Bridge and waterfall among autumn trees in Rouken Glen Park, East Renfrewshire

Where to go · East Renfrewshire

Forest bathing at Rouken Glen Park

A park with a wooded gorge on the Auldhouse Burn, a big waterfall and boardwalk paths through the glen.

Rouken Glen Park covers 58 hectares in Giffnock and Thornliebank. Archibald Cameron Corbett gave the estate to the people of Glasgow and it opened as a park in 1906; it is now run by East Renfrewshire Council and listed as a designed landscape. Its heart is the glen of the Auldhouse Burn, a gorge of sandstone and limestone that is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with steep woodland around a large waterfall and the ruins of an old mill at its foot.

Most people stay around the boating pond and the café, so head down into the glen for quiet. The Glen Walks follow the burn on bridges and a boardwalk that later becomes a narrow earth path, with some stairs. The waterfall is at its fullest after rain, and the gorge stays sheltered in poor weather. Expect mud on the earth sections.

Practical

Managed by
East Renfrewshire Council
Parking
Car park on Davieland Road, Giffnock
Terrain
Glen paths with bridges, boardwalk, stairs and narrow earth sections
Nearest station
Whitecraigs, about 10 minutes' walk
Facilities
Café by the boating pond
Opening and entry
Open all year, free
Official page
eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

Last updated 4 November 2026. Paths, parking and access can change, so check before you visit. Spotted something out of date? Please let us know.

Guides nearby

Three guides within 15 miles of Rouken Glen Park

More woodlands in East Renfrewshire

All venues in East Renfrewshire
The Pollick Burn running through Pollick Glen, Uplawmoor, East RenfrewshirePollick GlenShort, quiet woodland walk above the Pollick Burn at UplawmoorGreenbank GardenBeech, oak and lime woodland around a Georgian house and walled garden

Photos: Pollick Glen, Rosser1954 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Greenbank Garden (area photo): Rouken Glen waterfall. Photo: Thrissel, CC BY-SA 3.0.