St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland About half way down the Royal Mile is St Giles’ Cathedral, dedicated to the patron saint of Edinburgh. It has been an important part of religious life in the city for almost 900 years and some of that rich history is still visible – albeit submerged under 19th century renovation. During the Middle Ages, the…
The Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland Every great capital city needs a great art gallery and so it makes sense that Edinburgh, which is a great city, has a great art gallery. There is a formidable mix of Scottish and international paintings and sculptures, in a nicely ‘old-fashioned’ setting, and the quality and range of what’s on display can probably…
Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, Scotland In June 2017, I was super-excited to get the chance to visit the Hunterian Museum during my trip to Glasgow. To visit a collection that has such an old basis is pretty cool – plus they have Roman remains, which is always a draw for me. The Hunterian is less one museum than a group of…
Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow, Scotland Standing majestically in the middle of lush greenery, the red-stone Kelvingrove Museum looks like a museum. It opened in 1901 and and was refurbished in 2006, displaying its wide and varied collection thematically. There are sections on stuffed animals, paintings, the Egyptians, Mackintosh… in short, it’s almost like an enlarged cabinet of curiosities, with a few…
St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow, Scotland Mankind has created some of its finest art for religion, so the idea of having a museum dedicated to Religious Art was very appealing. The museum, right next to Glasgow Cathedral, opened in 1993, and exhibits objects relating to the world’s major religions. It aims to “explore the importance of…
Provand’s Lordship, Glasgow, Scotland Standing on its own, with cars rushing incredibly close to the front door, Provand’s Lordship is the self-proclaimed oldest house in Glasgow. All of its neighbours got swept away by the ruthless renovations of 19th century city planning, but somehow this little house survived. Taking advantage of its uniqueness, the Provand’s Lordship Society set about…
Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland Every great city should have a great Cathedral. Ideally, it should be basically medieval and have little or no distressing Victorian ‘renovation’. Helloooo Glasgow Cathedral! The High Kirk, or St Mungo’s Cathedral, was said to have been founded by St Kentigern (popularly known as Mungo) in the 6th/7th century. Basically nothing survives from the earlier churches,…