Scotiana » Glasgow

Teatime at Miss Cranston’s Willow Tearooms in Glasgow

MAJA — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:41:13 +0000

Hi everybody ! Try to imagine we’re all sitting on a Mackintosh chair round a Mackintosh table, in the very special atmosphere of the Willow Tearooms in Glasgow, chatting about everything Scotland, our favourite subject !

Jane Haining

To begin with, have you read our friends’ second Letter from Scotland? This time, Iain and Margaret have told us a very moving story. I must confess I didn’t know anything about Jane Haining before reading this marvellous page about her. What I will retain about this remarkable Scotswoman, who lost her life protecting the school-girls she was in charge of in a Hungarian school, during WWII, is not only her intelligence and courage but the very kindness with which she has always acted from beginning to end.

Her story has now entered world history and her name has been inscribed, with so many others, on the walls of impressive Holocaust memorials but, under the talented pen of Iain, Jane keeps a human dimension. She becomes so lively that we feel as if we knew her, following the young woman along her short life, from her native Dumfriesshire to Glasgow and Budapest. We lose trace of her in the deadly mist of Auschwitz but a picture, a poem on a stone, a written page will speak of Jane forever.

Iain told us he had found a little book about Jane Haining which he used to write his post. He recently mentioned something which may well interests some readers. I quote him : “did you wonder that Jane should have a step-sister alive in 1997? It comes about in this way…. Jane’s father remarried in 1925 (when he was about 55). Just six months or so later, he died. But in November of that same year, a child was born to his new wife.. .. a girl, Agnes.. .. known as ‘Nan’.. .. who was to become Mrs O’Brien. I wonder whether she’s still alive.. .. she’d be almost 85?”

The Sauchiehall Street Willow Tearooms - Wikipedia

But now, back to the Willow Tearooms where we are supposed to be sipping our tea, nibbling delicious Scottish scones. I’ve nearly forgotten that, in spite of the magical decor and the very tempting menu card. Jane, who “used to bring each week a bag of cream buns for her pupils”, would certainly have liked to be here with her girls!

Quite astonishing the modern look of this tearoom! It has been renovated in its original “Modern’ Style” which, as the name doesn’t indicate, dates back to the end of the 19th century. What we have here is a marvellous example of what we call in France “Art Nouveau” . It’s simply beautiful. No wonder! It is the result of a unique collaboration between two very talented persons : Kate Cranston and Charles Rennie Mackintosh…

Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Wikipedia

Catherine Cranston - Wikipedia

Kate Cranston was born in Glasgow in 1849. Her social and family background partly explain why she has become a successful entrepreneurial lady. Her father, a baker and pastry cooker, had bought a hotel situated in Glasgow city centre. After some renovations he finally renamed it “Cranston’s Hotel and Dining Rooms” offering his customers no less than : “Convenient Coffee room and detached Smoking Rooms on Ground Floor, commodious Commercial Room and Parlour, comfortable Bed-rooms and Baths, etc. Coffee always ready. Cigars, wines, spirits, ales, Newspapers, Time-Tables, Writing Materials. Superior and varied Bill of Fare at the usual moderate charges.”

Catherine’s brother, a tea-dealer, had already opened several tea shops offering sandwiches to their customers when Catherine Cranston, launched herself in the business, carrying it a step further. With the opening of her ‘art tea-rooms”, Miss Cranston was the first to offer men and women a beautiful and cheerful place to meet in a city where industrialization was making life of people more and more difficult and grim. By the way, these tea-rooms proved to be a good alternative to pubs in times when alcoholism was widely spread and quite destructive…

Kate Cranston successively and very successfully opened four tearooms :

1878 : The Crown Luncheon Room in Argyle Street
1886 : Ingram Street Tearoom
1896 : Buchanan Street Tearooms
1903 : The Sauchiehall Willow Tearooms.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh had been born in Glasgow in 1868 and when Kate Cranston first commissioned him to design the wall murals of her Buchanan Tearooms he was only 28. This was the beginning of a long partnership between them. The Willow Tearooms opened at 217 Sauchiehall in October 1903. For the first time, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was given the opportunity to fully express his art, designing not only the interior fittings, but also the exterior and internal layout of the building. The Willow Tearooms quicky became a favorite meeting place in Glasgow.

The Willow Tearooms - Mackintosh 1903 - Wikipedia

The Willow Tearooms - Mackintosh Room de Luxe - Wikipedia

The location selected by Miss Cranston for the new tearooms was a four-storey former warehouse building on a narrow infill urban site on the south side of Sauchiehall Street. The name “Sauchiehall” is derived from “saugh”, the Scots word for a willow tree, and “haugh”, meadow. This provided the starting point for Mackintosh and MacDonald’s ideas for the design theme.

The decoration of the different rooms was themed: light for feminine, dark for masculine. The ladies’ tea room at the front was white, silver, and rose; the general lunch room at the back was panelled in oak and grey canvas, and the top-lit tea gallery above was pink, white, and grey. In addition to designing the internal architectural alterations and a new external facade, in collaboration with his wife Margaret, Mackintosh designed almost every other aspect of the tearooms, including the interior design, furniture, cutlery, menus, and even the waitress uniforms. Willow was the basis for the name of the tearooms, but it also formed an integral part of the decorative motifs employed in the interior design, and much of the timberwork used in the building fabric and furniture. (Wikipedia)

On entering the Willow Tearooms, though they have been renovated a number of times since their first opening, in 1903, we immediately feel the peculiar atmosphere Charles Rennie Mackintosh had wanted to create for Kate Cranston. Clear and sober lines – nice colours – beautiful geometrical and floral motifs – a feminine touch – what a feast !

The art of Mackintosh is omnipresent in Glasgow and our enthusiasm never failed when visiting other places or admiring objects he or his talented wife, Margaret MacDonald, had designed.

Time to share another cup of tea !

The Willow Tearooms - ©unresttwothree - Flickr

Chin Chin !

A bientôt. Mairiuna

Art Nouveau Peacock on Princes Square Shopping Center in Buchanan Street, Glasgow

MAJA — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:04:51 +0000

At the end of the nineteenth century, Art Nouveau transformed towns and countryside around the world. Even though its style had gained popularity from just the last ten years or so, Art Nouveau permeated many arts & crafts: jewellery, book design, glasswork, textiles, wrought iron, and architecture, to name just a few, with its high Victorian design and craftwork.

The peacock being the most spread Art Nouveau pattern, a great example is the one adorning the Princes Square building facade on Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow.

In 1985, Hugh Martin & Partners were commissioned to renovate the Princes Square building. They had several meetings with Alan Dawson to create the Princes’ building decorative art program consisting of gates, balustrades, the famous “Peacock” and other associated decorative ironwork.

They had some doubts about the delivery dates promised by Alan Dawson, for such an extensive project would require much time. They were also sceptic that it would all fit inside the budget, but Alan Dawson was confident that he could accomplish the task within deadline and budget.

Following a partnership with the Workington firm Shepley Engineering, he teamed with traditional artist-blacksmiths. They started the program in 1987 and in 1990, in time and within budget, the main exterior peacock was added to the Buchanan Street facade, in part as a contribution to the City of Culture Festival in Glasgow that year.

The Princes Square’s peacock is a magnificent piece of metal art and deserves we take some time to know more about its features.

Located on the top of the facade, the peacock’s sculpture is made in coloured hand-forged wrought iron and steel, extending to its colossal dimensions of 10m high and 20m wide. It comes out from the iron ring which is located in the center of the attic balustrade.

Its tail, outspreading in the air are tipped with bronze aluminium rods making it an eye-catching sculpture and definitely a dominant landmark of the Buchanan Street’s south section.

Peacock - Princes Square Galleries by night - Photo by gordonjc (Flickr)

The use of a consistent pattern of imagery throughout, as well as a candid dependence on Art Nouveau precedents in the style, enables the scheme to be read as a visually and conceptually unified whole.

Public Sculpture of Glasgow by Raymond Mckenzie

Glasgow is notable as being one of the few British cities to have resisted artistic centralization based in London. Only in Glasgow were there significant local workshops, often family-based, training dynasties of native sculptors. Public Sculpture of Glasgow includes work by some of the most influential British and continental sculptors during the last 200 years including John Flaxman, John Gibson, J.H. Foley and Carlo Marochetti. Ray McKenzie has in this volume for the first time demonstrated the importance of Glasgow’s architectural sculpture and explained its function with a wealth superbly arranged and carefully marshaled detail.

I cannot write about Art Nouveau without mentioning the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh!

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

He was an architect-designer and has put Glasgow on the map with the formation of the Glasgow School of Art, along with other local artists around the turn of the century. His work can be seen around the city in the shape of many historical buildings, and his designs and architectural works are still a source of inspiration for many modern designs of today.

During our last trip to Scotland, we visited some of Mackintosh’s heritage sites : The Hill House, Glasgow School of Art ( founded in 1845 which makes it one of the oldest creative institutions in the UK ), The Willow Tearooms, The Mackintosh House ( Hunterian Art Gallery), The Queen’s Cross church and Mairiuna and I are eager to write several posts about them.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was more than just an architect. He was also an outstanding international artist and designer, so stay tuned for more!

Enjoy the read and leave a comment below to share your thoughts.

Talk soon.

Janice

Princes Square, one of Glasgow’s Leading Speciality Shopping Centres

MAJA — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:23:34 +0000

James Campbell Lord Provost of Glasgow Scotland

Back in 1840, Glasgow architect John Baird was commissioned by Sir James Campbell, to design the large block of business premises in Buchanan Street, known as Prince’s Buildings. The buildings formed a four-storey merchant square in yellow sandstone, named in honour of the birth of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)

A year or so later, the building was ready for occupancy and the then Lord Provost of Glasgow, James Campbell, having gone into partnership with his brother, expanded their clothing business within the new premises under the company name of J. & W. Campbell & Co.

The medallion picture beside shows the favourite occupation of Sir James Campbell: using his compasses. His expertise on planning and erecting buildings was of great reputation.

He put the emphasis on one particular element: lighting! He thought that architects were neglecting this key factor and insisted that the construction of any building should always provide for plenty of light in all areas.

That’s exactly what the architectural firm of Hugh Martin & Partners took into consideration, in 1985, when they undertook the restoration of the building to deliver the actual structure of the Princes Square Shopping Centre.

From the magnificently designed peacock on top of the facade, that guards the entrance without rustling its feathers, to the beautiful finishings inside the atrium along with more than thirty stores covering fashion, beauty, art, jewellery, gifts and lifestyle, all under a magnificent Art Nouveau glass roof, the Princes Square Shopping Centre is now Scotland’s leading specialities leisure centre.

What really catched my fancy when we last visited, was the central entrance from Buchanan Street leading up into a 2 storey escalator which takes you directly to the upper terrace gallery.

The walls of this entrance adorns the series of “Trompe L’oeil” artistic paintings designed by Dai Vaughan to commemorate famous Glaswegians of the past: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, James Watt, Lord Kelvin, David Livingstone, Thomas Lipton, William Burrell, James Maxton et Sir John Moore…

Mairiuna and I were so impressed by this superb work of art, as Jean-Claude was also, that we spent more time going up, again and again, the escalator passage than we took time shopping.

A feature of this design is that the figures come and go in focus as a visitor moves slowly up the escalator!

As we were experiencing with this awesome visual effect, we took some footage which is now inside this video put together by Jean-Claude. The images speak for themselves. Check it out! You won’t regret it.

Princes Square Atrium,Buchanan Street, Glasgow-Copyright 2007 Scotiana

Circulation around the square, as in any building, is important in a centre with 3 upper levels of shopping. With the spirit of the ‘theme’ however, movement is seen as part of the pleasure and not a cause for anxiety.

Visitors are ‘invite’ to explore all corners of the building. The lifts, staircases and escalators are designed to allow people to feel part of the theatrical display of pattern and colour.

The ‘grand’ staircase, lifts and escalators are all clearly visible from the entrances. The grand staircase is a double helix designed to allow people to progress gradually between the lower ground, ground and first floor levels. The curved landing between each flight also allow people to stand and look around.

We sincerely hope that Princes Square will set a trend towards the creation of more shopping centres where the shopper not only enjoys the experience, but received good service and quality merchandise, and most of all feels a sense of place .

Source : www.princessquare.co.uk

Even though you are not in a shopping mood, it is definitely worth a visit.

Talk soon.

Janice

The Willow Tearoom, 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

MAJA — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:31:51 +0000

If it is pouring with rain, as is often the case in Scotland, and if you are not lost in the midst of nowhere in a most desolate and remote place of the Scottish countryside with only a thermos of black coffee to cheer you up, it would be unthinkable not to be able to find a castle, a museum, a pub or a tearoom to shelter in and spend your time in a most agreeable way. Beware of the closing time, however, for many places close as soon as five in the afternoon. We’ve been had several times!

That day, in Glasgow, “il pleuvait des hallebardes” or, as we would also say in France “il tombait des cordes” which means in English, that “it was raining cats and dogs”, a favourite expression of mine which I had no problem to remember at school! I wonder what is its origin. We could ask Iain and Margaret. I’d be much surprised if our dear Scottish friends would not have a very interesting and learned answer to that funny question…

Glasgow Scotiana modified Google map

We had been walking for a while under the rain in the very busy shopping thoroughfare of Glasgow which is composed of Argyll Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street …

…when we fell upon the very colourful and stylish Mackintosh sign standing in front of a bright and luxury window. On the ground floor there was a jewellery, Henderson’s it read, and on the first floor a tearoom. Guess what! We had arrived at 217 Sauchiehall Street, a number which has become as famous in Glasgow, though more tangible, as 221 b Baker Street in London.

We immediately felt like going into this very inviting secular temple to share a hot cup of tea and taste some of the specialities offered there but drenched as we were, with our dripping parkas and dirty walking shoes, we hardly dared to enter this mythical place.

Tea and scones source : wikipedia

In the very welcoming Scottish B&Bs, hotels and restaurants, tearooms, pubs and other places, we had very often been given the opportunity to taste and appreciate the delicious and inimitable local pastries, in the form of scones, pancakes and various other delicacies generally served with an abundance of butter, jam or cream and we are always quite eager to renew the experience each time a new occasion occurs, especially when it’s wintry and rainy outside. Soon, indeed, we’ll open a page on Scotiana in which we intend to introduce Scottish specialities and even try to give recipes… tested recipes…

Menu card design for Miss Cranston's Cafes at the 1911 Glasgow International exhibition Source Wikipedia

We finally entered Sauchiehall Willow Tearoom but so limited was our time that day and so long was the queue of people waiting to be served that we finally decided to come back another day. We didn’t, but no need to say how the three of us are eager to sit down at one of the little tables in the very relaxing atmosphere of this marvellously decorated tearoom.

But The Willow Tearooms of Glasgow, for there are several ones, have an old story to tell. Its main characters happen to be a lady and a whole team of genial Glaswegian artists… but I will tell you more about all that in my next post …
In the meantime enjoy our photos to try and get the sense of this unique place in Glasgow which has repeatedly won awards of excellence.

A bientôt. Mairiuna.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh frieze

A Colorful Video Tour of Buchanan Street, Glasgow’s Main Shopping Avenue

MAJA — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:30:51 +0000

Escalator leading up to Princes Square Galleries, Buchanan Street

Hey Mairiuna, before we hop unto Princes Square’s inviting blue escalator leading up to it’s animated galleries, let’s stroll a bit longer on Buchanan street, the most popular and well known shopping street of Glasgow.

I was so impressed by the urban design that I would happily spend more time in this premier pedestrian thoroughfare housing more than 125 shops & venues.

You can find anything and everything on this street from a variety of shops fit for all budgets to museums, restaurants and bookshops.

There’s even a stamp shop! We were past opening hours last time around, but since we are both fond of topical stamp collecting, I’ve listed the Buchanan Street Stamps as a store to explore on our next trip to Glasgow. It’s on the west side, between Nelson Mandela Place and Bath Street.

There’s much to be seen and done on Buchanan Street. Watch this video to get a feel of it. Enjoy!

Buchanan Street : Up and Down one of Glasgow’s most Popular and Coloured Streets

MAJA — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:27:26 +0000

From our different trips to Glasgow, we came back with a great number of photos and unforgettable memories.

We never stayed long enough, alas, to be able to visit all the treasures hidden in the rich and fascinating Scottish metropolis but it did not take long for us to feel the sense of place there and to love it. Glasgow speaks with a very specific accent which mixes with many other ones due to its cosmopolitanism. A harsh accent, not easy to understand for foreigners!

I never saw a town singing in the rain as Glasgow does with its coloured umbrellas. “Can I help you ?” will say the Glaswegian to the drenched visitor desperately looking for his way on a map. For that and for many other reasons too, we do love Glasgow and it was love at first sight when we got out of the plane, at Paisley, one wintry day, in may 2000.

As we generally focused, during the day, on monuments and museums, we were left with little time to wander about the streets, but let me tell you that if you have the opportunity to visit Glasgow by night don’t miss it. It’s magical…

In Buchanan Street, for example, as soon as the street lights are on, the whole area becomes blue and of a most beautiful kind of blue. I had never seen such a thing before. Quite exciting to walk in such strange atmosphere!

Is blue going to replace black up the hierarchy of colours generally used to describe the town? Industry blackened the city but it had been green before, as its names indicates, and now, in the post-industrial era, it is gaining new colours. Indeed, blue is a colour which is not restricted to the city centre, as we shall see in our next posts about Glasgow. Our vision of the Scottish metropolis is vivid and multicoloured though it has its grey and black shades too.

So let us walk about the street and try to discover some of its secrets.

Glasgow Subway Places of interest St Enoch Buchanan Street map

On the road to Scotiana’s ‘Glasgow Top Ten’ we’ve begun our virtual visit of the city at St Enoch Square, one of its busiest districts. In our last two posts, we’ve taken the subway and visited St Enoch centre with Janice, as our guide.

Buchanan Street Scotiana-modified Google Map

Let us cross Argyll Street now to walk up Buchanan Street and, following our map, from St Enoch Station in the south to Buchanan Street Station in the north.

Bordeaux Rue Sainte-Catherine Source Wikipedia

Buchanan Street Source Wikipedia

It’s a long walk to go, about one kilometre. Not so long however, I would like to add with a French “clin d’oeil”, as “La rue Sainte Catherine” in Bordeaux which, with its 1.25 km is reputed to be the longest pedestrian street in Europe. I can’t help comparing the Scottish and French streets as they seem to share a number of features as do indeed Glasgow and Bordeaux as a whole. I’ll try to widen the comparison in my next posts.

Bordeaux Rue Sainte Catherine Meeting with a friendly Scotsman

On rue Sainte Catherine you even happen to fall upon a son of Scotland… tall stature, tartan, and… a smile! Many thanks to the gentleman for the photo!

Back to Buchanan Street now. No need to say it has undergone big changes since the 18th century when the street was called Virginia Street after a house belonging to Andrew Buchanan, a rich tobacco merchant. If he came back today this “tobacco lord” would certainly not recognise his estate nor the street to which he had given his name. Most of these changes are quite recent, in fact. A whole process of refurbishment seems to have begun in the area after the demolition, in 1971, of the old buildings of Buchanan Street Railway Station which had been closed in 1966. The street was then entirely repaved with beautiful pink granite cobblestone and equipped with that blue neon lighting which gives it, at night, its strange and blue atmosphere. For all that, together with the construction of new buildings mixing rather harmoniously with the old Victorian architecture of the place, Buchanan Street won, in 2008, the Academy of Urbanism “Great Street” Award. Quite deserved!

There are a number of very interesting places to visit in Buchanan street for the Art Lover as well as for the shopper. For the first one let us mention the Gallery of Modern Art and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall which are highly reputed. The Lighthouse, this artistic temple which stands like its ocean counterpart amidst the city flow and which is parlty devoted to Mackintosh sublime art, is not very far either.

We did not have time to do our shopping in the very attractive stores we found on our way but if we only passed in front of the famous Buchanan Galleries we did not fail to enter Princes Square which had appealed to us at once with its superb modern style roof ornamented with a stylized wrought-iron peacock that has become one of the emblems of the street.

Donald Dewar statue Source : Google Photo

I would not leave Buchanan Street without paying my tribute to Donald Dewar, this great Scottish politician whose statue stands just in front of the Royal Concert Hall. He was the first holder of the office of Prime Minister in the new Scottish Parliament which opened in 1999. He is often considered as the “Father of the Nation”. Unfortunately, he suddenly died in 2000, while in office. Dewar’s funeral service was held at Glasgow Cathedral and his ashes were scattered at Lochgilphead in Argyll.

On the above photo, behind Donald Dewar statue, on the wall of the Royal Concert Hall, the coat of arms of Glasgow is clearly visible. The famous Scottish rhyme goes :

This is the tree that never grew.
This is the bird that never flew.
This is the bell that never rang.
This is the fish that never swam.

And why not end our walk sharing a delicious cup of tea and a few delicacies in the famous Willow Tea Room, at number 97, which happens to be situated next to the building where Mrs Cranston’s original Buchanan Tea Rooms were located. Chin Chin ! A bientôt. Mairiuna.

Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre, Europe’s Largest Glass Building!

MAJA — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:34:23 +0000

Oh yes! Mairiuna, it was quite a fun ride we took aboard Glasgow’s Clockwork Orange subway train. Remember this photograph I took of you both just before we escalated down to the ticket booth?

At the ticket booth, we had a good laugh when the ticket officer, after we told him that you and Jean-Claude came from France and myself from Québec, tells us that the most famous Canadian he knew of was William Shatner. He must of noticed the perplexity in my eyes as I was trying to figure out who was William Shatner. “Don’t you know Captain Kirk, young lady?” My gosh.. for sure I knew Captain Kirk from the Star Trek series, much better than William Shatner!

Upon walking out of the St Enoch Station, we decided to visit the St Enoch Centre. To fully understand its social impact on Glasgow’s shopping frenzy, let’s go back into time for a sentence or two.

In 1783, St Enoch Square was the meet up place of grazing sheeps and since that day the square has grown into one of Glasgow’s finest landmarks.

Places of Interest - Glasgow Submay Maps

The St Enoch Train Station opened its rails to the public in 1876 and was honored to have Queen Victoria arrive in Glasgow through its station on August 22,1888 for her visit to the International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park.

Following the demolition in 1977 of St Enoch Station, which was situated near the opposite end of Queen Street, the high-level station is now the only vaulted railway station left in Scotland.

Today, on the site of the demolished St-Enoch station, in Glasgow’s busy city centre, the St-Enoch Shopping Centre, inaugurated in 1989, is one of the favorite family shopping destinations. Popular store brands and modern food court makes it the perfect place to shop for specialized crafts and precious gifts.

Watch this short video to grasp the beauty of the largest glass structure in Europe!

Want to know more about who was St-Enoch? Listen to the superb accent of historian David Ross in this lively short video in which he uncovers the saint who gives her name to this area of Glasgow.

Enjoy and talk soon!
Janice

The Clockwork Orange : Embarking at St Enoch Station for a Merry-Go-Round Tour under Glasgow…

MAJA — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:43:23 +0000

We like our Underground. From down below it tells you a lot about what is happening up above. South of the Clyde it is largely deserted. Traffic between St Enoch’s and Hillhead is busier with students and shoppers. Some people only like travelling clockwise or anti-clockwise. It is a subway with a heart.
(Glasgow from the Eye in the Sky Douglas Corrance and Ian Archer Mainstream Publishing 1988)

In a recent post I’ve told you how impressed we had been on seeing the Royal Scotsman, a sumptuous first class train, emerging with an Orient-Express style from the Scottish wilderness and stopping in front of us at Rannoch Station. Today, I’m going to tell you about the “Clockwork Orange”, Glasgow Subway. Most of the Glaswegians using it daily will probably never get aboard the Royal Scostman but they are very proud and fond of their subway. Once called Glasgow Underground it got its nickname because of its circular line and the orange colour of the older trains. The one we got on, one summer day in 2007, had bright cream, blue and orange colours and looked like a big toy ready to brave darkness. It was as inviting as Glasgow colourful taxis. Maybe we would not be so enthusiastic if we had to take it everyday to go to work! Anyway, as we watched it loading and unloading its lot of passengers we felt like getting aboard, and we finally did, a whole circular tour, beginning and ending at St Enoch Station…

Glasgow subway map Source Wikimedia

Its main virtue is that as an underground it is a carousel. It starts where it finishes and even if you don’t get dizzy making the full circle, there are certainly bits of it you never noticed. (Glasgow from the Eye in the Sky Douglas Corrance and Ian Archer Mainstream Publishing 1988)

St Enoch… Buchanan Street… Cowcaddens… St George’s Cross… Kelvinbridge… Hillhead…Kelvinhall… Partick… Govan… Ibrox… Cessnock… Kinning Park…Shields Road…West Street… Bridge Street…and back to St Enoch… like in a song the names come and go, most of them quite unknown to us but each one meaning something for one or other passenger who stops there… it did not take 25 minutes to complete our anti-clockwise tour along the 15 stations of the Clockwork Orange which runs along a circular line and, according to your destination, goes clockwise or anti-clockwise. Directions are indicated as “Outer Circle” (clockwise) and “Inner Circle” (anti-clockwise).

There is heavy traffic up there in the streets, especially during the rush hour, so if you want to get around the city fast don’t hesitate to take the subway! Cheap and simple this is a very efficient means of transport which offers a lot of opportunities to the visitor such as the Mackintosh Trail Ticket, the Discovery Ticket or the Daytripper Ticket.

Before it was done up in 1980, the tiny trains were of thing of some splendour, the carriages made of teak and wonderfully varnished, the seats of pure leather. It was by then a museum piece which it is again today as a whole station stands as part of the display at the city’s transport museum in the Kelvin Hall (Glasgow from the Eye in the Sky Douglas Corrance and Ian Archer Mainstream Publishing 1988)

Let us dream about the good olden times…

The very interesting Museum of Transport, which we visited in 2000, in the Kelvin Hall, before it moved on the banks of the River Clyde can help us to imagine how it was then…

The Glasgow Underground, as it was called before 2003, was inaugurated in 1896 and it is the world’s third oldest underground railway after London and Budapest (the underground metro in Paris only opened in 1900), which testifies to Scottish inventiveness and industrial engineering. It had begun as a cable-hauled system operated by steam engines and was electrified in 1935 before being modernized at the end of the 1970s and finally inaugurated by the Queen on November 1st 1979.

Glasgow subway is actually exploited by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT), as it can be read on the tickets.

St Enoch Square Glasgow Source Wikipedia

When we emerged from the subway station we found ourselves back again in the open air, amidst the cheerful crowd wandering about St. Enoch Square. The square is situated at the bottom end of Buchanan Street, the city’s busiest shopping street. A small and very picturesque red sandstone building with beautiful gables, ornamented with a clock, carved balconies and ogee-roofed circular turrets, stands in the middle of the square next to the huge modern-style glass building of St Enoch Centre.

Azay le Rideau Touraine France Source Wikipedia

Though the French and Scotland buildings are very different in essence I like the comparison which has been made by Jonathan Smith, on SCRAN, between Azay-le-Rideau and the Travel Centre . “Built in Jacobean style and somewhat reminiscent of Azay-le-Rideau.” Both Azay le Rideau and John Miller’s building are quite deligthful, displaying a lot of beautiful architectural details which alas can’t be seen on our photo (right). Jonathan Smith very interestingly adds “The diminutive scale of the building was chosen so that it did not impose on the classical church that stood behind until its demolition in 1925”. We’ve learned since that before becoming the Travel Centre this nice jacobean-style building had been the entrance to the subway station and that it contained on its ground-floor a ticket office, a bookstall and stairs leading to the platforms below. How amazing !

Before going on to Buchanan street, we stayed a long moment in the square, happy to be there and desperately trying to catch a few words of Glasgow’s Scottish dialect.

Glasgow subway places of interest Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) guide map

I’ve just downloaded and printed the very interesting STP brochure and I’m musing over it, thinking things over and anticipating our next visit to Glasgow… As we do love this great city at least as much as Edinburgh we are eager to introduce “Scotiana’s Top Ten in Glasgow” as a counterpart to “Scotiana’s Top Ten in Edinburgh”. It is not easy task for us to choose and classify. Remember, we’re passionate but… only passing travellers;-). But we’ll try to introduce “à notre façon” each of our favourite places in the following posts. There are so many things to see in Glasgow. It’s a fascinating town…

SCOTIANA’S TOP TEN IN GLASGOW

01 – Mackintosh Trail (Glasgow School of Art – Willow Tearooms – House for an Art Lover -
Mackintosh House, Queen’s Cross Church…to be continued on our next trip;-) )

02 – Glasgow Cathedral Precinct (Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis – Provand’s Lordship – St Mungo’s Museum)

03 – People’s Palace-Glasgow Green – Doulton Fountain-Templeton

04 – University of Glasgow

05 – Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

06 – George Square – Buchanan Street – City centre – Central Station – The Clockwork Orange

07 – Mitchell Library

08 – Clydeside

09 – The Barras

10 – Museum of Transport

And to end this post here’s the image of the day…

Maybe Janice could tell you more about the spirit of the place…

Let’s drive on… A bientôt Mairiuna