Thursday 21 April 2016

Old Glasgow. High Steet. Glasgow Cathedral. Necropolis. Murals. Part One.

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I have a backlog of posts at the moment so here's a gallery of some well known Glasgow attractions and buildings. George Square and Glasgow City Chambers. You can get guided tours inside this magnificent building every weekday at 10:30am and 2:30pm Mon to Fri. Tours are free, they last an hour, and there is no need to book unless you are intending to arrive with a large group. Very worthwhile and interesting interior with period architecture, huge marble staircases, and furnishings on a grand scale. Normally, you just turn up five or ten minutes before the tour starts then tag along behind the guide.
Glasgow Cathedral on a sparkling winter's day. The finest medieval cathedral in Scotland dating from the 1100s this sits at the top of the High Street surrounded by a cluster of ancient attractions and gives you a genuine feel of old Glasgow as this was where the city started. Like many of Glasgow's public buildings of interest to tourists most of the attractions here are free to visit.
The grand entrance gates of the Necropolis, Glasgow's ancient burial ground full of tombs to the great and good. I've been up here before of course but as a keen amateur photographer you are always chasing that classic shot, just like a surfer after the perfect wave to ride or a stamp collector hunting the most sought after rarity. It's what keeps any obsessive going... the hunt.. rather than the capture... and we always think we can do better next time.
In a large ever changing city there is always something new to see. The latest addition to Glasgow's murals halfway up the High Street. A talented group of street artists have been sprinkling these around the city in the last few years and they are fast becoming a tourist attraction in their own right. Superb artwork that could hang in any gallery. The council publish a mural map online and you can have a fun half-day out collecting them as well as seeing the City Centre district on foot or by bike. Link and official council mural map below.
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=19649&p=0

Murals on Mitchell Street. The Lighthouse is also found up here in a side lane running through to Buchanan Street, which is a multi floored building and features innovative architecture and design, runs gallery exhibits, and has a rooftop viewing platform.
Another colourful mural on Argyle Street. Some of the murals are of a temporary nature and can be removed if the shop or site gets redeveloped with others presumably taking their place elsewhere in the city. It's a great idea
The Necropolis sits just behind Glasgow Cathedral. "The City of the Dead." Very Gothic but no vampires on show when I was there. What a waste of a sharpened stake and that big hammer was heavy dragging it around all day! It's not easy being a vampire hunter when they don't show up.
More tombs adorn the summit with great views over the city.
Provand's Lordship. Glasgow's oldest house circa 1471, which sits on the High Street beside the cathedral.
The Necropolis is a five minute walk away situated on a grassy hill above the city.
The High Street. Old red sandstone tenements catching the afternoon sun.
The bottom of the High Street and the Tolbooth Steeple. A blend of old and new buildings.
Looking down the High Street towards the same area.
The always busy Renfield Street in the heart of the city shopping district. The electronic billboard on the rooftops has been there in one form or another since the 1960s or even earlier as I remember looking up at it as a child and it displayed adverts for products back then as well. The Regent Cinema stood near here and seemed to go in mainly for children's films. I was only in it occasionally and it was always cartoons we watched although I might have seen "Born Free" here also.
A few streets away in the business district with the distinctive silver outline of the Spectrum Building.
Glasgow Cathedral and the Royal Infirmary. There is a reason for this post which will be revealed in Part Two. The old Glasgow then the new...surprisingly close to each other.
Another view of the High Street with modern apartments that try to match the traditional street colours and frontage.
The other side of the High Street and traditional period tenement buildings.















4 comments:

Carol said...

Your street artists must have bloody long ladders!

I have to say that, after looking at both your posts, I love the old architecture and hate the new (I find that everywhere). You have some beautiful old buildings but I can never imagine what today's architects are thinking of!

blueskyscotland said...

Hi Carol,
Yeah, I like the old buildings as well but nearly all of them have 'to let' signs up. They may be listed and have great decorative carvings on them but if nobody wants to live or work in them they fall into disrepair and many have. Nowadays the world and fashion tastes change that fast that buildings can be outdated in ten years which is probably why so many new buildings look so bland. Nobody wants to waste money on extravagant features as they may not be around very long.
One example is the newspaper industry which has had to change and update buildings or move completely to another district several times in the last 30 years just to keep up with new technology coming in and it's still not enough to compete with online news, much of which is crap and completely superficial but instant. As an Evening Crimes and Daily Retard reader online news must be bad if I think it's dumbed down to five or ten lines of utter drivel. Hello Yahoo News. This means you :o)

Linda W. said...

Thanks for the tour! I love that artists have painted murals throughout the city.

Carol said...

I shy away from reading internet news as they either try to foist a video on you (slow to load and interrupts my browsing music) or it takes forever to load because of all the advertising :-(