Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

This morning I collected guests from Paisley hotel and then proceeded as follows:

First to Greenbank Garden, south of Glasgow. This is largely unchanged since it was first established in the 18th century and is now a centre of horticulture excellence with special focus on daffodils and bergenias.  A colorful and diversified display.

Colourful Flower, Greenbank Garden, Glasgow

Colourful Garden at Greenbank, Glasgow

Next to Pollok house and park. Pollok House also dates from the 18th century and sits majestically close to the White Cart Water. Close by are a picturesque herd of Highland Cattle which we observed and photographed.

Pollok House, Pollok Park, Glasgow

Highland Cow, Pollok Park, Glasgow

Next to visit the nearby Burrell Collection. Here there are wide range of objects and art ranging form ancient Egypt to medieval furniture to armour and stained glass.

Figure of Luohan, Ming Dynasty, Burrell Collection

Rodin Statue, Burrell Collection, Glasgow

Next guests availed of a swim at Eastwood and then we moved on for a spot of lunch at the Boaters Cafe at nearby Rouken Glen.

Boaters Cafe, Rouken Glen, Scotland

Nect we drove to the Springburn area of Glasgow for the highlight of the day which was a Speedway event  where we witnessed a meeting between the Glasgow Tigers and Workington Comets. This dynamic event lasted two hours and was well patronised.

Speedway, Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow

Speedway, Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow

Speedway, Sshfield Stadium, Glasgow

Speedway, Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow

After conclusion of the Speedway event I returned guests to their hotel ready for next leg of their tour-to Ireland.

Red Poppies at Pollock House, Glasgow

This morning, I paid a visit to Pollock House, a heritage property dating from the 18th century and now jointly managed by Scotland’s National Trust and Glasgow Council.

Prime purpose was to obtain images of the adjacent park and gardens, an endeavour which proved a success aided by warm, sunny weather.  There is something for everybody here: horses, Highland Cattle, river scenery and well kept gardens. I did not venture into the house as photography is not permitted.

Here is a young Clydesdale horse. These were originally bred to carry knights into battle during medieval times and subsequently were used for heavy haulage duties.

Clydesdale Horse at Pollock Park, Glasgow

Here is Pollock House sitting resplendent on bank of the White Cart Water. This represents a long line of Maxwell family dwellings on the site which have evolved a period of around 1000 years.

Pollock House, Glasgow, Scotland

Here is a view of Pollock House taken from the well kept flower garden.

View of Pollock House, Glasgow from garden

A bright pink dahlia in the garden. Slightly battered by recent heavy rain.

Dahlia at Pollock House, Glasgow

White Poppies at Pollock House, Glasgow

On the way home I came across this game of cricket in process. Summer must have arrived!

Game of Cricket in process, Glasgow

Elsewhere today, my main focus has been the detail of a 10 day Scotland-England tour scheduled for September for a group of 10.

It appears that Glasgow was at the forefront of the development of such sports as Water Polo ( formerly called aquatic football), Lawn Bowls and Football (soccer).  Glasgow’s rapid expansion during the latter half of the 19th century had a dual effect on sporting activity: existing pitches and facilities were moved to accommodate railways and housing developments whilst sporting facilities expanded to keep up with growing population. Football (soccer) was the sport of the working classes. This was relatively cheap to arrange and organise and built on a long tradition which suggests that the current style passing game of football was invented in Scotland. Today, Scotland has two leading clubs on the international stage, namely Celtic and Rangers, both of which are based in Glasgow. In addition to football, Lawn Bowls was and remains popular. This sport was often run in conjunctionwith curling as the two share similar rules.

The tour commenced at the Lighthouse, a famous Glaswegian architectural landmark and architectural exhibition centre, the entrance to which is located in a side street ad bypassed by the great mass of shoppers just a few metres away in Buchanan St.

Lighthouse

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