Cumbernauld Part Two. Meeting a Special Lady.

A week after the first trip I was back in Cumbernauld again, a Scottish new town situated on high moorland between Glasgow and Edinburgh. (see previous post for part one.) This time I had my bike with me as I intended to explore further afield in what would be a new area for me, Cumbernauld is a new town of the 1960s era, deliberately build around the motorcar so pedestrians and cyclists have their own purpose built network of  underpasses, bridges and paths designed to keep them apart. I thought it would be fun to explore a new area as I have always loved wandering round unusual urban districts and I had a friend to meet up with this time.

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                                        Cumbernauld- A town build for people and cars.

This time I didn't park in the shopping centre itself, with its restrictive two hour parking limit, but instead picked a nearby quiet suburban street and discreetly parked there.

I was off to see a very special lady and explore the area surrounding Cumbernauld.

First off though I freewheeled down through Cumbernauld Glen- a mix of tightly packed plantation type pine trees, spindly silver birch with a few larger deciduous specimens scattered around. Very different woodland from the Victorian designed Glasgow city parks I am used to with a more enclosed untamed but thinner feel. (i.e. the trees here are much thinner in girth but plentiful in number- no Cabability Brown landscapes in this area. Cumbernauld was also known for its wild white cattle herds roaming here in the past which some believe may be partly descended from the now extinct auroch. A large formidable oxen with long pointed horns.
White cattle variations are also found at nearby Palacerigg, Chatelherault, and Northumberland, many herds a modern remnant on great estates where these animals where once kept for hunting, the breed being generally more aggressive than their docile milking cousins.

At the bottom of Cumbernauld Glen (Some Outlander scenes filmed here in the woods) a long underpass tunnel awaited. I've always enjoyed tunnels, caves. and underground spaces of any description so I was in my element here. Loads of underpass tunnels in Cumbernauld. Not so good for young children, the elderly, or anyone of a nervous disposition  though going through here by themselves, especially at night or in the winter months where its dark by 3:00pm some overcast days.

A painting in the tunnel by a street artist. This could be the artist's name or a reference to the trend of some rich Asian businessmen where I believe it's a popular status symbol in the east to give illegal rhino horns as a present to put on their mantelpiece, gathering dust. When you have large amounts of money and millionaires the world and its precious resources becomes your playground and I have no doubt tigers, rhinos, snow leopards and many other big mammals still with us today will soon go the way of the legendary auroch- which was also driven (hunted/ loss of habitat/ domesticated cattle diseases etc) to extinction in the 1600s, despite attempts to save it. Are we any better today with more species than ever on the brink?

The underpass tunnel delivered me out at Cumbernauld Village, the original habitation centre surrounded and swallowed up by the new town.

As you can see by this info board the village has its own history.

The main street in Cumbernauld Village.

From here I visited Dullatur, Croy, the route of the Antonine Wall, (built across Scotland by the Romans to keep out the Highland tribes further north who were never subdued) and the Forth and Clyde Canal. Very friendly looking Roman solider here, but no doubt popular with young children as a local landmark.

Back in Cumbernauld I also found a scenic balcony trail which I enjoyed, suitable for a bike with good elevated views over the new town running near Carrickstone and through a local golf course.

This took me up onto the high ridge lands to the north of Cumbernauld with great expansive views in the direction of Kilsyth and the eastern end of the Campsie Fells.

Not wanting to keep a lady waiting however I soon turned south again and made for Cumbernauld Country Park.

As before a network of purpose built cycle tracks helped to speed me on my way. A lot faster than walking as I discovered on this trip Cumbernauld  on foot is a very spread out place. Designed purely for people with cars it is not an easy or convenient place for anyone without one with long hikes everywhere as a pedestrian, even to reach the town centre. There are local buses but a car or at least a bike is a real essential item living here. Bleak in bad weather I'd imagine with the foul conditions we get in Scotland.

However this day it was dry but overcast and I was able to keep my appointment with my destination.

Lovely bum. Up until this point I'd only viewed Andy Scott's sculpture from the front, passing on the motorway underneath her. Unlike the famous Kelpies this is not an easy place to reach for passing visitors with no signposted car park facilities close by so she remains wonderfully unsullied and less frequented- as befits a goddess of the modern era. You have to make a pilgrimage to reach her. As I've always had a thing for goddesses anyway since early childhood  Arria remains my favorite work of this internationally renowned artist.
Probably because she follows a long line of similar creatures throughout human history from the earliest times. Sweet Isis, Aphrodite, Demeter, Gaia, Persephone (Queen of the Underworld and still my spring companion each year in mortal form :) Rhea, Kali, Aurora, Selene (the mother of vampires) and so on down the ages.

When I was around 14/15 years of age, being the late 1960s, I had shoulder length hair which one momentous day, entranced by the power and beauty of Egyptian hieroglyphics,  I cut in the style of Cleopatra with straight sides and a severe front fringe. I also sculpted my finger nails into talons at one point by discreetly cutting them into sharp daggers. It helped the overall image that I had black hair anyway, like hers in popular culture if not in fact, although, being a queen, she probably arranged it in a range of different styles to suit any occasion for effect. Fortunately, like a lot of teens, I was also attracted to anything suitably dark and Gothic and had taken up throwing knifes, spending hours in the local woods practicing until I could hit any tree 30 feet away 8 times out of 10. This was lucky as I didn't get bullied as much as I might have been growing up in a rough council estate and was mainly left by myself to pursue my own interests. Being a visionary of any kind is a lonely occupation however and you mainly travel on a bus through life with few other passengers. I had also discovered the Velvet Underground around that period but no-one else in school had even heard of them, let alone liked them so I had to wait another full year before I met some like minded companions to share my passions. Ah, those mixed up teenage years.

Why settle for one icon to worship when you can have a pantheon of different stars I decided early on in life. As we are finally at the dawn of understanding how the universe around us actually works we will no doubt discover it to be constructed by a superior machine, an advanced robot built by an even more advanced race to carry out basic mundane tasks like galaxy building and life-form construction while they busy themselves elsewhere. i.e. God as a robot or even a complex mathematical equation :o)  A leap too far? Well, does a sapling in a vast greenhouse worship its creator, the gardener, who planted the seed... or comprehend what goes on beyond the glass? Does it really matter as long as it grows, is happy within itself, and is nourished?
Our own tentative steps in computer technology, game open worlds and 3 D printing plus driver-less vehicles already point in that direction for some.

On the way back it was mostly uphill and the shopping centre seemed a long way off. First a bridge...

Then more underpass tunnels...

New housing stock....

Stairs and more stairs with helpful little signs saying 'Only two miles to Cumbernauld Shopping Centre. You are nearly there!'

And then finally a long uphill pull on what felt like a never ending ramp to the ridge-top, passing a few equally panting citizens heading for the shops. Locals without cars must be very fit here. What's it called?  F******* Cumbernauld :o)
I was very glad I was not a pedestrian by this point as I was getting really tired by now, although I was on foot pushing the bike uphill most of the way by this stage.
An enjoyable and interesting trip however.
And so is this..

Cumbernauld Trip. The UK's First Shopping Mall? The World's First Modern Mall?

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A good few months ago now I was thinking of an interesting place to visit and Cumbernauld came to mind after looking at a few maps. Apart from having a non professional but long standing interest in architecture I also have a connection to this Scottish new town as my sister got married and moved out here with her husband and young family in the late 1960s/ very early 1970s before emigrating to Australia. This is one of several car parks clustered around Cumbernauld's original shopping centre. There seems to be a 2 hour parking restriction on all the vehicles parked here, despite it being half empty with plenty of free spaces. I did notice on my return a couple of cars getting tickets (and maybe clamped/ or fixed penalty notice on windscreen) so they do enforce it. Luckily, I returned within the 2 hour limit  as I managed to fit everything in within that time period and it was mainly the shopping centre I was curious about.

Cumbernauld Shopping Centre was dreamed up in the 1950s when the brutalist style of architecture was all the rage, completed in the mid to late 1960s and went on to win several awards for the ugliest and most hated town centre in Britain decades later. As a young teenager though it was an impressive stack of concrete boxes piled on top of each other and from a distance still resembles a ship at sea cresting a wave.as it sits up proud on a ridgeline. Staying overnight in Cumbernauld on a few occasions and visiting regularly for several years while my sister lived  here I got to know it reasonably well. Eight levels high with underground car and bus roads running directly below the entire complex it is reputedly the first purpose built shopping mall in the UK and the world's first multi level covered over town centre. Reason enough to visit and explore as I assumed that title would have gone to the USA or Milton Keynes in England?

Being a real original pioneer in architecture many of the buildings have been highly influential. Cumbernauld College. The true inspiration for Liza and Maggie Simpson's jagged hairstyle perhaps?

St Mungo's church beside the shopping centre. As you can see it was a glorious sunny day so I headed off elsewhere once my two hour parking time limit was up.

A local pub.

Another local pub I used to pass on my youthful travels exploring the neighbourhood.

With many of the streets and buildings in Cumbernauld having almost identical back fences it was sometimes a challenge at my young age to find my way back to the right house if I'd walked a fair distance on my travels around the area for the first few visits. Then it was all new and sparkling to my eyes, most of the surroundings having recently been constructed. On this visit it was the usual mixture after 50 years with some streets remaining well kept and looking much the same, other buildings torn down altogether and replaced with new properties and some areas looking rather dilapidated and in need of care and attention in this Glasgow over-spill estate.

The highest social housing blocks in Cumbernauld, apart from several hi-rise flats, are seen here, sitting on the true roof of Scotland. A Mediterranean tenement style that always struck me as being very different, even back then. Flat roofs are not usually a good idea however in the rain soaked Scottish climate

I also remembered the numerous underpasses and pedestrian bridges linking every district and they are still fun to walk across... or under.

The worldwide hit film Gregory's Girl was set in Cumbernauld and is still enjoyable today with its optimistic innocent approach and new town feel. East Kilbride, Erskine, Livingstone and Glenrothes in Fife are similar over-spill new town constructions with varying degrees of success in attracting jobs, investment and families to live in them while also maintaining an enjoyable lifestyle.  Cumbernauld is also home to a film and TV studio in an old factory with the romantic ' noble Highlander' production Outlander filmed here, using outdoor locations locally and across the Central Belt of Scotland.

Of course it's widely known now that Cumbernauld was one of the first places to produce four armed children as many early adding and computer companies were attracted to this area and the workers had to adapt quickly and evolve new skills and hand speeds to cope with modern production methods. Going by the old black and white photographs in the local museum of long rows of workers sitting at giant communal tables working with adding machines four arms would be a distinct evolutionary advantage in that environment. That probably explains this sculpture.

The museum lies at the top of the town centre complex, almost on the roof, and is situated in the well stocked library. Worth a visit if here as it details Cumbernauld's history. The library also has a great selection of books, records and films probably due to Cumbernauld's isolated position on a high moorland plateau situated in the wild empty lands between Glasgow and Edinburgh, both cities just under an hour's bus ride away.

A view from the library looking south towards the transmitter towers, two of Scotland's highest free standing structures and the reason you get clear TV, digital, mobile signals etc. This bleak, mostly treeless plateau is unique in Scotland as a high elevated plain but it's a great area for cycling across in fine weather. Not so good in strong wind or rain unless you like a challenge.

I was happy this time to just explore the area around the shopping centre, reawakening old memories, and building new ones.

I still enjoyed the pedestrian footpaths and really liked my visit here. Not so sure about living in Cumbernauld full time though and I have no idea what that would be like as you really have to live it first before making that kind of judgement call. Surprisingly, when my sister went to Australia they settled on a similar type of low level open plan town, isolated in a flat semi desert environment with few trees but this time six hours away from the nearest city. So maybe Cumbernauld rubbed off a little as she is still in the same place today :o).

This painting kind of sums up how I've always viewed the world- despite any past hardships or upsets I still retain a child's optimism that exciting new adventures and surprises are waiting to be discovered just around the corner and that magic and wonder can happen anywhere. This attitude helps to balance out my realistic and slightly pessimistic side that believes the human population is completely out of control and numbers need to be reduced dramatically if anything else worthwhile is to survive... be it rural landscapes, nature, wildlife or anything else we think of as precious.

The world was still a large place in the 1960s and Australia, Africa or the Middle East really was a distant, unbelievably far away land. What happened there or events in any other country overseas took ages to be reported or understood fully and any repercussions for the UK  usually came slowly at trickle speed. That is certainly not the case now with rapid change, cause and effect almost rolling into one another daily without a break or breathing space to adjust to any new situation. Interesting times we live in.

The path to the stars... or Cumbernauld library... in this instance.

More stairs and ramps. Being the first of its kind all sorts of dead end walkways, cul de sacs and corridors exist in this fascinating shopping centre of the unproductive senseless type you will not see in the money conscious, neatly planned, profit maximized to the limit modern versions... but that is part of its appeal for me. A long convoluted corridor and several bends later to reach one shop in an otherwise empty wing of this mega-structure sums it up and delights me at least that surprises like this still exist.

And the rising path to the rooftop library is followed with dazzling sunlight pouring down from shafts which could easily be an ascension rite of passage through an ancient labyrinth or inside a  primitive temple or Egyptian pyramid........ and it's all right here to discover for free. Yippeee!

All together now. What's it called?!!!... Cumbernauld!

Cumbernauld Park.in this short clip. Also first generation children featured here obviously. Only two hands each :o)




A different kind of park in OZ. What impressed me most in Australia was not the natural landscape but the beautiful cities and the surrounding park lands filled with all manner of exotic creatures coming in from the surrounding countryside/desert outside.
















 

Musselburgh. Joppa. Portobello. The John Muir Way. Edinburgh's Seaside Coast.

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On the same day that I was through in Edinburgh a few months ago and did the Edinburgh Castle circular walk in the late afternoon it had already been a productive day out. An early rise, bus into city centre, and then a Glasgow to Edinburgh bus ride followed by a number 30 in Princes Street saw me eventually reach Musselburgh- over 3 and a half hours later. Part of the problem was that the number 30 to Musselburgh, being a bus route, seems to travel round half of Edinburgh before departing the city then repeats the trick in the large town of Musselburgh itself by visiting nearly every street and place of interest before reaching the final destination at Fisherow. Fun though it was to trundle out to various outlying retail parks, housing estates, railway stations and then a free tour past Queen Margaret's University I was nevertheless conscious that time was a ticking away from me.  (On the return leg I got a number 26, Seaton Sands, from Portobello, just inland from the beach, and it took half the time of the number 30 being a more direct route through the city.  With hindsight I'd take the 26 every time.) Above is Musselburgh Harbour and Arthur's Seat ( The ancient volcano situated in the Scottish capital's heart.)

The reason for coming here was to revisit The John Muir Trail briefly, and coastal walk as I realized, looking at an Edinburgh map some months ago I had never explored this section between Musselburgh and Portobello before. Warm and muggy predicted in the west  when I left Glasgow, by the time I got through to the east coast seaboard a strong steady wind and white horses were intent on producing a frisky sea. Small dogs were having trouble standing up at the seafront due to a steady roaring gale. Some would call it a howler of a day but it was still sunny at least and the wind strength meant I could keep my jacket on without overheating although it was not a particularly cold wind. At times during this walk it became very hazy with a sea mist coming and going so the wind maybe helped to keep that away. A view of the main swimming beach here, above.

Musselburgh I had visited before and enjoyed it here. A nice harbour, beach walks in both directions, adequate shops, and an interesting history.

Also a town on the John Muir Way and The North Sea Trail, the mega long distance latter going through Scotland's east coast then on-wards down the east coast of England then through the various coastal communities and countries that border the North Sea with,  the Low Countries, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway all on the list. Over 3000 miles long, conceived at a time when the UK was still a part of Europe.


 John Muir Way link. 130 mile walk between Helensburgh and Dunbar, usually done in a week to 10 days depending on speed and mileage walked per day.
http://johnmuirway.org/route

In the other direction from Musselburgh Harbour lies Musselburgh Racetrack,  Ash Mountain, and the Ash Lagoons below it- an almost monotone grey, sterile landscape like nothing else in Scotland- caused by the depleted waste deposits from a nearby coal burning power station and dumped here over many years but loved by many birds- like a grey Scottish version of flamingo potash shallow lakes amid bleak empty scenery abroad. You get a little glimpse of that type of environment here.... but I'd already been several times so not today.

So Portobello it was. Edinburgh's Seaside burgh from a time when folk still took UK holiday's along the British coast. Although Portobello has an exotic name this didn't save it from the same neglected plight of many former tourist seaside resorts but it is making something of a comeback in recent years for day visitors and seems reasonably popular once more.

The rough wave action coupled with the infamous east coast swell meant that the beaches were littered with a colourful collection of shells and bright objects.

At low tide this 5 km walk should be fairly straightforward around the coast but as it was now afternoon I was hitting it close to high tide levels so that and the wind strength made it interesting.

Back garden escaped flowers gave some sections a bright splash of colour.

Like the wild sown hanging gardens of Joppa, seen here. A biblical name perhaps so why not? The ancient town of Joppa mentioned in the bible became Jaffa in modern Israel, many, many years later, famous world wide in the mid 1900s for its beautiful oranges.

Rather than go along the main street through Joppa, which you could easily do, I was stubbornly determined to stick to the coastline where possible and had been happily rock-hopping along the shore front, under a long seawall of back gardens.  At this point however it looked tricky ahead and a combination of unpredictably high drenching sea spray off the waves, wet slippy cobbles sloping into the frisky sea at a deceptively easy angle and natural survival skills saw me creeping under the last few houses, ridiculously high up, along a near vertical via ferrata traverse ladder of homemade ancient iron spikes,finger cracks in walls, and tiny wet footholds.  And that was the good bit.

The section beyond the last house to the stairs back up onto the promenade looked OK from a distance but when viewed close up, as seen here from the opposite side, it was strictly a hands and knees affair, and a long unpleasant crawl over large boulders, where sodden seaweed, and  sudden jets of spray spurting upwards through numerous high tide gaps between said boulders straight into your face awaited the luckless crawler. Looking down at the route from above I was very glad I'd bottled out this last section, turning back when unsure of traverse success and increasingly large wave heights, and common sense had thankfully prevailed as a ten foot high sea wall meant that escape was impossible once committed to the 'boulder field of  needless degradation and depravity.'     Or that's how it seemed to me viewing this lucky escape and let off.
My bruised sense of dignity at being discovered by locals crawling over rocks at an advanced age like some scaly creature from heraldry eventually triumphed over my equally laudable intention to stick to the coastline...  at all costs.

Next came Joppa Rocks, famous in Scottish geology circles, though reached at high tide here. There's not much in Joppa as its just a suburb of Portobello- pleasant enough place to live but not a lively seaside resort. Quiet and mainly residential now by the looks of it.

Next came Portobello beach itself, 3 km of fine sand and esplanade running the full length of the town. If younger I would have attempted a 'Chariots of Fire' style slow motion run and leap over the long line of sand stabilizers fading into the misty distance but reserved my energy for other endevours instead.

Some nice period buildings lined the seafront, reflecting the Victorian and Edwardian grandeur of a stay at home holiday Britain when two weeks at the seaside every summer was a generations old tradition.

The still open Swimming Baths. A good sensible idea as only an adult strong swimmer would have a chance against such large waves with the wind that day. A couple did brave the heaving seas outdoors that time but they each had heavy duty wet suits on and looked like experienced coastal swimmers.

Up until this point I'd only passed a few walkers, mainly out excising dogs, but now, passing the shopping and entertainment district (Public Toilets here and at Musselburgh sea front.) the crowds appeared. Maybe about 100 or so folk, mostly students or families playing together. That may not sound like much but given the wind and sea strength on this particular weekend  I was impressed it was busy at all.

Oyster catchers.

Bottle Kilns for producing glass products. Part of Portobello's interesting past.

As usual the beach was empty again after the shops were left behind. Still Portobello district.

Looking back along the beach towards Musselburgh Harbour.

George Street. Number 26 Seaton Sands bus to Portobello and Musselburgh passes by here.

Back in Edinburgh once more and just time to squeeze in a castle circular walk before heading back to Glasgow. Interesting day. Around a 2 to 3 hour beach walk between M and P but can easily extend it into a longer walk if required.

 A loving homage to the old west of dusty inland America, great artwork and a memorable song, performance and delivery makes this five minute wonder special.