Glasgow Gallivanting: September 2019

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25th August 2019 was the two hundredth anniversary of the death of Scottish engineer James Watt. Watt’s interest in the technology of steam engines began while he was employed as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, and his work became fundamental to the Industrial Revolution. There have been commemorations in Scotland all year, and this month it was John’s turn to take part by giving a lecture on Watt at a conference organised by some of his colleagues. I went along and enjoyed it very much (even though I had heard some of it before!)

You can find representations of Watt in several places in Glasgow – left to right below: on Glasgow Green outside the People’s Palace, in Anderston, in the Hunterian Museum and in George Square.

Glasgow Green
Anderston
Hunterian Museum
George Sqaure

John’s not the only one to have been talking. I gave my talk on the Suffragette Jessie Stephen for the third time – it’s getting quite polished now – and a few days later I led two women’s history walks for Doors Open Day. I’m not quite sure why I agreed to three events in one week – note to self for next year: don’t do it! However, a bonus to one of the walks is that I got to see inside Glasgow’s Mercat Cross which is usually firmly locked. Market crosses like this are found all over Scotland to mark the places where markets were legally held – Glasgow’s original cross was removed in 1659 and this symbolic replacement was erected in 1929/30 to the design of Scotland’s first practicing female architect, Edith Burnett Hughes. The unicorn and interior animal figures were modelled by  Margaret Cross Primrose. I’ve said that last sentence every time I’ve been a guide on this walk, but only now know what these animals look like.

Mercat Cross
Unicorn
Interior

A couple of family visits (one to us, one involving travelling) also contributed to a busy month, but we still got time to get out and about to see new places. Autumn is upon us and short, dark days lie ahead so we decided to make the most of the last of summer.

Penicuik House

Penicuik House in Midlothian looks impressive from a distance, but as you get closer you can see that it is merely a shell. Erected by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik between 1761 and 1778, it was extended in 1857 and destroyed by fire in 1899. A Preservation Trust was set up in 1987 and, over a century after the fire, the ruin was stabilised and partially restored (2007-14) and is now open to the public. Inside, you can see doors that open into thin air and the remains of spiral staircases. The exterior is still ornamented by some fine statues (and on this day, John.)

Door to nowhere
Remains of spiral staircase
Back of house
Statue by entrance
Statue by entrance
John at Penicuik House

After exploring the ruin, and having lunch in the café which, thankfully, has a roof, we walked round the estate. The building with the spire is the old stables where, I believe, the family still lives. The 18th century tower, which the Trust aims to renovate and reopen, was designed as both a belvedere (viewpoint) and doocot (dovecot). The view is of the Pentland Hills from Cauldshoulders Ridge which we had climbed in the hope of reaching the monument you can just glimpse in the distance over the white gate. We failed to find it!

Old stables
Grounds
Looking down on the estate
Tower / doocot

On our way home we dropped into a place I would never have known about had I not read a post on Things Helen Loves just a few days before. The Secret Herb Garden was a short detour on our route from Penicuik House back to the Edinburgh by-pass. A herb nursery, garden, café and gin distillery – it’s all those things. We indulged in coffee and cake and left with a bottle of gin.

The Clyde at Crossford

We did a lovely circular walk out along the Clyde from the village of Crossford in South Lanarkshire, returning on minor roads and farm tracks via the memorial at General Roy’s birthplace. William Roy produced a map of Scotland after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, and from this grow the Ordnance Survey which produces the maps we use today. Appropriately, the memorial is in the form of a trig point pillar.

General Roy Memorial
General Roy Memorial

Dumfries House

Dumfries House which, confusingly, is not in Dumfries but near Cumnock in Ayrshire, was built in the 1750s for the 5th Earl of Dumfries. The architects were the Adam brothers, and much of the furnishing was specially commissioned from Thomas Chippendale. When it became too expensive for the family to run in 2007, the owner, by then the 7th Marquess of Bute, sold it for £45m to the nation in the form of a Foundation headed by Prince Charles. The house (no photography inside) and estate have been restored to their former glory and opened to the public..

I have ambivalent feelings about touring these great houses – to me, they represent the pinnacle of a rotten social system – and I am no big fan of royalty, quite the reverse. However, I think a good thing has been done here. The Estate is now the second biggest employer in the area, after the local council, and the jobs provided are not just casual, dead-end ones. Young people are learning new skills via apprenticeships in hospitality and traditional crafts such as stonemasonry – the estate is dotted with quirky little shelters and summer houses as a result.

18C Doocot
Garden
Entrance and fountain
Lost Distillery
2014 doocot ceiling
2014 doocot
Covered bridge
Rothesay Garden
Rothesay Garden
Garden shelter
Centre of maze
Maze gate
Adam Bridge (1760)
Lady’s Well, 2019
Pond
Avenue
Temple Gate
Walled garden
Walled garden
Walled garden

Mugdock Country Park

Mugdock is close to home and we’ve visited often, but we’ve never been lucky enough to be there when the only intact tower of the castle was open. Great views from the top!

Mugdock Castle
View from the tower
View from the tower

The middle floor of the castle is furnished like a dining room, with posters detailing old remedies around the walls. I rather liked this one:

To cure a great flux or looseness of the belly take a hard egg and peel off the shell and put the smaller end of it to the fundament and when it is cold take another such hot, fresh, hard and peeled egg and apply it as aforesaid.

Readers, do not try this at home!

The last bit

The Oor Wullie trail which graced Scotland’s cities this summer finished at the end of August, and during September each city auctioned off its statues. In total, they have raised an amazing £1.3m for children’s hospital charities. Metal Oor Wullie, designed by Jason Patterson and exhibited in Glasgow’s George Square, was the biggest fundraiser at £25,000.

Every autumn, I find a new mural by street artist Pink Rebel Bear. This year, s/he takes aim at Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, and Boris Johnson, depicting them all as big babies. It was really hard to photograph because there was scaffolding in front of it, hence the angle. It’s on Woodlands Terrace Lane near the junction with Woodlands Road should any Glaswegian readers be interested.

Pink Bear Rebel Mural
Big Heid by Oh Pandah

The other piece of graffiti art above was snapped on the Kelvin Walkway near Inn Deep, but I’ve seen the same head in different colours all around the city over the last couple of months. I’ve only just discovered the story behind it though. The “Big Heids” are by Oh Pandah, a Glasgow based graffiti artist who is using them to celebrate two years of sobriety. Apparently, the reason the faces all look as they do reflects the previous lifestyle followed by the artist and the toll taken by years of partying. Crikey!

Finally, to my Scottish word of the month. You might have noticed the UK is still in political turmoil, with the government recently being taken to court. Twice. If you live here, you will know the sordid details. If you don’t, I won’t bore you with them. One of the Scottish judges used the word stymied meaning obstructed – I think that’s a fairly common word these days and would be understandable to non-Scots, but did you know that it originated as a golfing term from the Scots stimie? Well now you do! It describes a situation where one player’s ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play.

In another Scottish turn of phrase, the nights are fair drawing in. Will that curtail our October gallivanting? Time will tell – have a great month.

Scotland, UK , , , , , , , ,

69 Comments »

  1. Hi Anabel – loved the tour and seeing where you went. The dovecot is fascinating … beautiful ceiling. I’d love to see Dumfries House at some stage … it’s great there are jobs to be had for talented, interesting people … and who can learn those old skills. Fascinating … cheers Hilary

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  2. Interesting point about how the excesses of the wealthy people of past eras become our historical monuments of today. I’m glad to hear that the Dumfries House estate is providing a good source of employment in the region.

    Jude

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  3. What a busy month you had, with lectures and travels and walks! I love that red truck in the Secret Herb Garden. That mural of the Trump baby and friends brings an uneasy smile to my face. So apropos. And it’s so nice to learn of where the Ordnance Surveys originated. We used those on our walks through England in 1999, finding some real treasures off the beaten paths. 🙂

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  4. I learn a great deal from you, Anabel. Aside from interesting places and people, I can see how you continue to enjoy learning and exploring new sites. I appreciate how you make the information fun and interesting with your wit and humour. The secret herb garden was a great find. Interesting how The Estate is a large employer and a place for learning new skills. The murals and graffiti are unique. I appreciate all of the photos. A great post, as always!

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  6. For sure a busy month again! Impressive you both gave talks/presentations in September! And how cool you got to go inside a cross. The facade of Penicuik House does look impressive; the sky seen through the top windows gives away it’s not a closed building.

    Great opening shot of Dumfries House, capturing all those different buildings. What an impressive destination!

    I have friends who named their dog Stymie. 🙂

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  7. How cool that you got to see inside the cross at last, and it was well worth it too. Your political dramas aren’t confined to just your television screens. Here in Australia we get daily reports on the latest goings on in your parliament but can’t really understand what is to be gained by either the government or the opposition parties.

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  8. What a busy month you’ve had and what lovely places you’ve visited. We really haven’t seen Glasgow or much of Scotland around there so feel that we need to rectify that soon.

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  10. The grounds of Dumfries house look really interesting and I like the carved animals on the staircase. I must have animals on the brain, I read Mercat as Meercat! 🙂

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  11. Glad to hear all your talks and walks went well. Three in a week is a lot! I only gave one tour of the museum for London Open House (the same one I gave last year), but I was still stressed about it the whole week beforehand. I’m fine once I actually start talking, it’s the anxiety leading up to it that’s a killer. The BoJo/Trump mural is hilarious, and I love the animals carved in the staircase.

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  12. There is a lot in here Anabel!! I’m not quite sure what to comment on.

    First – I had to look up dovecot/doocot because I had no idea what it was … and now I do 🙂 Points for learning today!

    Loved the fountain at the Dumfries House, and the small covered bridge. Like you, I often struggle with tours of opulent places. They tend to make me angry at the imbalance.

    Such a shame about the ruins of Penicuik House though. It looks like it was once a very grand place.

    Finally, congratulations on your talks. I don’t doubt that you would be very interesting to follow on a walk and talk! Which brings me to the Mercat Cross. Yes, I had to look that one up too 🙂

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  13. Hi, Anabel – Congratulations to both you and John on your talks and tours — that’s very impressive!
    I like the way that you travel. Indulging in coffee and cake, and then leaving with a bottle of gin, makes perfect sense to me!

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  14. I didn’t know you and John gave talks! But honestly, I’m not surprised….you know so much about history and you share information so well. I can imagine that you are in demand! Thanks for another interesting post with fabulous photos!

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  16. What a great month . . .and definitely share your feelings about too many commitments in one week. I have give myself very strict instructions about next year’s festival!

    Also like you I managed to acquire a bottle of gin in September 🙂

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  17. John as an adornment to the house is perfect. Who wouldn’t want a John? (Realises that Americans might misinterpret that).
    It got me wondering about all these shells of houses the pepper our countryside. I know the Historic Houses society tries to preserve important sites and even bring them back into new uses, but sometimes, they’re just part of the scenery and people don’t want them to go. I lived near Copped Hall in Epping, which has a similar fate.

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  18. Another fabulous month of life lived to the full. 🙂 🙂 Thanks for the peep inside Mercat Cross. The Open days are great for taking you places you can’t go, aren’t they? And I’d have loved to be on one of your walks.

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  19. Nice to see that James Watt is well remembered in Glasgow.

    I am with you on stately homes. I too, regard them as the pinnacle of a rotten system, and I get angry when people pay entrance fees to a mansion or palace open to Joe Public usually because the owners can’t pay death duties. There are some that are worth preserving because of crafts, stonemasonry or traditional features but I’m still not happy. I suppose I’m just an ageing revolutionary hippie!

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  21. As usual you really pack a lot in and great variety. Nice story to the mural heads as I noticed them and was going to look up the artist. Dark this evening by 7:00pm. Definitely feels like autumn now when the sun disappears..

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  22. What a lovely month of gallivanting in what looks to have been perfect weather! I love these monthly round-ups of yours as you always take me to some very nice places and I learn something new too. You also make me realise how little I get out these days, something that I must change next year. I have come to realise that living in the far west of England means everywhere else is a long way away!

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  23. Thank you Anabel for giving me another month of enjoying Scotland vicariously (and very much). I share your feelings about the “grand” houses and aristocracy, so it was lovely to read that Dumfries House is an exception — that does some good. I love that young people are learning useful skills 🙂
    And if I were voting for a favourite gallivanting spot for September, it would have to be the Secret Herb Garden; gin of course being the clincher for my vote.
    Wishing you happy gallivanting in the month ahead.

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  24. Dumfries House looks stunning. Although I very much share your sentiments re visiting these grand estates – I usually prefer to spend my time (and money!) on other, lesser funded, museums. Sounds like a busy month for you! I certainly can’t see the weather stopping you though 😉

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  28. Another nice month of activities. Thanks for all of the lovely discoveries.

    The situation in the UK politics is a big mess and I don’t know how they will get out of it… I certainly hope a reasonable outcome will be found soon. It has lasted way too long and is preventing the country from dealing with other issues that are probably as important. I wish you luck! (Suzanne)

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  30. That’s interesting about the big heids. I’ve been wondering about them. Sounds like you’ve had a good month. I didn’t manage anything in Doors Open weekend though the Mercat Cross sounds fascinating.

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