Finnieston Tunnel Rotundas

I'm sure that a lot of Glaswegians don't know that there are tunnels under the Clyde between Finnieston & Govan, west of the city centre. Three 16 foot diameter tunnels were constructed opening in 1895. Two for traffic and one for pedestrians & a water main. Traffic accessed the tunnel via hydraulic lifts, six in each rotunda building on either bank. There were ferries in this area but the tunnel allowed horse drawn carts to carry a heavier load over the river because they did not have to negotiate the ramp onto the ferry.

The tunnels were not a success and the company running them went bust after a few years. The city corporation ran the tunnels until 1943 when the lifts were removed. The pedestrian tunnel closed in 1980.

The rotundas were eventually renovated. The north one is now restaurants. The south one is currently unused. 

South rotunda

North rotunda (Finnieston crane behind)

 

North rotunda

Horse drawn traffic in 1897

 

Charing Cross & St George's Mansions

The tenement building is Glasgow's defining architectural style and the most extravagant examples can be found on either side of the M8 motorway on Sauchiehall Street & Woodlands Road.

Luma Tower

This was a light bulb factory built in 1938 in the Art Deco style. It has a distinctive tower that was apparently used to test bulbs. The factory became derelict but was rebuilt as housing in the early '90's. It is located in Linthouse (near Govan) in the west of Glasgow.

Doulton Fountain

Located in Glasgow Green the Doulton Fountain is the largest terracotta fountain in the world. It was gifted to the city by Sir Henry Doulton for the 1888 Empire exhibition and commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and the Empire's colonies.

The fountain was restored by the City Council in 2004.

Queen Vic

Canada - The guy is carrying a moose head as is the custom in that country

 

Neilston Mill

This is a huge, imposing Victorian structure near where I used to live. It's on the road between my childhood home and the coast at Irvine so I passed it often in my early biking days. Called Crofthead Mills, but known as the Neilston Mill by locals it was constructed in 1881 and replaced an earlier mill on the site that burned down. This is the only remaining mill of many that sat in the valley of the River Levern (or Levern Burn as it's known) At one time it was the largest thread producing mill in Britain and part of the textile industry that dominated this area. The mill closed in 1992 and now seems to used for storage of some kind. A company renting skips operates on the premises.

The mill seems out of proportion to the small town of Neilston. It does not dominate the town, however, since the town is located above the valley that the mill looks on to.

The building is whitewashed brick and though a bit shabby it appears to be in good condition.