Glasgow Gallivanting: July 2026

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Renfrewshire Tapestry at the Art Department, Paisley

Having not revisited Paisley since I finished dealing with my late mother’s house in early 2022, I have now been back three times this year! This time I went to see the Renfrewshire Tapestry consisting of eight large panels telling the history of the county and numerous small teardrops (referencing the Paisley Pattern) made by members of the public to their own design. Here are my four favourite panels.

Paisley Pattern
Mill girls and weavers
Renfrewshire witch trials
Paisley Pattern

And here are just some of my favourite teardrops.

As part of the trip to Paisley I collected two more Scotties, one in Central Station and one outside Paisley Abbey. Worldie has his tickets in his pocket for the World Cup (and was no doubt sadly disappointed) while Paisley and Proud also references Paisley patterns which drift like clouds across the surface.

Worldie by Roma McCook
Paisley and Proud by Conrico Steez

Glasgow Women’s Library has three exhibitions at the moment, and this is the one I enjoyed the most. In The Saltire Series Alixandra Prybyla collaborated with the many wonderful immigrant and refugee communities associated with the Library to reimagine what it means to belong in Scotland: this is particularly important at the moment when far-right racists have been demonstrating in our streets. Through cyanotype workshops, participants remade the Scottish saltire flag from objects that carry stories of immigration. Also on display were 88 small cards, on which each woman described the object she had chosen and its significance to her, and a lovely quote from Toni Morrison.

We had a brief trip down to Yorkshire to visit friends. On the first day we visited Burnby Hall Gardens and on the second, Plumpton Rocks – both new to me.

Burnby Hall was occupied by Major Percy Stewart and his wife Katherine from 1901 until Percy’s death in 1962. The couple had two main interests in life – creating beautiful gardens and travelling the world. Today the gardens are a registered charity and there is a small museum on site with some of the artefacts collected during the Stewarts’ journeys.

The Upper and Lower Lakes are home to over 100 varieties of waterlily which flower between mid-June and the end of August. The Upper Lake is also home to thousands of very hungry carp, roach, and rudd. No wonder they were selling fish food at the entrance!

There are other interesting features too. The Stumpery created mainly from the upturned roots of large trees:

The Stumpery
Green Man
Maori Tiki

The giraffes:

The Dovecote and the Secret Garden:

And the Edwardian Garden and a (rather unflattering) relief of Major Stewart:

Finally, the artefacts in the museum are mostly as you would expect from the Edwardian travelling collector / pillager so I was more interested in some of the quotes from the Major’s writings, particularly his thoughts on the Taj Mahal and his self-deprecating reason for travelling.

The Stewarts created the lakes at Burnby Hall. The one at Plumpton Rocks looks much more natural, but is just as artificial. Originally created in the 1760s, the site has been restored to its 18th-century glory, with dramatic millstone grit rock formations and woodland trails as well as the lake. The scenic views once inspired artist J.M.W. Turner who painted it around 1798.

With my pal Val

And finally, to finish off, a few views from the cyclist.

From the Erskine Bridge
Largs
Ailsa Craig from Girvan

Linked to Natalie’s July Monthly Wrap-Up. Happy August!

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  6. The Renfrewshire Tapestry reminded me that I read recently that much if not most “women’s” history is recorded on textiles. Did you happen to notice if any men had contributed? I had not met the Toni Morrison quote before, loved the millstone grit rock formations and look forward to more Scotties.

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    • Thanks, Ann, that’s interesting! The overall designer of the large panels is a man, Andrew Crummy who was also the designer of the Great Tapestry of Scotland. I didn’t see any men’s names in the list of main contributors, but lots of volunteers helped so there could have been some. None of my photos of teardrops had men’s names either, but there could well have been some that I didn’t notice. There were a lot!

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  8. Love the Scotties & I hope you find a few more to feature. As to Scotland in the WC they brought passion and enjoyment to those that watched them and their fans were much admired.
    The Paisley exhibit really appeals to me as another textile way to tell the stories. Those 4 big panels are very interesting. Are they old or modern? And I am glad that the paisley drops had various abilities as well.
    As to the stumpery how cool! The lily ponds were certainly stunning. I can think of 3 examples in Canada were someone donated their estate – it seems like a very English thing to do. Bernie

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  10. What a splendid month you’ve had. I love the Paisley exhibition, the Paisley and Proud scottie, the giraffes and the biking scenery. The pingback to my July wrap-up post didn’t work but I got your post via my subscription. I’ll include your link in my roundup. Have a wonderful August!

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  12. Lots of gallivanting in July for you! I really enjoyed the gardens – and his quotes – of the Stewarts. I had never heard of a Stumpery. How fitting, how original, and how creative to do something with dead stumps. I love it!

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  15. I love that reason for travelling. Mrs T and I sometimes think our life is a little dull, but we have never considered travelling round the world.
    I have always liked the Paisley pattern so I enjoyed seeing your examples.

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  16. Isn’t it wonderful that people bequest their gardens to all to enjoy. Even a carving of a Maori. The gardens are stunning and the Paisley embroidery are equisetic. You have to admire creative souls with their patience to create visual art. An interesting month galivanting.

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  17. I love gallivanting with you. That first Paisley Pattern is simply gorgous. What talent. My daughter had a paisley shirt when she was around 13. It must have been having a revival.

    Love the waterlilies. Not so keen on those fish…

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  18. Amazing water gardens yet I’ve never heard of them or seen them on TV. There’s still unknown places out there. A beautiful post for colour and landscape photography with the Paisley tear drop panels showing fantastic skill and craft still exists. Bob. BSS.

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    • Thanks Bob. I can’t remember where I heard of Plumpton Rocks, another blog maybe. My friend had driven past them every day when she was working but never visited! She suggested Burnby Hall which I had never heard of at all. I agree the tear drop panels are lovely. The skill levels varied which is good because it means anyone was able to have a go.

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  19. The tapestries look beautiful indeed and it is fun to see more of the Scotties. The giraffe are particularly well made and actually look fairly real from your distance shot 🙂

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  20. Every time I read your posts I seem to write the same comments…how wonderfully interesting and inspiring your visits are and great photos to illustrate! I am repeating the comment again! I love and admire all the work of the Paisley pattern and The Saltire Series such talented artistic creators.
    The gardens look wonderful with all those many lilies and fish….crikey they look quite hungry and fierce! Thank you again for sharing your visits out…hope you leave time to rest!

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  21. Another interesting month for you, and for us to read about! The Paisley teardrops are a lovely idea and I’m checking out your two Yorkshire visit locations to see if we might build one into our weekend up in Ripon later this month – Plumpton Rocks looks a possibility 🙂

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  22. I was so engrossed in this post my brew almost went cold. The gardens at Burnby Hall look beautiful even with grey cloudy skies. Plumpton Rocks looks good too. You’re tempting me to make a journey – both too far for just a day but maybe next year I could do a couple of camping trips in that direction. As for the Scotties, Paisley and Proud is my favourite, he’s lovely. When I was 15 I made myself a dress in a Paisley pattern fabric, it was one of my favourites and I wore it many times.

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