17/02/2026
A wee bit of history about our old clubhouse...
With the Winter Olympics underway, curling is one again getting mainstream media coverage. However, curling was once a much more popular sport and even in Glasgow outdoor curling rinks were relatively common. However, as far as I'm aware, they've all now disppeared, except for this one in Victoria Park, and even then it's no longer used for curling and is in pretty poor condition.
Partick Curling Club began in 1842 and originally played on a pond close to a tavern on Byres Road that's now called the Curler's Rest. By the end of the 19th Century, they'd move to this spot in the then newly created Victoria Park in the west of the city complete with a purpose-built rink. As the map on the left shows, the original curling rink was much bigger, and the surviving one was simply a practice rink. However, by the start of the 20th century, indoor rinks had been developed, with the first one in Scotland opening at Crossmyloof on the city's Southside in 1907, and outdoor rinks started to fall out of favour.
By the post-war years, what was once the smaller practice rink had become the only rink (right hand map), and eventually the club itself moved on to using an indoor venue. However, this outdoor rink remains, next to the original Arts and Crafts club house and still lined by ornamental lamp posts dating from 1911, but now a mere shadow of its former self. It's hidden away in parks department depot meaning few people even know it still exists, but nonetheless, it's a reminder of the long history that curling has in Glasgow.
