Glasgow Gallivanting: October 2017

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Canal House, Speirs Wharf

It’s been a quiet month for travel, for me at least – John spent a chunk of it working in China, so I don’t suppose he feels the same. Foul weather has meant I haven’t been very far afield, but I have tramped about Glasgow in between rain storms and have a few local buildings to show you.

Speirs Wharf

A Sunday afternoon stroll with John took us down the Glasgow spur of the Forth and Clyde Canal to Port Dundas. Here, Speirs Wharf has been a residential area since the late 1980s but originated in the 19th century as the canal’s headquarters and the City of Glasgow Grain Mills and Stores. As well as Canal House (above) we found other attractive reflections on our walk.

Forth and Clyde Canal reflections
Speirs Wharf
Speirs Wharf
Speirs Wharf
New housing

Temple

Forth and Clyde Canal at Temple

On a gloomy Sunday while John was away, the sun suddenly broke through about 3.30pm. I set off along the canal again, but in the opposite direction. I could almost have been in the countryside until Temple Gasometers came into view.

Temple Gasworks were built in 1871 and closed in 1968, but the two large gas holders, dating from 1893 and 1900, were still being used until a few years ago.

Temple Gasometer
Temple Gasometers

Historic Environment Scotland recently sought views on plans to schedule the structures as Category B Listed buildings. I don’t know the result, but the local paper reported divided opinion between those who wanted them conserved and those who would flatten them. I’d be in the former camp these days, though we used to live very close to the gasometers and I hated them then. Now, I can see their beauty as part of our industrial heritage (and I don’t have to pass them every day which helps).

Also at Temple are Locks 26 and 27. The pub Lock 27, which you can see in the background of the portrait image, used to be our local. It’s still handy for a post-stroll pint but wasn’t open on this day.

Lock 26, looking towards Lock 27
Lock 26
Looking east from Lock 26

Jordanhill

At Lock 27, I left the canal and headed for Jordanhill. Some of you might remember this is the University Campus I used to work at. I swore I would never go there again after my last visit a couple of years ago when it was so sad to see the semi-derelict state of it (the campus closed in 2012 and has now been sold for housing), but that’s where my footsteps took me. Nothing has changed – there is some controversy with the development and local people are protesting about the number of homes to be built with little or no improvements in infrastructure. The handsome red sandstone David Stow Building is one of three that will be kept. The other picture is not pretty, I know, but that’s the entrance I used for work every day.

David Stow Building 2017
Entrance to Henry Wood Building 2017

I found it funny to see the bright blue library book drop still there: locked – I checked. I probably locked it myself five years ago. On the door is a notice informing users that the library closed on 1st June 2012, telling them where to take their books in future, and thanking them for their custom over the years. I know I wrote that and put it up and I’m amazed no-one has ever taken it down. I’m just glad I can laugh, it’s all bygones now. I have no regrets.

Down by the Riverside

Another reason that October has been constrained is that I have been fighting with a broken-down boiler which took 6 visits from 4 different workmen to fix, so I have spent a lot of time hanging round the house. One visit was supposed to be on the Sunday afternoon in the middle of the saga, but the engineer phoned to say that he was still waiting for parts and would come on Monday instead. So we set off down the River Kelvin Walkway and then along the Clyde.

The last time we visited this former pumping station it still showed signs of having been a restaurant (first picture below). Eighteen months later, the restaurant’s conservatory has been replaced with a glass still-house for a new whisky distillery. Exciting!

Yorkhill Pumping Station
Clydeside Distillery
Clydeside Distillery
Clydeside Distillery
Clydeside Distillery

On the other side of the river, we spotted the Waverley (the last ocean-going paddle steamer in the world – red funnels) and Queen Mary (the only remaining Clyde-built turbine steamer which is now being preserved as a museum ship – yellow funnels). We crossed over to have a look.

Waverley
Queen Mary

Both ships are berthed by the Glasgow Tower, a rotating structure which you are supposed to be able to ascend but which spends more time inactive than not. From its podium, we got a good view of the Glasgow Science Centre and some of the other weird buildings by this part of the river.

Glasgow Tower
Glasgow Science Centre
Glasgow Science Centre

The last bit

I came across this piece of street art near Glasgow University. It’s by an artist new to me, Pink Bear Rebel, who focuses, I’ve read, on anti-Trump protests and rebelling against the ‘meaningless of life’. I’ll be on the look-out for more.

And the boiler? Well, as of last Tuesday we have heat – just as well, because overnight frosts have returned. It also gives me this month’s Scottish words lesson because it’s been a sair fecht to deal with (sore/hard fight; something problematic).

I hope your October has NOT been a sair fecht!

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85 Comments »

  1. That’s interesting; but I think I know what you mean. I get quite impassioned about my “neighbourhood” in ways I certainly don’t feel about other places I visit, and I’m sure that’s reflected in anything I write about them.

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  2. I do love your local gallivanting (not that I don’t appreciate sharing in your travels further afield), and that street art is fab. I’m glad the boiler is fixed — I’m hearing from family in Kirkcaldy that it’s a bit nippy now. 🙂

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  3. We’ve had many a sair fecht with boiler trouble over the years, so I can sympathise entirely with the frustrations of it all. I’m glad it got sorted out in the end. Thanks for the glimpses of Glasgow and environs – it’s always good to learn more about a place where I grew up bit didn’t really explore before I moved away.

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  5. Beautiful photos and wonderful story as usual, Anabel. It’s interested to read a little about the place you worked before. I worked at downtown before I retired 4 years ago, and even now I still avoid going there. Ha.
    Have a great day/evening.

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  12. It took me years of living here before I realised that those big circular metal structures I kept seeing were gasholders! I think it was because I used to just pass the same one all the time, and I’d never seen anything like it, so I assumed it was the frame of a round building that was either being built, or had burnt down. It wasn’t until I spotted other, identical looking ones that I thought to ask about it! I’m still not sure I’m a fan of them, but I guess in terms of industrial heritage, it is worth keeping a few.

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  13. oh your month was not at all what I expected from the one-liner in the email notification – amazing how a few shots of blue skies changes the perspective!

    so glad you were able to smile at your old notice, how very sad though 5years later still no decision and it stands empty.

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    • I chose to show only the best of the weather we had! Too many other days confined to home by storms or boilers….

      I think everyone would like the building project to get going. The trouble is the builders have increased the number of homes planned on site without, it seems to me, considering traffic, school places etc. Profit is all!

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  14. For someone who claims to have had a quiet month of travel, I think you’ve covered a lot of ground. If you hadn’t mentioned all the rain, I would think it was mostly sunny there 🙂

    The David Stow Building looks magnificent. It’s a shame it’s been sitting empty. I hope they can restore it to its full glory.

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    • The great thing about the canal and river being so close to our house is that we can guarantee a couple of hours when the sun peeks through. As the say about Scotland, you can often experience four seasons in one day!

      The Stow building is lovely with a magnificent entrance hall. I hope they can retain that when they convert it, but I’m not holding my breath.

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  16. It’s so funny that the sign you wrote 5 years ago when the library closed is still there and the book drop off is still there and locked. I like your walk of reflections and I love the new street artist, Pink Bear Rebel, and his sentiments and political beliefs. Happy October. 🙂

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  17. I love to see these pictures that are near you. I’m glad they are keeping that old red brick building and I would keep those round structures and bring in some architectural artist to do something with them. The old locks look so cool and love that they are still being used. I love that artist who can speak his mind in his art..love the old lady in fish net stockings

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  19. Hi Anabel – lovely photos … and all the buildings around the Clyde – I really must sometime look at a map and see what’s what … but sounds like you live in a really ‘sensible’ place for getting out and about – both nature-wise and for some culture … the free wifi is good … but THEN too … and the new whiskey distillery behind glass – beautiful … I don’t like whiskey – so the rest is left for others! Cheers Hilary

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    • Thanks, Hilary. We love where we live for those very reasons! I like whisky so I’ll be interested to follow what happens with this new one, though it’ll be a while before it can actually produce. Sometimes they distil gin while they’re waiting – mmm…..

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  20. Enjoyable and informative post. New mural for me and new info on Jordanhill. I’ve not done as much this summer either then had a spurt of fresh activity recently, probably due to the weather improving.

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  21. I enjoyed the images of your hometown, Anabel. It’s so nice to see a place through a resident’s eyes, even in the choice of what you decide to visit and photograph. It must have felt a bit like a step back in time when you visited your old library. I’m glad there are no regrets. And very glad that your boiler is fixed! It’s starting to get a bit frosty occasionally here in Ontario, Canada. Winter can’t be far off.

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  22. I got completely lost in your story and photos, Anabel. So much history and interesting details. I love the street art picture that you shared. I Googled ‘Pink Bear Rebel’ and even found a FB page! I’m glad that you now have heat!

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  23. In dim days, way beyond recall, I worked in Port Dundas. I also worked in Maryhill (Craigmont Street if it still exists) In Maryhill I worked as Traffic Clerk for a company called Highland Haulage. I spent quite a few years there. In Port Dundas I worked for HM Customs and Excise at White Horse Distillery – and other places . Most of the photographs, show structures that didn’t exist in 1980, when we left Glasgow. As I recall Jordanhill was the Teacher Training Campus. I could be wrong but that’s what I remember it as. I loved the photographs of the Waverly and the Queen Mary. As a very young boy my dad took me on a tram and we came into town and took a trip doon the watter, on the Duchess of Montrose. I think I slept a good part of it, but then from Cardonald – where we lived – into town, a boat trip and a journey home, was a very long day :o) Great post Anabel, I enjoyed the memories.

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    • Interesting! Glad to have promoted enjoyable memories. Yes, Craigmount Street still exists. Jordanhill originated as a teacher training college and expanded to various other subjects before becoming part of the University of Strathclyde in 1993. In 2012 they closed the whole campus down which is when and why I took early retirement.

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  24. You’ve included some lovely old buildings and memories in this post, Anabel. I hope the authorities manage to sort out their plans for the University buildings. That red one is beautiful and it would be a shame to carve up the insides into tiny apartments. I hope November is more pleasant for you. 🙂

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  25. Your post is a good lesson in the pleasure that can be found in exploring your local area, including return visits to favourite haunts. Sorry about the boiler. Our heating system packed up last winter in the coldest week of the year – my olive oil went solid it was that cold – so I can appreciate how stressful and expensive that is to deal with.

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  26. October has not been sair fecht! In fact, it’s been beautiful with Colorado’s fall colors and a trip to Texas to celebrate my Grands’ birthdays. Now that you have a toasty warm home to return to, your rambles will be even more enjoyable.

    And good for your Pink Bear Rebel. Anyone who’s anti-*rump is welcome at my house any time.

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    • Sounds a lovely month! I don’t think the colours have been as good here as usual. There are trees I pass regularly – red and yellow, usually together. This year the red leaves have almost all fallen and the yellow is still largely green.

      I’ll definitely post any more of Pink Bear’s art I come across.

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  27. Thanks for the reminder to get my boiler serviced!
    Isn’t it a shame that NOW doesn’t reflect in the water to make THEN? NOM should be the new THEN.
    Great buildings – but a greater eye to see them, thanks!

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  28. You certainly manage to show us a lot of Glasgow. I especially loved the ‘Free Wifi’ in the graffiti picture.

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  29. I can empathise with the boiler situation – we’ve just had a new one fitted…. lots of mess but we are enjoying having a reliable source of heating again! Enjoyed the walk, how interesting your note is still there too!!

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    • Ours is about 9 years old – I was hoping we weren’t going to need a new one! However, I think they probably replaced so many parts in their quest for the fault that it’s almost new anyway…..

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  31. New boiler too, so hope to be cosy this winter. First frost here in The Cotswolds.

    Don’t know why, but we used to call The Forth and Clyde canal ‘The Nolly’ at its manifestation in

    Clydebank/ Dalmuir. One year a fairground group dumped goldfish in it and the heat from an out

    pipe at Singer’s factory gave them a compatible habitat and they grew into monster goldfish. Every

    kid in the town had a couple. Mine were called Bonnie and Clyde!

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  32. Glasgow is full of surprises and your tours are full of interest. I love the Canal House, my sort of house as I enjoy the symmetry of it. I am glad they are keeping the David Stow building as that looks amazing and would be nice as flats (if looked after). The gasometers however leave me in a quandary. They do look rather nice now, but would I say that if I lived close to them? I’m visualising them glassed in and used as glasshouses. And I am very glad you got the boiler fixed, but it sounds like it was quite a mission!

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    • I think Glasgow still hasn’t quite shaken off its image as a grimy, rough city – it actually has many areas of real beauty. I’m a sucker for symmetry too, and your comment about David Stow sent me searching for photos of the grand entrance hall but I don’t ever seem to have posted any. Someday I must! I hope they keep that: when they open the show home I’ll need to go for a nosy. Glasshouses sound fabulous! I wonder if it’s too late to suggest that 😉 I am so glad to be warm and toasty now. Winter has definitely arrived here.

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  37. Glasgow keeps surprising and entertaining me as a reader. The canal walks look so peaceful. Living in the city, it must be sometimes exciting and sometimes sad to see the changes in establishments and landmarks over the years. And, who knew that reflections don’t need a sunny sky? I’ll keep that in mind when I am annoyed at cloud cover on a day of explorations.

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    • I think because the canal water was so still it reflected well. It is sad to see buildings decline, but we get used to change. Sometimes I see photos of some parts of Glasgow as it was 20 years ago and can barely remember it looking that way.

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  38. Ooh I wouldn’t fancy waking up without heating this morning – it feels like winter rocked up out of nowhere overnight!! Brilliant walks – taking notes to follow in your footsteps!! 🙂

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