Glasgow Gallivanting: August 2026

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Coat of Arms at the entrance to Glasgow City Chambers

One of the highlights of my August was being invited to the opening of an exhibition in the City Chambers about the Glasgow Coat of Arms. Over the last few years Dr Caroline Scott has collected over 4500 images of various representations of the Coat of Arms, mostly crowdsourced, and this was a display of a very small selection. I have met Caroline at a previous exhibition and contributed some photographs so I think that was how I made the cut.

Dr Caroline Scott opens her exhibition
Glasgow Coat of Arms explained
One panel of Coat of Arms Display
Dr Caroline Scott and the Council Officer

The gentleman with Caroline above has, for one so flamboyantly dressed, the very mundane title of Council Officer. He is traditionally responsible for ceremonial duties such as carrying the municipal mace and leading the Lord Provost into the Council Chamber. He kindly got the mace out for us to handle, as seen in the gallery below – it is just one of the many spectacular things about the City Chambers.

Marble everwhere
The mace
Coridor with nice combination of old pigeon-holes and a modern digital screen
A marble hall
Floor mosaic
Floor mosaic

Staying in the city centre, on one of our Scottie trail meanders we revisited Provand’s Lordship, the Cathedral, and the Necropolis. Provand’s Lordship is Glasgow’s oldest house dating from 1471. In the Cathedral we looked at the new window and refurbished well created last year for Glasgow’s 850th birthday. They have featured here before because I had seen them already, but John had not. In the Necropolis I found the colours in the refurbished Alexander Mackenzie memorial startling, to say the least, and I don’t remember noticing the memorial to Archibald McLellan before, even though it has apparently been there since 2004. (McLellan was actually buried in the Cathedral Graveyard in 1854). Spot the elements of Glasgow’s Coat of Arms within the circle!

Provand’s Lordship
Glasgow’s Wellspring by Joanna Kessel
Window by Tania May Blatt
Alexander Mackenzie memorial
Archibald McLellan memorial

We needed a small upholstery job done which involved a trip to Dumbarton during which we visited Levengrove Park, a place we hadn’t been for some years. It’s beautifully laid out with several ruins and memorials to look at and great views of the volcanic plug on which Dumbarton Castle stands.

Kilmahew Fountain
St Serf’s Church
Dumbarton Rock reflected in the Clyde
War Memorial
Dumbarton Rock and Castle above the River Leven

I visited a different sort of garden which was open one Sunday as part of Scotland’s Garden Scheme, one which I have passed many times without knowing it was there, even though it is only about 10-15 minutes walk from home. At the top of Garrioch Crescent is a set of gates, usually closed, which hides a secret. Surrounded by tenements on all four sides, a communal space has been created by removing the boundaries of the separate back courts to create a garden for all residents to enjoy. As well as the gardens themselves, I enjoyed an indifferent cup of tea accompanied by some superb home baking. The priorities seemed right!

Garrioch Gardens

The Glasgow Penguins have been quiet recently, but to make up for it I’ve been spotting the work of A Sign of Humour around Glasgow. The last one is a reference to Still Game, a Scottish TV show in which Maryhill ‘played’ Craiglang. I think some people have too much time on their hands!

In Kelvingrove Park
At Glasgow Green
On Kelvin Walkway
At Maryhill Locks

Here are some other small moments which have given me pleasure during August. If you look really closely you can see another Coat of Arms on the bus.

New scales for Bella the Beithir
Swans on Bingham’s Pond
Glasgow Vintage Bus on Queen Margaret Drive
Apple tree at Gartnavel Hospital
Possibility – spotted on Cathedral Street

On the last weekend of the month we went to stay with my cousin Ian and his wife Lynn in Auchterarder in Perthshire. On the Saturday, John and Ian were taking part in the same cycling event, the Muthill Sportive, held to raise money for the Muthill to Crieff Cycle Path project. Lynn and I had a more sedate time visiting the local parish church and an exhibition. The church was designed at the beginning of the 20th century by Honeyman and Keppie, the firm for which a young Charles Rennie Mackintosh worked. While there are no drawings or documents to connect Mackintosh with this project I think the roof beams could show his influence (or maybe they influenced him!)

Auchterarder Parish Church

I also discovered a bear from a Perthshire trail similar to the Scotties and some good advice from a local bakery.

Perthshire Bear, Auchterarder
Eat cake!

After the conquering heroes had returned we went out for a lovely meal, and the following day before we left for home we visited a fascinating exhibition in Auchterarder Picturehouse celebrating 50 years of Apple. We were lucky enough to join a tour by the curator, Gavin Knight. Everything on display belonged to him – right back to the very first Apple computer. It’s fair to say he is something of an Apple geek!

After the Sportive
Apple Exhibition (Gavin Knight)

And finally – longer term readers might remember that I once helped my Mum to blog her memoirs. When she told the story of moving in 1994 from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Paisley she included a picture of the removal van. Imagine my surprise to be contacted by the son of N. Pretswell whose name is on the van! Apparently an old Pretswell van, last seen when sent to auction in 1995, had been spotted in a field near Blaydon being used to store hay for horses. A bit of Googling led Mr Pretswell Jr to Mum’s picture which turned out to be of the same van! He asked if he could use it for a before-and-after post on a Facebook group dedicated to old removal vans. I was very happy with this and the  post duly appeared generating lots of comments and memories. Although I have been asked for the use of images before they have usually been of views or buildings – this is the most unusual request yet. What lovely connections blogging can make!

Paisley, 1994
A tale of two removal vans. Images 2-4 copyright D. Pretswell

Speaking of connections, as usual I am linking to Natalie’s Monthly Wrap Up.

Happy September!

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45 Comments »

  1. What a great portfolio of photos you have here. Somehow you always manage to dig out interesting images and information that I had no knowledge of and setting the locations in a historical context. Great Mosaic floor and I can’t help wondering if in a thousand years’ time someone will be painstakingly putting all this together and wondering who we were, or rather, who you were as a Scottish nation!

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  5. What a coincidence about the moving van. That’s so cool! You are becoming a resource of sorts!

    I’ve said it before and I say it again, I love the sense of humor some Glasgowians have. In the town my parents live – and where I stay when in Belgium – they have the “Trail of useless signs”. I should walk it one day. Two signs that I’ve noticed are a road sign “Out of here 7km” and a sign that only the horse of Sinterklaas (Belgian tradition involving a guy similar to Santa Claus) is allowed on the trails.

    I’d never seen or heard of a mace like this before. August was full of unique and precious experiences for you. Thanks for sharing, Anabel.

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  6. Wonderful that your expertise is acknowledged, Anabel. I laughed at the skinny people are easy to kidnap so eat more cake as I’ve been very good with no sweet treats or eating between meals in the hope of a few kilos dropping before I try on my summer clothes 😉 Anyway, sounds like you’ve both had a fun-filled month and thank goodness, for humour.

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  7. That’s quite an impressive month of gallivanting, Anabel. Maybe the sign maker has too much free time, but at least they spend it creating amusements for others to find. Not bad.🙂 I do miss the penguins, though.

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  13. I wish your posts could be made compulsory reading for the UK! They shine a light on an amazing Glasgow and are always uplifting and wonderfully informative. Glasgow in the news is the total opposite!!
    Love the photos and details about the Coat of Arms, all those great signs and the lovely story about the removal van. Thank you

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  15. A happy, busy month. Fantastic that you were able to share the van picture, there’s something captivating about that shot of the ivy-covered wheel.

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  16. A great month with lots of variety! The Council Chamber looks very grand, I love the stained glass window in the cathedral and enjoyed those signs, especially the AI one. And what a great story about the removal van to finish with 🙂

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  20. Lovely wrap up Anabel. You’ve really shown Glasgow in a beautiful light. You visited so many places. How nice to look out of the windows from the tenement buildings into that garden.

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