One of my favourite things about storytelling is getting to go to places I’ve never been before. Today, Allison and I were at Cuningar Loop in Glasgow, telling stories in a teepee, sometimes with the sun beaming in on us, other times with the rain pounding down on the canvas shell.
Cuningar Loop is one of those good news stories. Once upon a time, it was Glasgow’s water source, then it was drained and used as a landfill site, before being abandoned and left derelict. A few years ago, the Forestry Commission began to reclaim it for public (and wildlife) use.
Just 3 miles from the centre of Glasgow, along the River Clyde, it is now a woodland wonderland, full of bird song, playparks, magic stones and the most beautiful blossom bedecked hawthorn trees I’ve ever seen. They looked snow-covered.
I should say more about those magic stones. Sculptor, James Winnett, has worked with stones, which were unearthed during the reclamation work, carving them to commemorate aspects of local natural and social history, legends and place names. More on the Cuningar Stones here.
So thank you to the Forestry Commission for inviting us to Cuningar Loop. Thanks to the hospitality of all the rangers, ecologists and roving artists, we heard as many stories as we told.
Restorying the Earth 