Kelvingrove Museum, The Necropolis, Drygate Brewery Day 10 #VisitScotland #goaheadtours #outlander #peoplemakeGLA

-
Saturday March 28, 2015
Woke up in the Hotel Novotel Glasgow Centre in Glasgow after the BEST SLEEP I've had all trip! The bathroom had a tub, yeah and the biggest, fluffiest towels. The toilet truly was a water closest. Completely separately from the bathroom. Whatever, the room was comfy and quiet and with the walking we had planned over the next couple of days we'll need a comfy bed to repair after our adventures.
The hotel's breakfast buffet had something for everyone. They even had this bowl of black stuff-when I asked the chef said it was "Black haggis" a mixture of black pudding and haggis. It was yummy.

We spent the morning at the Kelvingorve  Art Gallery and Museum. After Friday's "drive-by" museum viewing, we wanted a more intimate exploration of the museum's collections. We were not disappointed.
The highlight of the visit is the Salvador Dali-Christ of St. John of the Cross.

The museum has 22 themed galleries displaying an astonishing 8000 objects. Their collection includes:
  • Dutch Old Masters and French Impressionists including one of the largest and finest collections of 17th century Dutch and Flemish art in the UK and one of the most important collections of 19th century French oils in the UK
  • Scottish Art including galleries dedicated to the Glasgow Boys and Scottish Colourists and the newly acquired 'Glasgow Fair' by John Knox (1776/8-1845)
  • Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross
  • Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style – a gallery dedicated to one of Glasgow’s most famous sons and the style movement which was the UK’s contribution to Art Nouveau
  • Natural history including dinosaurs and other prehistoric mammals
  • Arms and armour – this collection is of international significance, including the R L Scott bequest, which had been one of the finest private collections of European arms and armour in the world
  • Ancient Egypt – this collection is of national significance, featuring several objects of unique importance linked to historical figures
  • Scottish history and archaeology including a wealth of material relating to the early settlements across Scotland and life on St Kilda 
  • World cultures including nationally and internationally significant objects from the Americas, Africa, South Asia and Oceania
They even have a real Spitfire!

I fell in love with a Scottish artist-Leslie Hunter.
His paintings really spoke to me.


We walked back towards the city center and headed to The Glasgow Necropolis. We hoped to hit Brew Dog again but Jay's favorite beer was sold out so without a real plan for lunch, we read a few menus at various restaurants and picked Yates's.
The service was a little slow but the food was good and reasonably priced.

On to the The Glasgow Necropolis. We had a glimpse of it on Friday when we visited the Cathedral but it begged further inspection.
From their website: 50,000 burials have taken place at the Necropolis and most of 3,500 tombs have been constructed up to 14 feet deep, with stone walls and brick partitions. On the top of the Necropolis tombs were blasted out of the rock face. In 1877 the Molendinar Burn, running under the Bridge of Sighs, was culverted. This burn in which St Mungo was said to have fished for salmon is now underground on its way to the Clyde.

The Necropolis was one of the few cemeteries to keep records of the dead, including profession, ages, sex and cause of death. In July 1878 the visitors book shows that 13,733 people visited the Glasgow Necropolis – 12,400 citizens and 1,333 other visitors.
In 1966, the Merchants’ House gave the Necropolis to the Glasgow City Council which now administers and maintains it. The benches and grave surrounds have been removed and most of the area put to grass for maintenance purposes. There are monuments here designed by major architects and sculptors of the time, including Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, Charles Rennie Macintosh and JT Rochead, in every architectural style, created for the prominent and wealthy entrepreneurs of the ‘Second City of the Empire’.

We had a wonderful time reading the stones of the former Glaswegians (residents of Glasgow.)


By now we were getting hungry and parched. Just down the hill from the Necropolis is Drygate Brewery. We got there mid-afternoon and it was somewhat crowded but we got a table right off. 
We had a lovely cheeseboard-sampling some local cheeses, chocolate stout cake and a few yummy dark beers-Blackball Stout.

To walk off some of these calories we went hunting for the spot where Frank proposed to Clarie. Who are Frank and Claire, you ask. Well, remember I'm addicted to OUTLANDER. Frank proposes to Claire in 1945 before Claire time travels back to Scotland 1743, and the site was filmed just off George's Square.
I found it then continued shooting around George's Square myself.

We stopped at the local Tesco's for snacks before traipsing back to the hotel. I take a lovely swim in the tub, trying to sooth my aching legs, pop an Advil and off to bed.

We are reminded to turn the clocks ahead one hour so we won't be late for our trip to Stirling Castle.

More images Day 10: http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Scotland-2015/Glasgow

Next up: Stirling Castle, Falkirk Wheel and a night of Folk Music.

Edinburgh and the Castles of Scotland
Day 10 March 28 Kelvingrove Museum, Necropolis, Drygate Brewery
March 19-30, 2015
Copyright ©2015 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy
www.photosbynanci.com
Tour images: http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Scotland-2015
More Travel images: http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Website-Assets/Site-Pages/International-Travel

Blog Archive

Show more