THE baton took a trip on two wheels for a brief excursion out of Glasgow after it hit the east end.

The provost of South Lanarkshire, Ian McAllan, was waiting on the border between the two council areas to greet Lord Smith on the footbridge across the Clyde linking the Athletes Village to the new Cunningar Loop Forest Park.

Waiting on the other side and ready to go after the handover were team Scotland cyclists and members of the CamGlen cycling group.

The forest park and the bridge were created as a result of the Commonwealth Games, transforming a large area of vacant scrubland into a community resource and visitor attraction.

CamGlen cyclist Diane Carmichael was waiting with her friends to join the relay.

She said: “It is a big event for the area. We all cycle with CamGlen and we are really just here to support the event.

“We use the cycle paths when we are on trips, it’s a great resource.”

Rab Wardell, Team Scotland mountain biker, took the baton on a cycle round the park with the CamGlen Bike Town group.

With a one-handed wheelie and one hand still on the baton he was off round the park, disappearing into the trees.

All around the handover site is an area transformed beyond recognition by the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The Athletes Village has been turned into hundreds of homes, the Cunningar Loop has already met its visitor targets three years early and the Emirates arena is visible in the distance, home to many sporting events since 2014.

The street signs are also a reminder of the Games that led to creation of the village.

Streets named after Auckland, Edmonton, Vancouver, Manchester, Kingston and other Commonwealth cities make up the site beside the River Clyde.

Lord Smith said it was “emotional and exciting” to be back at the heart of the Glasgow Games.

He said: “The last time I was here the athletes were living in the village and now it is a community and there’s going to be a school and there is the bridge to South Lanarkshire. It’s fantastic.

“Before the Games it was waste ground but look at it now.”

Lord Smith is Chair of Clyde Gateway which is regenerating the area.

He added: “We are regenerating with the community. It hasn’t had the best with health problems but it’s getting better.

“It hasn’t had the best time with jobs but it is getting better.”

The Cunningar Loop has been used by 120,000 visitors already, popular with families, walkers, cyclists and dog walkers many of whom are passingthough as the Queen’s Baton Relay pays its visit.

The cyclists arrive back from their trip round the park and the sojourn into South Lanarkshire is complete.

It is time to head back into Glasgow to the heart of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The team led by Louise Haston, Team Scotland paralympic tandem cyclist, who piloted Aileen McGlynn to Silver in 2014, headed off back across the bridge into the Athletes Village for the short trip to the Emirates arena for the next stage.

They pass through some of the streets that once housed superstars like Usain Bolt, now home to Glasgow children.