Gallus Glasgow G: Garnethill

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GWL Garnethill Walk October 13. Photo credit Mardelle Ceaser
GWL Garnethill Walk October 2014. Photo credit Mardelle Ceaser

I have come to know Garnethill well in recent years – it’s the topic of one of Glasgow Women’s Library’s Women’s Heritage Walks on which I act as a tour guide. There we are above, looking gallus. It’s a mainly residential area near the city centre which got the first part of its name from Thomas Garnett (1766-1802) who built a house here. The views below explain the second part of the name quite well! There’s a hill in every direction.

Garnethill
Garnethill
Garnethill

Despite its relatively small size, Garnethill packs in a lot of history. The tour explores women’s lives via churches, hospitals, schools, a park, a synagogue, a museum (The Tenement House) and Mackintosh’s iconic Art School, shown bottom right after the fire damage of May 2014. The other pictures show gable-end public art from the late 70s, the Pocket Park, the birthplace of novelist Catherine Carswell and one of Shona Kinloch’s Chookie Burdies (look for the wee bird on the lamp-post).

Street art. Photo credit Mardelle Ceaser
Pocket Park
Birthplace of Catherine Carswell
Chookie Burdies. Photo credit Mardelle Ceaser
Glasgow School of Art. Photo credit Mardelle Ceaser

There is a Storify for this walk with more pictures, and see also my friend Mardelle Ceaser’s blog about her experience as a tour participant. Several of the pictures in this post are hers (used with permission and credited in the captions.) However, this is just a flavour of the two hours of history on offer. If you’re in the Glasgow area, I recommend coming on any of GWL’s walks (not that I’m biased, of course!)

In H tomorrow, you might be able to get a pint to go with that curry you had in C.

A to Z Challenge 2015, Scotland, UK , ,

29 Comments »

  1. That must be fun! Doing a guided tour of women’s history. We just got this app on our phones that will buzz if you’re walking near a place where women made history. Anywhere in the world. It’s really neat!

    N J Magas, author

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  3. You must be in great shape with all the walking you do and a fountain of wisdom since you invest so much into everything you see. It would be great to take one of these walks with you

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    • Some dat, Birgit, some day! I don’t know about fountain of wisdom. Librarians don’t have to know much, but they need to know how to find out. I’m quite good at that!

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  6. That looks like great fun. If you weren’t told those birds were on the lampposts you might never know they were there!

    We’ve got something similar along the side of one of the buildings on the island. As you walk along it shows birds building a nest, then the eggs, then then the baby birds. It’s a nice little touch to the building. 🙂

    Cait @ Click’s Clan

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  9. I must go! I never even thought of going on a tour. Now I think I will since I travel alone most of the time anyway. Very much enjoying your travels here.

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    • We’ve been on walking tours in a few places – they’re a great way to learn about the place you are visiting. Glad you’re enjoying your tour of Glasgow!

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  10. This sounds like a fascinating tour! My great-great grandmother lived and died in Scotland (died at age 25, sadly), and I am always looking for ways to learn more about what her life might have been like.

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