ADVENTURE areas are to be created in a new woodland park opposite the Athletes' Village.

The £635,000 scheme at Cuningar Loop, which will be part of an active zone, will provide play and bike skills areas suitable for mountain biking, BMX and dirt jump bikes.

Scotland's first outdoor boulder park will also be created for aspiring young mountaineers.

The new £5.7million woodland park is being created on land which has been lying derelict for years.

More than 15,000 trees, 30,000 shrubs, 40,000 bulbs and meadow grass are being planted in the 37-acre park at Glasgow's Dalmarnock.

A network of paths is being created along with play facilities, picnic areas and an amphitheatre for outdoor learning.

Cash for the new adventure schemes is being provided by the Forestry Commission and sportscotland's Active Places Fund.

Commonwealth Games Secretary Shona Robison said: "The Commonwealth Games is Scotland's biggest ever sporting and cultural event and I want to see a lasting Games legacy across the whole of Scotland in the years to come.

"Cuningar Loop is an exciting project and the new woodland will be a recreational resource that will encourage local people to get outdoors and become more active."

Forestry Commission Scotland project manager for Cuningar Loop, Joneen Clarke said: "We are thrilled to be one of the projects to benefit from the funding. The bike skills area and outdoor bouldering park will be key features in our activity zone.

"Our project strives to make physical activity more accessible to everyone in the local area and the funding will make a real difference to local communities and help provide a lasting legacy from Glasgow 2014."

It is hoped around 100,000 people will have visited the new park by 2021.

Chairwoman of sportscotland Louise Martin said: "Cuningar Loop is one of over 100 projects set to benefit from the Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund as we aim to encourage more people of all ages and abilities to become involved in sport and physical activity.

"Sportscotland and the Scottish Government are working closely to deliver a successful sporting legacy from Glasgow 2014, and the Active Places Fund is a key component of that vision."

vivienne.nicoll@eveningtimes.co.uk