Wednesday 18 January 2023

White Cart Water Walk and River Clyde.

                                                   ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN

 

One from a couple of months ago that I forgot to post. With a new bridge being constructed across the River Clyde and ground works already visible on both banks I decided to use the Renfrew ferry to do a walk there I'd not done for four or five years. River Clyde at Yoker, Above.


 A west coast local waits for the ferry. I suspect he's just been informed the Conservatives might be in power for another two years.

 

The new warship HMS Glasgow has her maiden voyage down the river. Just pure luck I was there to see it as it was not planned in advance to meet it here.

 

HMS Glasgow passing Clydebank.

 


  Also managed to spot this rowing crew on a different occasion. The first time I've seen rowers like this on this section of the river as the only rowing club in the city I know about are based at Glasgow Green where you normally see them rowing above the Saltmarket barrage which stops boats at that point from going further downriver. Depending on the weight of the boat and numbers of people you could carry it past that or more likely move it to a different river entry further down by boat trailer and car/van. Passing Yoker here.

 

Rowing crew passing the Renfrew Ferry.



 

I had a nice lunch before I left consisting of two boiled eggs, tomatoes, cheese and salad cream. Very tasty.


Once across the ferry on the Renfrew side you walk up Ferry Road a short distance then turn right into Meadowside Street and follow that to its end. Walking left in the other direction takes you to Braehead Shopping Centre. At the end of Meadowside Street the path continues round  with woods on one side to reach here where it runs along the River Clyde again. Renfrew Golf Course is on the left in this photo and the path contours round the edge of that until it meets the White Cart Water where it has to turn left. This part is still scenic and quiet although they have already started bulldozing the new road to reach the projected bridge through the adjacent woods.

 

Further along the footpath beside the River Clyde with the White Cart Water just ahead in this photo.



 

The River Clyde is fairly wide at this point with Clydebank in the distance, making it ideal for building and launching large ships and ocean going liners from John Brown's yard where the Titan Crane sits today. The last heavy duty crane remaining here but 70 years ago there would be an entire forest of metal cranes dotted around this famous yard, constructing a variety of ships to travel the world's sea routes.


 The path bends round the golf course and follows the White Cart Water, seen here, with a couple of local sculptures at this point.


 A bird of prey on a pole....


 And a face holding a mobile phone or a mirror. Both reflections of self awareness. One ancient... one modern.

 

Glasgow Airport ( in reality in Paisley) is close by so planes coming down to land on the runway....... a frequent sight here.


 


Overhead plane.


Good views across to Clydebank from this point.

 

And pleasant scenery... which is why I was here. The joining of the White Cart and the Black Cart in this photo.


Sunlight effects on path with a dazzling low winter sun. Just up from here you come to a main road and the iconic swing bridge, a local landmark. You can either continue up the White Cart Water on the other side of this road (recommended) on a good path until you are forced away from it by several large industrial works, cutting inland to Robertson Park then back to the Renfrew Ferry again... or follow the road on pavements into Renfrew itself. You can also take in Braehead and Renfrew Ferry Park beside Intu/Ex-scape  which also boasts a pleasant riverside walkway leading back to the ferry along the River Clyde. A good varied walk of a few hours duration at an easy pace. Also suitable as a cycle route and mostly traffic free or on quiet back streets. Bikes travel free on this pedestrian ferry. Adults £2:50 for each crossing. Concessions/OAP's £1:25 in 2022. Under 5s free as well.


And a tasty meal to end the day with. I always enjoy most of the meals I make and this was no exception.


 


9 comments:

Carol said...

I wish I could get some potatoes! But they're too heavy to bring on the bus - especially with the bus stop being a mile away! At least I can eggs at my next door neighbour's (when the ice clears up enough for me to walk the few yards down the road without breaking more wrists!)

I had no idea the Clyde was so wide in places - phenomenal!


I spent a night sleeping in a hire car at the end of one of the runways at Glasgow Airport once - I didn't get a wink of sleep as it was too interesting watching all the aircraft coming in over the landing lights by the roadside!

Anabel Marsh said...

I laughed at the punter waiting for the ferry - and your comment!

blueskyscotland said...

Hi Carol, I'm sure you can get them delivered if you don't mind paying for it until you are up and about again.
One of the main reasons for John Brown's shipyard location at Clydebank was so they could build and launch the bigger ships there like the QE2. At almost 1000 feet long and 70,000 tons they had to cut a section out of the dock to get it to fit, even with the extra river width, to enable it to turn and move downstream. The last of the great ocean liners to sail down the Clyde in the mid 1960s

blueskyscotland said...

Hi Anabel,
I was almost taking that comment out, in two minds about leaving it in, then I watched a Conservative minister tonight give the usual sanctimonious drivel and implausible excuses over the current state of the NHS and why the irate nurses in the TV studio couldn't get a pay rise. Anytime I was in hospital or visiting care homes during the last two decades it was blindingly obvious to me the NHS was being kept afloat by the EU nurses and doctors working there( German.Spanish,Belgian, Italian, Polish etc that fixed me up when I required it. Decades of under-funding, austerity measures, and Brexit were bound to have an effect. I've not got much time for politicians in general but Conservatives, (over a 50 year period of watching them operate), do seem to have a special ability to piss me off the most by talking complete bull**** the most number of times in one lifetime.

Carol said...

I forgot to comment on your despairing West Coast Man photo - actually, he looks rather like he's in an invitational pose if you see what I mean!

blueskyscotland said...

It's a dummy. A lifelike model stuffed with material, shoes back to front, and no head but it does trick passers-bye until they take a closer look.Funnily enough, public drunkenness to that extent of collapse used to be very common in adults, (90 percent of them males though) when I was growing up but it's far less common now to see men staggering home at closing time. A happy improvement.

Rosemary said...

I totally empathise with Mr. Dummy - I feel exactly the same - but can I cope with two more long years?

blueskyscotland said...

Hi Rosemary,
I suspect the plan all along, after reading several recent articles on the subject,is that the current government hopes to privatize our NHS along the American or Australian model where you either have to have heavy insurance built up over many years through work or pay for treatment.
So much for the Boris bus claiming we would have loads of spare cash for the NHS as soon as we left the bad old EU.

Carol said...

But, we who work, or have worked, DO and HAVE paid for our treatment. It's the dole fans who don't!