BALLOCH CASTLE IS FAVOURITE SPOT DURING EASTER WEEKEND

Bought in 1915 by Glasgow Corporation for £30,000, and 20-odd miles from the teeming city, Balloch Park on the shores of Loch Lomond, was described as Glasgow’s lung for its toiling industrial masses.

The park came with a walled garden and its very own castle.

Balloch Castle was built in the Scottish baronial style as a residence in 1808 by the architect Robert Lugar at the order of John Buchanan of Ardoch, who had bought the estate in 1800..

Buchanan was a Glasgow merchant, the son of Thomas Buchanan of Ardoch. John was involved in his father’s hat-making business, and, like his father, was a partner in the Ship Bank, Glasgow’s oldest banking house, founded in 1749. He represented Dunbartonshire in parliament from 1821 to 1826.

The castle used to serve as a visitors centre and the headquarters of the Countryside Ranger Service in the park, but now lies derelict.

Although still owned by Glasgow City Council, the park and house have been leased to Dunbarton County Council, and its successor, West Dunbartonshire Council, since 1975.

The house has been a category A listed building since 1971. By 2008, the building was in poor condition and was added to the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland.

In January 2014, an application for listed building consent was lodged to permit repairs to the now-dilapidated structure. In February 2014, West Dunbartonshire Council announced a programme of repairs to preserve the building.

Many young folk remember Balloch Park for entirely different reasons. Some 80,000 descended to see Oasis play over two days in 1996. The 5,000 inhabitants of sleepy Balloch didn’t know what had hit them!