lurking inside...





A big pile of coal. I suspect there is illegal mining going on nearby





More remains, possibly mixed in with asbestos roofing





We look towards freshly cut coal and old mining spoil in the background





I don't think this sign belonged here





It is hard to tell if this is remains from the park, or more evidence of illegal mining going on





Yes, definitely illegal mining





A side on view of fresh waste that has been dumped on an animal enclosure





A pile of coal. I have been reliably informed that it is anthracite





An overview of the site





One of the signs that littered the site





The Castlemilk Moorkit, indigenous to the Castlemilk area of Glasgow





That concludes our tour of the Old Animal Park


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## MD (Apr 7, 2014)

Epic treasure chest 

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa472/Cuban556/013_zps04c07b6d.jpg

what was inside ?


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## Whiteknight841 (Apr 8, 2014)

Great pics &#55357;&#56842; but who the hell would start up a coal mine randomly like that? &#55357;&#56853;


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## flyboys90 (Apr 8, 2014)

Shame it closed it looked like it was a worthwhile project its even more sad that its becoming a dump,ace photos thanks for sharing.


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## Pincheck (Apr 8, 2014)

Can't believe your exploring above ground


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## Cuban B. (Apr 8, 2014)

Cheers guys.

MD there was a skull lying inside the box..

Whiteknight I think they started illegal mining as the price of anthracite is still high, you can make a good profit working it by hand.

Pincheck this is one of the best new places I've seen coming out of Scotland in the past while. It puts most of that underground stuff to shame.


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## krela (Apr 8, 2014)

Best new places coming out of Scotland??

Without wishing to cause offence it looks like a bit of scrub-land with some flytipping to me. =/

Curious about the mining though.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Apr 8, 2014)

Is this actually mining in the immediate area or somebody dumping spoil from an illegally reopened old mine onto the idea waste dump? I am familiar with the Powis Mining Company - they had registered offices in Glasgow and owned the Powis Manor mine at Causewayhead Stirling in the 1920's - 1940's, prior to Nationalisation. They worked four anthracite seams; Hirst Main, Knott, Lower Hirst and Greenwood and in the 30's employed around 700 underground staff. Geological evidence indicates deposits of Anthracite at varying depths in the local rock shales in the area, but without good local knowledge, digging a large illegal hole on the off chance seems to be a bit risky. Which is reason for my thoughts on people re-mining the ground around an old abandoned pit, or were there some really shallow Victorian diggings in the immediate vicinity of the Park land that have been recently rediscovered?


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## smiler (Apr 8, 2014)

With what you had to work with you created an interesting report, Thanks


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## Scattergun (Apr 16, 2014)

I should get myself up to Scotland soon!


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## Cuban B. (Apr 20, 2014)

Cheers for the replies guys, I should be back in the area in a few weeks so I'll try and get some more shots of other parts of the site 



Dirus_Strictus said:


> Is this actually mining in the immediate area or somebody dumping spoil from an illegally reopened old mine onto the idea waste dump? I am familiar with the Powis Mining Company - they had registered offices in Glasgow and owned the Powis Manor mine at Causewayhead Stirling in the 1920's - 1940's, prior to Nationalisation. They worked four anthracite seams; Hirst Main, Knott, Lower Hirst and Greenwood and in the 30's employed around 700 underground staff. Geological evidence indicates deposits of Anthracite at varying depths in the local rock shales in the area, but without good local knowledge, digging a large illegal hole on the off chance seems to be a bit risky. Which is reason for my thoughts on people re-mining the ground around an old abandoned pit, or were there some really shallow Victorian diggings in the immediate vicinity of the Park land that have been recently rediscovered?


From what I've heard it's an old 19th C mine that's getting reworked. It sounds very dodgy, even if they are replacing the timbering I doubt it'll have very good ventilation.


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