Archaeologists probe Kelvingrove Park to uncover lost skateboard arena

The Herald Scotland

21 hours ago

But now archaeologists are hoping to uncover what remains of the once-radical facility more than three decades after it disappeared, both through physical surveys and the recording of people's memories of the concrete slopes and ramps which entertained a generation of boarders.
A Kelvin Wheelies high jumper in 1978 (Image: Iain Urquhart, with kind permission from North Skateboard Magazine)
Kelvin Wheelies skatepark opened in May 1978 in Kelvingrove Park with a full suite of obstacles for skateboarders to show off their skills and tricks.
Unique in Scotland, it contained bowls, a slalom run and a half-pipe - and was initially hugely popular with kids taking up the boarding craze, which had arrived from America.
The park hosted several competitions, including the first national skateboarding competition in Scotland, the 1978 Scottish Skateboard Championships, where Glasgow dominated the Bowl Riding competitions.
The slalom run in 1978 (Image: Iain Urquhart, with kind permission from North Skateboard Magazine) However, growing concerns about maintenance costs and safety led to the park's closure by 1983, and it was buried over – vanishing beneath the ground and from the city's landscape.
Elements of the original site remain visible adjacent to the modern skatepark in Kelvingrove Park today, but there is currently no information available to explain the significance of this site to Kelvingrove Park visitors, or users of the modern skatepark.
Experts at the University of Glasgow, working with volunteers and students, will undertake a probe at the site from 25 to 29 August to learn more about the current condition of the skatepark, and ensure that 'a central part of modern Glasgow's sporting heritage' is recorded.
The archaeological fieldwork is being supported by Scotland's oldest antiquarian society, and will help to preserve the legacy of the park.
As part of a broader program of research into the site, the team has been funded through a £1,102 grant from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland to enable the work to take place.
The remains of the slalom run today (Image: Dr Kenny Brophy, FSAScot)The University of Glasgow team have also partnered with Archaeology Scotland's New Audiences programme to invite volunteers from asylum seeking and refugee communities to participate in the fieldwork, to continue the programme's efforts engaging marginalised communities in uncovering Glasgow's sporting heritage.
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Former Scottish skateboard champion Jamie Blair, owner of Glasgow-based skateboarding shop Clan Skates and a former member of the Kelvingrove skateboard team, said: 'When Kelvin Wheelies opened in 1978, skaters from all over the UK flocked to this radical new facility.
'A park team was formed and for the next few years Glasgow was the dominant force in Scottish skateboarding.
'Sadly, a dip in skateboarding's popularity in the early 1980s and the construction of a rival skatepark in Livingston saw the decline of Kelvin Wheelies, with the main bowlriding area buried in time. I'm thrilled that through this project we have a chance to rediscover it.'
The public are invited to contact the project to share memories, video and photographs of the original Kelvin Wheelies, which will form part of an online archive for the skatepark and help with future fieldwork.
Dr Kenny Brophy FSAScot, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and project leader, said: 'There is a very real danger that this skatepark, a place that was so special for hundreds of young people just decades ago, will become forgotten and lost.
'Contemporary archaeology allows us the opportunity to explore even fairly recent events and places to jog memories, combining traditional archaeological fieldwork techniques with interviews and documentary research.
'In the case of Kelvin Wheelies, this is a unique opportunity for a generation of skateboarders to relive the excitement of their youth and excavate their own memories of a place that was so special to them.'
The 'Jaws' bowl in 1978 (Image: Iain Urquhart, with kind permission from North Skateboard Magazine))
To share memories, please contact [e-mail] or use #KelvinWheelies when posting on X and Bluesky.
Assessing what remains of the 'Jaws Bowl' today (Image: Dr Kenny Brophy, FSAScot) The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland supports high-quality research and publication relating to Scotland's past by making several grants and awards twice each year.
This round awarded a total of £17,478 to 11 projects researching an aspect of Scottish history or archaeology, including 19th-century Scottish tea merchants and the global interactions in China, female emigration from Shetland and Skye to Australia during the Great Famine of 1845-51, and the dating of Viking ship stems from the Isle of Eigg.
Dr Helen Spencer FSAScot, Head of Research at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, said: 'As a charity, we are especially grateful to our thousands of Fellows across the globe, whose subscription fees enable us to distribute these grants each year.