Kenmuir Road – a fond memory

Although it is long gone, Kenmuir Road still survives as a ghost on Google Earth, and maps.

You can use the timeline feature of GE to view this all way back to 1945, although the modern images are only available from 2002.

In the view below, you can zoom in and follow the ghost from (approximately) Carmyle (bottom left) to Mount Vernon station (top right), noting how it was lost to the final phase construction of the M74 which cut across it, and swallowed up by some of the Patersons Waste Management operation.

This was a handy road (for me at least) for various purposes.

I used it for aligning supplementary vehicle lights, and being deserted, it made an enjoyable high-speed dash in the pitch dark.

While the chances of meeting anyone were remote, it was somehow visited by an endless stream of invisible dumpers, never seen, but still able to throw bags of rubbish, old furniture, electrical appliances, surplus building materials, old tyres, and anything they wanted rid of… yet were never to be seen. Their offerings made a handy test to check the alignment of auxiliary vehicle lighting.

It’s almost hard to believe that this was once a normal two-lane minor road heading under the railway bridge.

Kenmuir Road

Further into the wilder land behind, and the fact that this was once road becomes even less evident as it takes on the appearance of little more than a narrow tree-lined footpath.

Kenmuir Road

It’s years since I walked here, and I can’t recall any of the detail, but I do recall signs to some sort of farm or similar, down a side-road which I saw vehicles using, so kept away from (I’m pretty good at finding the ‘GERROFMYLAND’ type as opposed to friendly farmers) since they were apparently still operating.

This was so long ago it was before digital cameras, but I do have pics filed away somewhere.

Having acquired the conversion kit more than five years ago, but never used it, this might be a motivator to get my analogue pic collection converted, as I’m curious about what this place was like back then, especially the building to be seen next.

These were always ruins by the time I got here, with part of the motivation to see where a stone arch, passed many times and visible on this adjacent (then) new section of the M74, was located, and what it belonged to, if anything.

Kenmuir Road continues to these derelict buildings, adjacent to the M74.

Unfortunately, none of this area appears to have any detailed records in online historic records, with nothing shown for Kenmuir, or Kenmuirhill (and even a short Kenmuirhill Road), which is also marked on old maps I have referred to.

Probably a farm, this was also an area with mineral railways running across it, a colliery nearby, football field, and even more roads that have disappeared from view. More recently there was a small water tower and even an electricity substation (I remember seeing these more modern features) but all these features are long gone.

I couldn’t find any useful carvings or dates.

Follow up information

It seems that an earlier visit to the site some years prior to mine (2010 as opposed to 2018) ended up having better luck, as it seems there were still people around to get some clues from.

I quote from a post which was linked in the comments section below.

Jimmy Wilsons Farm, Carmyle

First saw this from the motorway a few years back, I’ve wondered what it was ever since. I now drive past it every day going to work, yesterday curiosity got the better of me and the OH and I went for a visit.
As I had guessed from what I’d seen from the motorway, the building had never been finished.
On our way back to the car we spoke to a few locals who told us it was ‘Jimmy Wilsons Farm’. A rather eccentric man who was forever having livestock escape into the neighbouring residential area and during the building of the motorway, took two clydesdale horses into Glasgow court to protest that he wasn’t getting any money for ‘his’ land.
He started to build this house, apparently it was going to be lovely, lots of specially sculpted stones of horses heads and such. Unfortunately during construction Jimmy passed away, and no more work on the property was ever done. According the locals he was also a scrap merchant. On the land there is the house and the remains of a number of other buildings/sheds. Apparently his ashes were scattered on the grounds.
(If anyone can confirm any of this, or add any info I’d be every interested 🙂 )

The pics with this item are remarkably similar to mine, although a lot is obscures by undergrowth, as they were taken in June.

This item also managed to dig up an article in The Herald, dating from 1994:

Buried Treasure. The glory that was Glasgow is being dug up in Carmyle

It’s a pity I have such a rotten memory – as I noted in the opening, I used to travel along this road regularly, if not often, and wonder if I ever saw this place in passing, during the years before this road was closed off and disappeared.

The only things I can recall seeing on this road were (what I take to have been) a small building over a ventilation shaft (I assume from one of the old mines), and possibly some sort of small substation – and all the rubbish which illegal dumpers apparently just threw off their vehicles as they drove along this road once it got dark.

Kenmuir Road Derelicts 1

This is the view through the arch I mentioned earlier, looking toward the M74.

Carmyle Kenmuir Road Arch

How close it the M74?

THIS close!

Kenmuir Road M74 Gantry

This wall faces the M74.

Kenmuir Road Derelicts 2

This lies behind the wall seen above.

Kenmuir Road Derelicts 3

This was interesting to see – a fireplace and chimney sited in a wall apparently separating two rooms, but with the hearth sitting in an aperture common to both rooms. First seen from inside one room.

Kenmuir Road Derelicts Chimney A

And then from the other room.

Kenmuir Road Derelicts Chimney B

These steps lie across from the building seen above.

Carmyle Kenmuir Rd Derelicts 3

Looking back at the first building from atop those steps.

Carmyle Kenmuir Rd Derelicts 4

The following is new, for me at least.

When I was here before, I couldn’t reach this wall or the building seen below, as it was all heavily overgrown. With the landfill site active behind, there then seemed little point in making the effort to go further.

As can be seen, it’s now been wrecked and is not only easy to reach at this end of Kenmuir Road, but is easy to pass, just climb over the rubble, or walk through the gate revealed to the left.

This view is actually taken looking BACK towards Kenmuir Road, and was taken as I headed towards Greenoakhill.

Carmyle Kenmuir Rd Wall Derelicts

Some of the images above have been edited lightly, just to remove graffiti ‘tags’ as I have no desire to give scum any publicity, or a place to point at and proudly show their ‘work’ to their mates.

The area also has a fair amount of evidence of fires being set, and clever things like aerosol cans being thrown in them – also deliberately omitted from the pics.

Development

Appearing to date originally from 2015 (although the page text has no date included), this advert for the land between Carmyle and the Greenoakhill haven suggests that the land is being offered for housing:

This a fine example of strategic land promotion, the site was acquired as greenbelt land and is 60 acres. The land was incorporated in the master plan and we currently have planning application submitted for 300 houses which we expect to be successfully determined in the near future.

Via Kenmuir Farm, Glasgow