Jim Spence: How Camperdown Park magic could be restored

Camperdown Park, once a shining jewel in Dundee’s crown, is now a tarnished fading gem.

But I had a glimpse at the weekend of how its former lustre might be restored.

It’ll take the kind of vision which has sometimes been lacking in the city chambers – responsible for the park – but with foresight and entrepreneurial spirit, Camperdown could become a very attractive destination.

In its current dilapidated state, the former golf course which covers a huge area of the park is a sad sight.

Nature abhors a vacuum and as the course has regressed from its former man-made glory as a pristine environment, scenically pleasing on the eye and a decent golfing challenge, it’s become an overgrown jungle.

But the park could be turned into a paradise for cyclists, runners, walkers and even the young off-road bikers who tend to get a bad rap.

‘Great job’

On Sunday more than 300 cyclists, aged from under eight right through to veteran categories, took part in a cyclo-cross event which was a huge success.

There was a real carnival feel to the day with pizza and coffee vans, a stall selling bobble hats, and an array of transport including vans and camper vans which had brought competitors from all over Scotland for the all-day event.

With an adult course stretching two and half kilometres in length to be marked out with poles and tape, a power of work went into the event from the local organisers.

It’s the sort of event which can help cement the city’s reputation as a sporting destination and put Dundee on the map for future events.

Cyclo-cross event at Camperdown Park was a hit. Image: Jim Spence

The organisers along with the council, who helped in the preparation of the course, did a great job and the event attracted big numbers.

Intriguingly, one of the organisers told me that while doing the preparation work on the Friday, some young off-road motor bikers were watching.

Some officious promoters of such an event might have been worried given the reputation some of those youngsters have and been tempted to lay down the law or think about alerting the authorities.

A damaged patch of land at Camperdown Park after fly-tipping was set on fire. — A damaged patch of land at Camperdown Park earlier this year after fly-tipping was set on fire. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

Instead, showing the Wisdom of Solomon, he approached the bikers and asked them if they fancied riding the course on their motor bikes.

He told me they were delighted at the prospect of having a properly constructed course to challenge their skills on.

The unspoken agreement was they’d exercise their good judgement and not ruin all the hard graft which had gone into setting the course up.

‘Bring back the buzz’

Now there’s no doubt that there’s a real danger from some unlicensed motorbike riders running around the park and roads, and nearby Templeton Woods, but these lads had an enjoyable birl and left the course in the condition they’d found it.

I count that as a victory for common sense and it shows that when young folk are treated with a bit of respect, instead of being pigeonholed as vandals and miscreants, they can return that respect.

I think it’s worth a feasibility study to see if and how the park might be customised to provide facilities for all those who could be potential users.

I’d like to see serious consideration of professionally constructed areas and circuits which could accommodate cyclists, dirt bikers, walkers and runners, and others who might be keen to use a currently hugely underutilised city space, and bring some buzz and life back to it.

Safety concerns should obviously be paramount – but Sunday convinced me there’s an opportunity to build something which could bring great benefits to Dundee.