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Woody Point, Mill Road, Allanton, Lanarkshire.

POSTCODE———————————-ML7 5DQ

LOCATED————————————Three miles north west from the Lanarkshire town of Wishaw, and about half a mile west of the village of Allanton.

ORIGINAL SITE—————————–A clearing in dense woodland.

DATE CONSTRUCTED——————–1940’s as a schooling track inside a trotting circuit.

DATE VENUE OPENED——————-June 1949.
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.

FIRST MEETING—————————–June 25th 1949.
Greyhound Racing only.

LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———-Independent
All venues covered would have to be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refer to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——Possibly a Ball Hare type.
Please note that the Electric Hare suggested is only a guidance and would have been in operation for a certain amount of time at this venue. Although it is not necessarily guaranteed that it was operational all the time, as other types of lure may have been used and updated as time progressed.

DISTANCES———————————–Nothing found.
Please note that most racing venues distances had become varied throughout the years, the ones given above were at once point set and offers only a guidance to the track size.

CIRCUMFERENCE—————————Dont know
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throughout its existence would see that the circumference of the track would vary, the one shown above offers only a guidance to the track size.

BIG RACE NAMES—————————Nothing found.

STADIUM SHARED WITH——————Nothing known of.

LAST MEETING——————————-September 15th 1951.
Greyhound Racing only.

STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————-Early 1950’s.
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.

STADIUM DEMOLITION——————-Left to decay.

BUILT ON SITE——————————-The site acted as a gypsy caravan park for good number of years before becoming a derelict site consisting of abandoned outbuildings and piles of rubble.
In some cases, structure’s that originally covered the venue after the stadium had been demolished, may have been themselves demolished too, so the one described is more likely to be the one which now presently covers the site.

EVIDENCE LEFT TODAY——————-Possibly the outbuildings may have been in use when Greyhound Racing took place.

FURTHER COMMENTS——————–None

This caption dated June 24th 1949 announces the tracks opening meeting.
This aerial view of the venue around the late 1940’s.
Another view this time 50 years on. Courtesy of Google earth.
The following four photos offers different views of what was left of the site during 2015.

Roughly twenty miles south west of Glasgow lies the site of the old Woody Point greyhound track, a baron section of land found roughly three miles north east of the Lanarkshire town of Wishaw. The site lies south of the A71 were it dissects the villages of Allenton and Bonkle, with the site well hidden within a wooded area south of the main road.

The greyhound track was constructed during the 1940’s within the boundaries of a trotting circuit, opening up as just a schooling track before becoming a flapping track between June 1949 and September 1951. It then reverted back to a schooling track before being abandoned during the 1950’s. Nothing is known regarding racing distances, with the hare used possibly being that of a ball type, but no doubt the track would have been very basic with a grass running surface.

It was during the 1960’s that the site became a residential caravan park for the local gypsy community, before the scheme became abandoned during the following decade. Today the clearing is still evident, although difficult to find, with its best access being along Mill Road, just half a mile west of Allanton heading out towards Bonkle. A dirt track runs off Mill Road and leads you down through a wooded area before unveiling a clearing at the bottom. At the bottom of the dirt track, a gate offers access to one habitable building, but the rest of the land is infested with rubble and weeds, with a handful of derelict outbuildings still remaining. It is my presumption that at some point of their life, that these outbuildings once served as a purpose to assist the running of the Woody Point greyhound track.

A programme, photograph or even memorabilia for this track is required for this page, if you can help please contact me.