Our Neighborhood -- Dowanhill Architecture

Today, my new friend Barbara and I toured the part of the West End called Dowanhill which is where our flat is located.  I met Barbara when my dad and I did a walking tour of the West End two weeks ago, and she and I decided we would do more walks but without our guide (since we knew we could do just as well on our own).  So, armed with another trusty West End Heritage Trail map, we ventured forth on one of the most beautiful days Glasgow has offered up so far.  Meandering through the area bordered by Great Western Road, Byres Road, and Hyndland Road, we enjoyed the sunshine, warmth, chat, and oh yeah, the architecture.

Across the street from our flat is Kelvinside Church modeled after Sainte-Chappelle in Paris.  It was built on the site of Horselethill farm and is noted for it triple spires, soaring Gothic style and stained glass.

Beyond the church is Grosvenor Crescent, which is a charming semi-circle terrace with beautiful windows and dormers.

Despite the urban closeness of the terraces, tenements, and villas (all types of buildings found in this neighborhood), green spaces still exist -- residents-only parks which require a key to enter and private sports clubs.

Willowbank Bowling Club from King's Gate

 King's Gate is two pairs of double villas overlooking the bowling club.  Barbara and I enacted Heard Law and went down the driveway to snoop at the flats, trying to figure out if and how the villas had been subdivided.

On to Dowanhill Church -- Normandy Gothic in style with a tapering spire, now a pub, restaurant and  theatre, Cottiers (here)

An unusual stained glass window consisting of eight panels depicting the four winds and the four seasons at 117 Dowanhill Street highlights the variety of architectural details found in this neighborhood.

Ironwork based on a design by "Greek" Thomson found on Dundonald Road

Different style stained glass doorway at 19 Rosslyn Terrace

Another great door, this one at 1 Princes Terrace

Dowanhill still has some villas (basically a mansion) remaining as homes, but others have been transformed into commercial or civic space, many into doctors' practices.

Northcote, built in 1858 for John Alexander (now a doctors' office)

Elstow, built in1858 then enlarged and restyled in 1898

Kensington Tower, built in 1858 for Edward Alexander (father of John)

love these lawn statues!

Fish and Paisley

Yesterday morning we decided to finally check out a fish market our friends Simon and Marina had told us about months ago.  MacCallums of Troon Fishmongers is tucked away in an industrial block with little indication that a market lies behind the gap in the brick wall.  But inside there's an amazing array of fresh fish and seafood -- whole, filleted, live, smoked -- every variety you can imagine, plus fresh sushi!  A tiny selection of local vegies and some staples make this a one-stop shop for your dinner fixings.  For lunch we had crab maki and tuna sashimi chunks over rice (a little too much mayonnaise in both, but that's probably what made it Scottish sushi).  And, for dinner we bought grey sole fillets, Jersey Royal potatoes and asparagus -- a true spring meal with local and seasonal vegies.

hard to see, but these shrimp have roe attached to the shells

After our sushi lunch we headed off to Paisley a town that's only a ten minute train ride out from Glasgow.  Although quite diminshed from its manufacturing heyday, Paisley has some unique sights.  First off, the medieval cathedral -- Paisley Abbey where the Scottish royals are buried and one was even born there.  Robert II's mother fell off her horse nearby and was carried to the abbey to give birth.  Inside the abbey was a lineage of the Scottish and English royal families, which mainly showed how much they inter-married, making me wonder why the current royals are sane and healthy at all!

detail on the end of a pew bench

Barochan Cross, a 1000 year old Celtic cross

Then, off to a restored weaver's cottage.  Paisley was the center of the weaving industry and became famous for shawls in a paisley pattern, so that tear-drop style pattern became known as paisley even though the style originated in the ancient middle east.  At the Paisley museum, a display of the old shawls (from mid-1800s) shows a subtlety both in pattern and color.

coal fire burning in the tea shop

took these photos of the shawls before noticing the "No Photography" sign

But the real reason we decided to make a field trip to Paisley was a Quentin Blake exhibit.  The illustrator for Roald Dahl's books, Quentin Blake has had a long and illustrious career and is beloved in the UK.  This exhibit focused on work he's done for hospitals, where his art is meant to soothe or comfort patients with its humorous displays of ordinary life or fantastical creatures.

everyday scenes for an eating disorders clinic

older people doing circus tricks for a hospital specializing in elders' mental health

doctors and patients from Planet Zog for a young people's mental health center

Weekend on an Island -- Stone Circles

On Saturday morning we drove the circumference of the Isle of Arran, stopping at different sights. Our first destination was the Machrie Moor Stone Circles, which were inland about a mile according to the guide book, but more like two miles according to our children and aunt (notice the stile seat above -- used for some walking breaks and Liam's sheep wool moustache). Despite the long-ish walk, we enjoyed seeing burial mounds and stone circles dating from Neo-lithic times.

And, the standing stones were quite impressive, towering far over head. The three above formed part of a circle and when I stood in the middle I could understand why ancient people chose this spot. It felt like you were in the center of the island with mountains rising up around you -- it was very spiritual!!

En route to the stones, we walked along a farm road through many flocks of sheep. The boys were desperate to pet one, but the sheep did not let them come close despite their attempts to herd them. Declan and Cormac chased them from one field to the next to no avail -- who was more tired boys or animals?

Heard Law in action -- Declan and I cut through an abandoned farm despite the warning sign.