Grab your warm clothes and comfy shoes and come walk with me. There’s a map of the route at the end of the post; the numbers in brackets in the text coincide with the circled numbers on the map.
From the window of my hotel close to Glasgow Central Station, the sun and blue sky beckoned and I succumbed to their call. Grabbing my camera, I wandered down Oswald Street to the banks of the Clyde at the King George V Bridge (1).
Between King George V Bridge and Rail Bridge
From here I ducked under the bridges and took the empty and windswept river path. As my extremities slowly turned numb, I understood why I was the sole waterside walker. With sun shining invitingly on the other side of the Clyde (2), I didn’t regret my choice. Though soon, I did regret being fooled by the enticing view from my warm room – I had come out without hat and gloves.
I was soon at my favourite Clyde bridge, the Carlton Place (or South Portland Street) Suspension Bridge (3).
This elegant footbridge dates back to the 1850s, though it has undergone a few renovations in its time. Its major claim to fame is its appearance as a Moscow river crossing in the 1983 television film, An Englishman Abroad, in which Alan Bates played the spy Guy Burgess.
The blue sky was gradually gave way to grey and I picked up speed to keep warm. At least there is no getting lost on a walk like this, so I didn’t need moving fingers to operate a map (4).
On the far side of the river, between Victoria Bridge (carrying Gorbals Street) and St Enoch Viaduct, the few remaining sun rays glinted on the dome of Glasgow Central Mosque (5).
Passing under the viaduct, I reached the Albert Bridge. I turned onto the bridge to get a view back to town (6).
I had intended to walk as far as the Peoples Palace in the Winter Gardens, but at this point the rain started and I decided to head back to town, and don a few more layers of clothing. I had every intention of returning to the river later in the day to walk in the other direction, but the rain turned to hail and coffee shops and museums won me over.
I will definitely be back to walk some more in the summer – hopefully, you’ll come with me.
I’ve been to Glasgow many times, but this is one walk I’ve never done!
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Great walk Debbie and I love your map! The bridge is particularly impressive! You did well to brave the elements and your photos are lovely 🙂
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I’m looking forward to walking it again in Spring
On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 8:17 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Great shots and a very interesting walk. It’s fascinating to see how the weather changed in such a short time.
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thx for this history walk – love the footbridge and your diff angles… ❤
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Love your hand-drawn map, what a lovely addition to the walk! And as I love walking alongside a river I really enjoyed this.
Jude xx
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Glad you like the map! I wanted to put maps with all my walks – which resulted in them not getting posted until now 😦
On Mon, Jan 5, 2015 at 1:24 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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The photos you took on your walk are amazing! I am glad you braved the cold to get these 🙂
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It’s a beauty. I remembered you walking down there which is what made me think of heading down there 🙂 I still need to go back and walk the other direction.
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I didn’t know that about the film, Debbie! It’s a good looking bridge, isn’t it? Thanks so much for the walk. One of my earliest Monday walks was Clydeside and goes in the opposite direction to yours http://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/jos-monday-walk-along-the-clyde/ Thanks for some great memories and I look forward to the sequel. 🙂
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Great walk Debbie! I like bridges!
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I love bridges.And I love water – I can’t resist any city that has a river running through it
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Wow! You do get about!
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Thank you for this amazing walk Debbie 🙂 Beautiful sights 😀
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