The symposium at Northumbria University in Newcastle finished on Sunday afternoon (19th July) and I travelled on to Glasgow by train. I B and B’d for two nights in a small, central hotel, with small but sufficient facilities, and at a small price. To get around the city, where I was to be for nearly two days, I had already booked a two-day pass on a hop-on hop-off, sightseeing bus, which gave easy access to many of Glasgow’s attractions. (I tried to sit in the open part of the semi open-top bus, but wind and rain made this impossible for much of the time.) Having got on just round the corner from my hotel, I alighted at George Square, where the City Chambers looked to me remarkably like a French Hôtel de Ville.
City Chambers
From there the bus took me to St Mungo’s Cathedral. It’s dark exterior:
and interior:
came as quite a shock after the light stone of Newcastle’s cathedral, but I came to appreciate it. The mediaeval building was absolutely enormous. The first thing I noticed on entering was the modern stained glass west window.
The lovely views between pillars tempted me on to explore:
The Crypt
Finally the choir:
Outside could be seen part of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The 1794 6-floor, 100-bed Adams building was demolished to make place for this one, opened in 1914, though the infirmary has been much expanded on the site over the years since, and now has a capacity of about 1000 beds.
I hopped back on the bus, and continued taking pictures.
I got off at the Riverside Museum (the Clyde River that is) where I had an excellent lunch, and much enjoyed looking at some of the very well presented historic transport. I could have stayed much longer, but was discouraged by the very noisy presence of half of Glasgow’s children and their parents, as it seemed to me all taking refuge from the weather.
An original char-à-banc
There was a Tall Ship outside on the river, but I gave up on trying to get a good angle on it for a photo, until I turned round…
To complete my first day I Glasgow, I moved on to Kelvingrove Park and particularly the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. That’s for the next post.
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