Scotland 2025: Highlands - Falkirk, Kelpies, Stirling

After spending 7 days in Edinburgh and 4 days in Glasgow, our visit to Scotland was half over. We had front-loaded our stays in the country’s two largest cities so now for a change of pace, we would rent a car and explore the areas of Scotland to the north. Since we prefer creating our own adventures rather than following the beaten path, we decided not to head west to traverse the North Coast 500 or visit the Isle of Skye. This route would have involved significantly longer stretches of driving between destinations with our time spent predominantly outdoors, leaving us at the mercy of any inclement weather.

Instead, we planned a route along the east coast, intending to go as far north as Aberdeen before heading west into the Scottish Highlands and then south back towards Edinburgh.  This would provide us with more eclectic experiences as we toured smaller towns, fishing villages, castles, cemeteries, sculpture gardens and museums while still enjoying outdoor hikes along cliffs, coastal shores, beaches and forested areas. On average, each day’s drive would be at most 1-2 hours, resulting in less time in the car and more time to enjoy our surroundings. Our first day on the road would take us to Falkirk and The Kelpies before ending up in Stirling.

Just over half an hour north-east of Glasgow is the Falkirk Wheel, a gigantic (115ft / 8-storey-tall) rotating boat lift that can raise and lower boats by almost 80 feet, spanning the elevation difference between the Forth and Clyde Canal at its lower basin and the Union Canal up above. Open in 2002, it is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world and resembles a ship’s propeller. Each arm of the wheel holds a water-filled container of about 500,000 litres.  When a boat enters a container either at the top or bottom of the wheel, the appropriate amount of water displaces, maintaining the weight balance between the two arms. A central motor causes the arms to rotate around a central axle, taking 5 minutes to complete a half rotation which brings a boat from top to bottom or vice versa. Prior to the creation of the wheel, it took boats almost a full day to traverse 11 locks in order to make the journey between these two canals. In addition to being an engineering feat to be marveled, the Falkirk Wheel is a major tourist attraction drawing over 500,000 visitors annually. It is free to watch the wheel turn but costs £4 for parking and around £18 per adult to take a 60-minute boat ride along the two canals via the wheel.

From the Falkirk Wheel, it is about a 15-minute drive to Helix Park to see the Kelpie Horses, two monumental steel sculptures of Clydesdale draught horse heads situated by a pool of water. Each horse stands almost 100 feet high and weighs over 300 tonnes. The sculptures were unveiled in 2014 as a tribute to Scotland’s industrial history of using horses to pull barges and wagons along canals. They honor the mythical Kelpie, a shape-shifting water spirit from Scottish folklore that is said to haunt rivers and streams in the shape of a black horse, luring a victim onto its back before drowning him. Along with the wheel, these horses are yet another fun tourist attraction to visit in this area.

In addition to the Kelpie Horses, Helix Park offers play areas, sensory gardens, splash pads and a 350-hectare greenspace with extensive walking rails through wetlands, woodlands and parklands.  Some of the trails have wide, wooden accessible boardwalks.  On our short walk, we spotted wildlife such as birds, ducks and a swan, a houseboat named “Annie D”, zigzag paths, and artwork including an owl in flight made from pieces of wood, and carvings in stone.

Continuing on, we headed for the city of Stirling where we would be spending the night. Our first stop when we arrived was the National Wallace Monument.  The structure was built in 1869 as a tribute to Sir William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero famous for victories in the First War of Scottish Independence including the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. The 220-foot-tall Victorian tower sits atop Abbey Craig Hill, overlooking the sites of these battles.  Getting to the base of the tower from the carpark involves a 20+ minute walk up a steep uneven path called Wallace Way, or taking a free shuttle bus that leaves every 15 minutes.  After grabbing a quick lunch in the cafeteria, we decided to take the shuttle bus to the top to get a closer look at the monument and then walk back down on a separate trail where sculptures could be found along the route.

The ornate monument consists of a polished sandstone tower with Gothic revival features including several small turrets and a stone spire shaped like a crown.  A bronze sculpture of William Wallace depicted in a heroic pose stands at one corner of the tower while a large coat of arms with heraldic details attributed to him hangs above the entrance. Inside, paid visitors can climb 246 spiral steps to explore exhibits at different levels including a Hall of Arms, Hall of Heroes and Royal Chamber. The crown-shaped platform at the top offers a panoramic view of Stirling and the surrounding areas. Outside at the base of the monument, a costumed interpretive actor brings Wallace’s story to life through scripted shows describing his background and battles. Since we arrived in Stirling late in the afternoon, we decided that we didn’t have enough time to climb the tower, choosing instead to enjoy the sculptures and statues found on the walk down.

We still had some stunning views at from the top of Abbey Craig Hill.  Out in the distance, we could see Stirling Castle which we had tickets to visit the next day. We also saw the curvy River Forth weaving through the countryside. Looking at the site map, we saw that there were four possible walking paths with two traversing the grounds around the monument and two leading back down to the car park. The Stirling Trail is a 1.5km loop providing panoramic views of the city while the Abbey Trail is a 2km trail that runs deeper into wooded areas.  The Wallace Way is the fastest route between the monument at 0.5km and the car park.  We chose to take the Woodcarving Trail, a steep 0.8km path that winds through forested areas where cedar wood carvings are interspersed.

Installed in 2017, the wood sculptures were created by Scottish chainsaw sculptor Iain Chambers who is renowned for his large-scale outdoor wood carvings found across Scotland.  These works reference various periods in the history of Stirling and Abbey Craig with references ranging from the Ice Age through to early 20th Century.  Because we walked down the hill as opposed to walking up, we came across the sculptures in reverse chronological order.  There was a tribute to Scotland’s first flight by the Barnwell Brothers in 1909, a replica of the Wallace Monument from 1869, and busts of poet Robert Burns next to King Robert the Bruce. A bench with the headless bodies of a Roman, a Pict and a Viking represent various invaders of Scotland. Another sculpture depicts a metal worker forging bronze and gold around 2000BC. Carvings of a Highland cow, a pig and a sheep represent farm animals kept for meat, milk, wool and leather as far back as 3800BC, while the carving of a whale harks back to whale bones from 5000BC.

Driving towards Stirling’s old town from Wallace Monument, we passed by the location of the Old Stirling Bridge located on the site of William Wallace’s famous battle in 1297. The current picturesque stone bridge with four arches dates back to the 1400s, replacing the narrow wooden bridge where Wallace and his soldiers defeated English troops led by the Earl of Surrey.

A short distance from the bridge are the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey, which King David I established in 1140 for the Arrouaise religious order. This is where parliament met in 1312 after the Battle of Bannockburn, and where the royal house of Stuart was established in 1371. The main church was mostly destroyed during the Scottish Reformation in 1559. Only some brick foundations remain including small portions of the nave, cloister, refectory and chapter house.  These are dispersed around a large grassy span representing the former footprint of the Abbey, beside a small kirkyard with a collection of medieval grave slabs.  King James III, who died in 1488 after the Battle of Sauchieburn, was originally interred by the high altar of the abbey beside his queen Margaret of Denmark who died in 1486.  In 1864, Queen Victoria ordered that their bones be excavated and reburied within a railed enclosure at the east end of the ruins, where a stone tomb with the crest of the Royal Arms of Scotland acts as a monument.

Above ground, a free-standing 13th century 3-storey belltower may have survived because it was useful as a lookout over Stirling. The tower was restored in 1865 but the grotesque carved heads below the parapet may date back to the 1300s. The belltower is only open in the summer months, so we were lucky that we visited the ruins on the last day of August and were able to look inside. The ground floor is relatively well persevered with a vaulted ceiling that has a central hole used to hoist bells to the belfry. In addition to the belltower, a stone arch representing the abbey’s west doorway stands in front of the kirkyard.

Leaving the abbey, we finally reached the central part of downtown Stirling.  On Corn Exchange Road, we passed the bronze statue of Rob Roy McGregor, the famed 18th-century Scottish outlaw and folk hero known as the Scottish Robin Hood. We parked our rental car across from the old Gothic Revival-styled high school open in 1854 with an observatory tower and an ornate 16th century doorway that is flanked by carvings of zodiac signs on either side.  Above the entrance are carvings of the Trees of Knowledge and Life.  The building was converted into the Stirling Highland Hotel in 1990.  A unique building known as the Athenaeum was originally open in 1817 with elegant shops on the ground floor, a private library and meeting space for the town’s wealthier residents on the next level, and a steeple with a clock tower in the centre.  In 1859, a porch and statue of William Wallace were added to the entrance.  Today it is a cultural landmark but the interior is no longer in use.  The Stirling Arcade is a beautifully restored Victorian shopping arcade on King Street that was originally the Crawford Arcade built in 1879 for China merchant William Crawford.  In the 19th century, it housed hotels, shops, flats, workshops and the Alhambra Theatre.

Following our quick tour of the outskirts of Stirling and the areas known as “Top of the Town” surrounding the medieval Old Town (which we would visit the next day), we stopped for dinner at Brea Scottish Restaurant, a popular eatery specialising in Scottish cuisine and locally sourced seafood.  Focusing mostly on seafood, we ordered a starter of slow braised pork belly and king prawns served with celeriac puree and Parma ham. For mains we concentrated on seafood, selecting pan fried lemon sole fillets with potato and greens served with mussels, crayfish, and a garlic cream sauce, as well as a rolled haddock stuffed with smoked salmon and mash potato, served with seasonal vegetables and a dill cream sauce.  Because Stirling was one of the larger cities that we would be staying at on our road trip, we stopped a big Sainsbury supermarket and loaded up on fruit and snacks that we could take along with us to as breakfast and snacks for the next few days. We stayed overnight at the Marston’s Highland Gate Inn which was just outside the downtown core.

We had a packed schedule the next day since we needed to complete our exploration of Stirling before heading to the village of Glamis (1.5 hrs northeast) to visit Glamis Castle. Once done, we would finally head to the coastal fishing village of Arbroath where we would stay overnight.  As we had so much to get through in the day, we wanted to get an early start so that we could wander around Stirling’s medieval Old Town before our 10am entry to Stirling Castle. It was not clear how early we could get into the parking lot at the castle and were warned that the lot filled up quickly so we might not get a spot at all. As an alternative, we decided to park for free at the Castleview Park & Ride which opens at 7:30am. From there, we could take the P2 bus to the Old Town. The ride takes 5-10 minutes and the bus comes every 15+ minutes at a cost of £1 per person for a return trip. This ended up slightly cheaper than the £5 it would have cost us to park in the castle lot and allowed us to get an earlier start.

Perched on Castle Hill, Stirling’s Old Town features steep, narrow, cobblestoned streets with many historic buildings including Stirling Castle at the top of the hill, dating back to medieval times. Prior to our entry time for the castle, we wandered around looking at some of the other buildings in the Old Town. A stone structure built in 1929 as the “Stirling Boys’ Club” was created as a recreational and development space for boys not already associated with Scouts organizations.  Above the door is a shield with the St. Andrew’s Cross and the words “Boys Club”, “1929” and “Play the Game” while on either side are crests of an anchor and a fleur-de-lys.  Other mottos including “Keep Smiling” and “Quarreling is Taboo” are found beneath other windows. Today, the historic building is used as a generic community space.  The Stirling Old Town Jail was built in 1847 and in use up to 1888 when it was converted to a military detention barracks until 1935. This “newer” jail replaced the 1703 Tolbooth, which had been dubbed “Britain’s worst prison” for its overcrowding and filth. Today, the Town Jail is open for public tours while the Tolbooth operates as a music and arts venue.  Mar’s Wark is a Renaissance ruin built in 1570 as the townhouse and lodgings of John Erskine, Earl of Mar and Regent of Scotland.  At the Cambuskenneth Abbey the day before, we had read that stones from its ruins were used in the building of Mar’s Wark. By 1733, the building was leased to Stirling’s town council and turned into a workhouse, thus giving it the name “Wark” (meaning work).  The building was damaged during the Jacobite Rising in 1745.

Located just south of Stirling Castle, the Church of the Holy Rude (often spelled "Rood") dates back to the 1400s, replacing an original church founded by King David in 1129.  Named for the Holy Cross, the medieval church with an oak roof and Gothic arches was built in Scottish-Gothic and is the location where King James VI was coronated in 1567. The church sits on the grounds of the historic old cemetery named Holy Rude Kirkyard, which is clearly visible from the Stirling Castle’s outer walls and ramparts. The cemetery was established in the 12th century and became the town’s main burial ground from 1400s through 1850s.

Two major monuments of note stand out in the kirkyard. The Star Pyramid (also known as Salem Rock or Covenant Monument) is a gigantic sandstone pyramid dedicated to Scottish martyrs fighting for civil and religious liberty, including the Covenanters massacred in the 1600s. The stepped base leads to marble bibles affixed to each triangular side, as well as motifs of rosettes, thistles and crowns. Psalm verses and mottos such as “Throne of Right” are carved into the top of the base.  The marble figures encased in an octagonal glass and iron canopy in the Martyrs Monument depict an angel guarding two females with a lamb at their feet.  The monument commemorates a pair of Covenanters who were convicted and drowned for their Presbyterian faith in 1685 during the Killing Times. Another point of interest in the cemetery is the tomb of Mary Stevenson whose corpse was stolen by a local gravedigger just a few days after she was buried in 1822. The theft was discovered before the body could be sold to a medical student to use for dissection. Mary’s remains were recovered and re-buried with a new specially carved headstone that depicted the body snatchers in action, acting as a warning and becoming a local curiosity.

Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most historically significant castles in Scotland with its origins dating back to 1110 when King Alexander I dedicated a chapel on the site.  Building of the castle continued through the centuries with most of the current surviving Renaissance structures dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.  Situated at the top of an extinct volcanic crag, its elevation and sightlines of the surrounding areas made it a strategic stronghold that played a major role in battles and sieges during the Wars of Independence. The castle served as both a military fortress and a principal residence for Scottish royalty, especially during the Stuart era. Viewing the façades of the castle from afar, you can see the grey sandstone 14th century structures which include outer defences, military barracks and service buildings, while the yellow structure houses the Royal Palace including the royal apartments, a Great Hall, and a Royal Chapel.

Today, Stirling Castle is accessed from the south via the “Forework Gateway”, an arched passage flanked by two smaller pedestrian entranceways commissioned by King James IV in early 1500s. On either side of the entrances are semi-circular decorative drum towers used for ceremonial purposes as opposed to defence.  On the esplanade leading up to the gateway are two sculptures, one of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots from 1306-1329 and one of a Highlander soldier that acts as a war memorial commemorating the Second Boer War.

As there was a threat of rain that morning, we tried to explore the grounds and walls of the castle before heading indoors. We started with Queen Anne’s Garden, a large rectangular flat green space dating back to 1400’s that includes several rose beds, one red and one gold to match the castle’s main decorative colours.  In the 1620s, the leveled land was used as a bowling green and in 1700s, the garden was named after Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland. Castle walkways and battlements overlook Queen Anne’s Garden as well as surrounding landscapes that include the King’s Knot, an octagonal mound 3 metres high in the shape of a star pattern and a smaller Queen’s Knot beside it, that is mostly flattened today.

Walking along the inner walls and parapets, we saw gun ports and peepholes for defensive firing during sieges, and small round “pepper-pot” gun turrets or towers that housed sentries who could spot approaching enemies and sound the alarm to raise the drawbridge. From the walls, you get excellent views of the surrounding countryside including important sites in Scottish history during the Wars of Scottish Independence. On the East Wall, you look towards the River Forth and Stirling Bridge where William Wallace and Andrew Moray ambushed the British led by King Edward I in the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297).  Abbey Crag and the Wallace Monument can also be seen in this direction where almost 10,000 hidden spearmen charged downhill, thus attacking the enemy from both sides of the bridge. On the South Wall, you look onto Stirling Old Town including the Cemetery and Church of the Holy Rude to the South. But 4km further south is the village of Bannockburn which was the site of the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) where Scottish King Robert the Bruce led his forces against King Edward II.

The Royal Palace was constructed in the 1540s for King James V and is known for its Renaissance architecture and lavish interiors. This was also the childhood home of Mary, Queen of Scots. Restoration work ending in 1999 restored the yellow façade as well as the crenellated parapets, turrets, battlements and heraldic decorations. Stone statues lining the palace walls carvings of soldiers, King James V, the devil, Saint Michael, the Greek Goddess Venus, and other planetary deities.  Inside the palace are separate apartments for the King and the Queen, each with an outer chamber, inner chamber, and state “bedroom”.

The Queen’s Rooms form private apartments that have been restored to how they were in the 1540s when King James V’s second wife Mary of Guise (the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots) occupied them. The Outer Hall was a waiting area for people seeking an audience with the Queen. It has a coffered wood ceiling and two bands of red and white friezes decorated with images of cherubs and unicorns.  Above the fireplace is the heraldic coat of arms of Mary of Guise featuring a shield flanked by a unicorn and an eagle. The Inner Hall is a smaller private space for more personal meetings. The panels in the green and beige coffered ceiling alternate between the symbol “IM” which is a Latin symbol for James V, and small portraits of James and Mary. Seven replicas of a famous series of tapestries titled “Hunt of the Unicorn” hang on the walls. We would see an exhibition later that detailed the labour-intensive project to reproduce these works. A canopied regal chair is positioned at the back of the room where the Queen would greet her visitors. Finally, the Queen’s Bedchamber was an exclusive room for the most honoured guests or for state business.  A four-poster state bed is merely symbolic as the Queen actually slept in a small room nearby.  Gold leaf designs bearing the Guise arms are painted on the green paneled ceiling and the walls are covered with brocade while small Persian rugs are found on the floor.

The King’s Rooms are symmetrical to the Queen’s rooms, mirroring each other in layout and function but differing in décor.  The Outer Hall is where courtiers wait for an audience with the King with the staff deciding who would be invited into the next room. A banner of grisaille painted lions and leaf-like designs circle the top of the walls while the panel above the fireplace depicts a shield with the red lion of Scotland with unicorns bearing pennants on either side. The Inner Hall is notable for the 37 vibrantly coloured replicas of the iconic Stirling Heads on the ceiling, installed during a 2011 restoration. These are round, oak medallions carved with portraits of Scottish royalty and nobles, as well as Roman Emperors, classical, biblical, and mythical characters.  We would see some of the original medallions in the Stirling Heads Gallery.  The King’s Bedchamber (once again with a symbolic bed) is decorated with a gold-leaf ceiling with royal symbols, coats of arms and chivalric orders like the Thistle.

Out of the original 56 Stirling Heads medallions carved in oak and brightly painted in the 16th century, only 38 survived a roof collapse in 1777.  Of those surviving roundels, 35 are on display in the Stirling Heads Gallery while 3 are in the National Museums of Scotland. Although they have lost their bright painted hues, the original, intricately carved, 1-metre-wide medallions seem in incredibly good shape. They depict subjects including royalty such as James V, Mary of Guise, Margaret Tudor, Roman emperors including Julius Caesar, classical and mythical characters including Hercules, King Arthur, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne and Gods such as Apollo.  These heads are considered some of the finest examples of Scottish Renaissance woodcarving. A striking sculpture created by woodcarver John Donaldson as part of the 2011 restoration, depicts a moment of intimacy between King James V and Queen Mary of Guise, surrounded by imagery that illustrates their status including the lion and unicorn, Scottish crown, and characters from the Stirling heads.

The Great Kitchens feature life-sized dioramas recreating medieval scenes of staff preparing for royal feasts with dishes featuring roast pig, venison and swan, as well as daily fare involving baking bread, preparing stews and pies. The displays include authentic replicas of kitchen tables, utensils and tools, open fires in massive stone hearths with turnspits rotating entire animals, cast iron pots hung over flames for boiling and stone ovens for baking.  Walking through these scenes provide visitors an immersive experience of 16th century life from the perspective of the kitchen staff.

Built by King James IV around 1500, the Great Hall is one of the largest medieval banquet halls in Scotland at 138 feet long by 47 feet wide. At the time, it was decorated with a hammerbeam timber roof, bright yellow limewashed walls with decorative trim, tall windows featuring coats of arms, and five fireplaces. The space served as a grand venue for banquets, dances, and parliamentary meetings. The roof, fireplaces, and much of the decorations were removed in the 1800s when the army took over the castle and used the hall as barracks. A 30-year project ending in 1999 architecturally restored the space to much of its former glory although currently it remains unfurnished.  The current Chapel Royal was rebuilt by King James VI in 1594 for the baptism of his son Prince Henry, making it one of the first Protestant churches. You can still see a frieze encircling the top of the walls depicting royal symbols, Honours of Scotland, stylized fruit, and a trompe l’oeil window. Tall arched Renaissance windows lead up to a barrel-shaped ceiling.  Like the Great Hall, this space was also stripped of much of its glory when taken over by the military.

We left the Royal palace to walk along the outer walls that were enhanced in the 18th century to include ditches, caponiers (covered areas for firing weapons) and casemates (vaulted chambers) for garrison protection during attacks.  We visited the main guard house and cells for disciplining soldiers or holding political prisoners.  In the Nether Bailey’s Studio at the farthest end of the castle walls was an exhibition detailing a 14-year (2022-2015) £2 million project called “Weaving the Unicorn” where 18 current day weavers recreated seven Unicorn Hunt tapestries once hung in the palace during King James V’s reign.  The recreated tapestries now hang in the inner hall of the Queen’s apartments. 

After our tour of Stirling Castle, we had a quick bite to eat in the café before heading off to our next adventure in the village of Glamis. We left with some regret since in retrospect, we did not have enough time to see everything that we wanted to in Stirling and could have used one more day here.

Scotland 2025: Glasgow - Art Galleries/Museums, Mural Trail, River Clyde

Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is located just off Buchanan St. on the Royal Exchange Square, housed inside the early 19th century Neo-classical building that was once the Royal Exchange, which served as a hub for merchants to trade commodities like cotton, coal, iron, and timber. Opened in 1996, GOMA’s permanent collection consists of modern and contemporary post-1945 art including paintings, sculptures, videos and installations, from which rotating exhibits are curated.  Given that the museum is fairly small, very few items are actually on display at any time.

Ironically, the most interesting art piece with the best back story that we saw at GOMA was the 1844 bronze sculpture by Carlo Marochetti of the Duke of Wellington sitting on his horse Copenhagen, found in front of the building.  This work has become infamous due to the battle that raged between 1980 through 2013 between local pranksters who repeatedly placed a traffic cone atop the sculpture’s head and the Glasgow City Council, which spent as much as £10,000 yearly by the early 2010s to continuously remove it.  In 2013, the council attempted to install a barrier around the sculpture but this drew so much public outrage that they scrapped the idea and has since allowed the cone to remain.  The image is so iconic that it has been reproduced in a variety of merchandise including T-Shirts, tote bags, post cards, prints and home items including mugs, tea towels, and coasters. In November 2025, a pigeon sculpture with its own traffic cone was placed on Wellington’s head but the cone soon reappeared.  In March 2022, a blue and yellow cone reflecting the colours of the Ukrainian flag, topped with sunflowers as a symbol of peace, temporarily replaced the usual cone in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Although the selections on display from the collection were few, there were some interesting pieces.  Wrong Beat and Baby (2021) created with oil paints, marker and spray paint on canvas by France-Lise McGurn describes how motherhood changed for the artist who used to paint hedonistic scenes of nightlife and clubbing.  Instead of the beat of the music, she now feels a different tempo while caring for her baby. Hung next to this painting was the cartoon-like oil and canvas painting “Old Man” (1991) by Henry Kondracki.  Niki de Saint Phalle’s sculpture “Vache Vase” (1992) plays on the alliteration of the French word for cow compared with the English word vase.  The polyester and acrylic work is painted brightly and colourful on one side and dark on the other, reflecting the duality of the work as both a sculpture and a vase.  The painting Dream Baby Dream (2016) by Rabiya Choudhry is based on the comic strip Numbskull where the panels of the comic are found inside a head of similar shape.  In this piece, the many eyes comment on worries about mass-surveillance and information manipulation on the internet.  The whimsical Yellow Foot Sofa (1967) by Nicole L, made from vinyl, foam and metal is considered feminist art as it is inspired by the female body and part of her anthropomorphic body furniture series that critiques female objectification.  A poster depicting the “Cat and Mouse Bill 1913” comments on British legislation allowing hunger-striking suffragettes to be temporarily released when their health failed, and re-arrested once they recovered.

Kelvingrove Park is an 85-acre public green space divided by the River Klein that is in the vicinity of two of Glasgow’s largest and most prominent museums and art galleries, as well as walking trails, many sculptures, and a beautiful fountain.  Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is situated in the southwest corner of park, south of the river while the Hunterian is a complex of museums and an art gallery located just north of the park. Because it took almost 30 minutes each way by subway to get there and back from our hotel, we decided to visit both museums and the large park in one day, which made it quite the packed agenda. To save time, we arrived at the park an hour before either institution opened and spent the time exploring the lovely green space before heading to the Hunterian as its doors opened. Exiting from the subway, the first building that we passed by was Kelvin Hall, open in 1918 as the site of the British Industrial Fair. Today, it is a cultural event space with a gym and sports facility added on the side.

Entering Kelvingrove Park across from Kelvin Hall, the first sculpture we saw was the Cameronians War Memorial, commemorating the Scottish Rifles regiment that fought in both World Wars. The powerful bronze sculpture depicts a sergeant advancing over the top (symbolizing victory), a fallen officer (representing sacrifice), and a Lewis gunner providing cover from fire. Following the path past Kelvingrove Art Gallery, we made our way to Kelvin Way Bridge and used it to cross the River Kelvin. Four sets of allegorical sculptures are found on the bridge with two on each side at either end of the span. Designed by Paul Raphael Montford, they represent Shipping and Navigation, Commerce and Industry, Peace and War, and Philosophy and Inspiration.

Crossing the river as we headed towards Hunterian Art Gallery, we stopped by the Stewart Memorial Fountain, a beautiful Victorian fountain built in 1871 in honour of Lord Provost Robert Stewart who secured fresh water supply from Loch Katrine. Designed in a French/Scottish Gothic style, the ornate fountain features stone carvings of lions, unicorns, toads, falcons and eagles, coats of arms, and is topped by a sculpture of the Lady of the Lake. Bronze cherubs are positioned at either end of the circular basin. Continuing on, we came to a memorial depicting a Royal Bengal tigress carrying a peacock in her mouth to feed her cubs who are at her feet.  The sculpture was presented to the city in 1867 by John Stewart Kennedy, prominent Scottish American financier and philanthropist. We also passed by the South African (Boer) War Memorial honouring the Highland Light Infantry soldiers who died in the Second Boer War.

The Hunterian Art Gallery is located on the University of Glasgow campus and forms a part of the Hunterian Museum complex which was established in 1807 from Scottish physician and anatomist William Hunter’s bequest of art, natural history specimens, coins, manuscripts and anatomical items.  In addition to designs and a reconstruction of a house belonging to architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which I described in my previous blog post, Hunterian owns the world’s largest collection works by James McNeill Whistler including his atmospheric 1864 oil on canvas titled “Battery Reach from Lindsey Houses” depicting a trio of women looking out at the River Thames.  Another striking painting by Whistler is titled “Harmony in Red: Lamplight”, depicting his wife Beatrice who was also an artist.  Although I am terrible at drawing, I had fun sitting with a sketchpad provided by the gallery and trying to reproduce one of the paintings on the walls.  I chose “The Visionary, Portrait of James Maxton” (1933) by William Douglas Macleod since I was drawn to his dark brooding face and thick eyebrows.  I also liked the abstract quality of Joan Eardley’s “Seated Boy” (1955) as part of the artist’s series of character studies of ordinary children and Glasgow street life.

Les Eus (1913) by John Duncan Fergusson depicts a ring of dancing nude figures that exude rhythm, movement, and a sense of celebration that is reminiscent of Matisse’s iconic painting “Dance”. We found the marble bust of politician and abolitionist Charles James Fox (1796) by Joseph Nollekens to be quite striking, especially the shaggy eyebrows and tousled wig. Several eclectic busts displayed in the middle of the room caught our eye.  The gold-coloured brass sculpture titled “Eastre: Hymn to the Sun” (1924) by John Duncan Fergusson is named after the Saxon goddess of Spring but is allegedly a portrait of the artist’s wife Margaret Morris. Pop artist Eduardo Paolozzi created the bronze “Euston Head” (1984) that has a cubist, robotic form. In the mid-70s, Paolozzi created a set of bas-relief aluminum doors decorated with designs resembling machine parts that were originally intended to be architecturally part of the gallery but ended up as an art piece.  Other items in the gallery fell into decorative arts as opposed to fine arts. For “Family Conversation Piece” (1998), artist Christine Borland used synthetic medical training skulls as casts to create versions made from bone china which she then decorated to resemble blue and white Chinese porcelain. The piece alludes to questions of value, appropriation and violent history and is displayed next to other porcelain. Phoebe Anna Traquair created a stunning “Casket with Scenes of Ten Virgins” (1908) from wood, silver, enamel, semi-precious stones as part of a re-dedication to handmade decorative arts as opposed to machine-made mass productions.

A special exhibit titled “Bird, Tree, Bell, Fish, Ring” is made up of artifacts from the museum that referenced the items in Glasgow’s coat of arms and ran during Glasgow’s celebration of its 850th anniversary.  Four of these symbols (all but the ring) are also symbols of St. Mungo (Glasgow’s Patron Saint)’s miracles and the saint is found at the top of the coat of arms.  We learned about St. Mungo on our first day in Glasgow when we visited the Glasgow Cathedral and saw his tomb.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum is one of Scotland’s largest, most prominent and most visited attractions.  It is home to 22 themed galleries exhibiting over 8000 objects ranging from fine art to natural history to cultural exhibits. The museum is a Spanish Baroque building constructed mainly with red sandstone with a 3-storey central tower with an impressive bronze sculpture atop the central porch over the main entrance. Created by George Frampton amongst others, the sculpture depicts Glasgow’s patron Saint Mungo seated on a throne and holding a pastoral staff while flanked by the female figures of Truth holding a mirror and Justice holding scales. The central tower, which houses the grand hall and concert pipe organ, is flanked by two other towers linked by passageways.

The Central hall is a towering cathedral-like space 125 feet in length that is surrounded on both sides with two floors of galleries and promenades and topped by an exquisite barrel-vaulted ceiling from which large chandeliers hang.  At one end of the hall is a stunning pipe organ with 2889 pipes that is encased win a walnut cabinet decorated with cherubs and trumpets.  Free organ recitals occur daily in the hall, which is also rented out for receptions, banquets, and other events.  In the West Court’s Life Galleries on the ground floor is a wildlife exhibit with taxidermy animals, fossils and interactive displays. A Supermarine Spitfire WWII fighter plane hangs suspended from the ceiling above this gallery.

One highlight of the museum in the East Court is the “Floating Heads” exhibit, created by Sophie Cave in 2006. It consists of 50 life-sized plaster heads hanging from the ceiling, with various facial expressions including laughter, scowling, pouting, grimacing, and open-mouthed shock, capturing a wide range of human emotions from elation to despair. We were waiting in the Central Hall for the main organ to play when we heard music coming from the East Court.  We ran back there and arrived in time to catch a mini concert in progress.  A smaller player organ was emitting tunes while the heads lit up in rotating bright colours. I’m not sure when or how often this occurs but we were very lucky to catch this performance which enhanced the pleasure of viewing the heads even more.

Also in the East Court is a collection called “Art Extraordinary” which displays over 1100 pieces of Scottish “outsider art” created by self-taught individuals without formal art training. The exhibits on display are community-curated with interpretive input from patients of local hospitals and mental health facilities.  There was an untitled ceramic sculpture by an unknown artist (2012) that elicited multiple comments including “Angelic figure holding a candle” and “Beautiful lady dressed for a ceremony”.  Several works on display were by Gordon Anderson including a painted wood piece that looks like a dog, a pair of New Guinea dancer, made from recycled metal and copper (2009), and a tin can rocket made from metal, plastic, plaster, and wood which he titled “Eyes Cast Out” (2012).  A whimsical felt mouse (2012) was created by an unknown maker from the Ross Clinic in Aberdeen.

The Glasgow Boys were an important group of about 20 Scottish painters, formed in 1880s, who rejected academic traditions of realist rural landscape scenes and Victorian sentimentality, instead focusing their works on modern depictions of every day Scottish life.  Leaders in the group included James Guthrie, John Lavery, George Henry and Edward Hornel.  Kelvingrove Art Museum holds one of the richest collections of works by the Glasgow Boys with a gallery dedicated to them.  John Lavery favoured portraiture and painted ballerina Anna Pavlova (1910) using strong contrast of light and shadow to simulate the lighting on stage during her dances.  George Henry and Edward Hornel spent 18 months in Japan from 1893, which greatly influenced their output.  Henry’s “In Japanese Garden” (1894) depicts two women visiting Kameido Tenjin shrine in Tokyo while Hornel’s Fish Pool (1894) features a group of children looking at fish in a pond. Henry and Hornel also collaborated on a pair of works including the pagan-themed “Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe (1890)” and Christian-themed “The Star of the East” (1891), depicting an angel announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds in the field.

A very interesting gallery titled “Looking” explores how to look at and interpret art including an examination of how stories are told through paintings, depicting distance and use of colour.  Avril Paton’s watercolour painting “Windows in the West” (1993) was created during a freak snowstorm where she surveyed neighbouring units from her art studio and depicted people working from home.  LS Lowry’s “VE Day” (1045) shows crowds of people with the figures becoming smaller and smaller in the background.  The linear perspective of converging rooflines also helps to show distance.  Joan Eardley’s oil painting “Glasgow Kids, Saturday Matinee Picture Queue” (1949) uses bright colours including red faces and bold brushstrokes to convey the sense of excitement of the boys waiting to get into the movies.

Some interesting and diverse works were found on the upper floor including Salvador Dali’s Christ of St. John of the Cross (1951).  Shown from the unusual perspective, Christ (depicted without nails, blood or the crown of thorns) seems to be floating in space looking down on Earth at a boat and fishermen floating in a body of water.  Controversial at the time but now considered a masterpiece, it is displayed in its own special room.  A quirky fiberglass sculpture of Elvis Presley titled “Return to Sender” (1996) by Sean Read depicts “Saint Elvis” with a halo performing his hit song.  The poignant plaster sculpture “Motherless” (1889) by George Lawless depicts a father comforting his daughter after the death of her mother.  An ornate earthenware vase (2000) glazed is with gold luster, etched and decorated with stock transfer images of animals, flowers, fast cars, hunting scenes and caricatures.  In 1883, shoemaker John Fulton created an orrery, which is a working model of the solar system showing how the planets orbit around the sun.

In an urban revitalization effort to brighten up rundown streets, alleyways and vacant buildings through public street art, Glasgow’s City Centre Mural Trail was officially formed in 2014, expanding on a Clean Glasgow initiative from 2008.  A map on the City Centre Mural Trail website lists over 30 murals, mostly congregated around the downtown core.  Right in front of our apartment hotel on Dixon St. is a mural titled “Dr.Connolly, I Presume” (#12 on the map), which depicts Scottish actor Billy Connolly as a young man.  On the side of a building bordering Mitchell St. and Argyle St. is “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” (#9) where a girl peers through a magnifying glass to examine the pedestrians passing by.  Down a narrow alley named Renfield Lane are a pair of murals painted on the lengths of two buildings.  Titled “Bubbles” (#18), one wall depicts two little girls joyfully blowing bubbles while on the other wall, a bulldog quizzically reacts to the bubbles.  Actual fans, pipes and “No Parking” signs on the walls add to the industrial feel of the works.  Also on Mitchell St. is the mural “World’s Most Economical Taxi (#8)” where the vehicle is propelled by balloons and wind power.  This street art adds fun and whimsy to the streets of Glasgow.

The River Clyde stretches 106 miles across Scotland of which 15 miles runs through the centre of Glasgow.  There are 21 bridges connecting the north and south shores of the river.  World-leading shipbuilding arose along the river in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, producing such iconic vessels as the RMS Queen Mary.  There was access to the river just a block south of our hotel.  From there, we could see multiple eclectic bridges built with different architectural styles ranging from Victorian engineering including stone arches and suspension systems to modern sculptural designs including the balanced, cantilever steel Tradeston Bridge open in 2009 that is nicknamed “Squiggly” due to its playful S-curve.  We made a small loop, walking along one side of the shore before crossing one of the bridges and traversing the other side, admiring the buildings and the views along the way.

The Clyde Walkway offers a trail on either side of the river for walking, running and cycling east-west across the city, interspersed with small parks and public spaces.  Public art can be found along the walkways including “La Pasionaria”, a stone sculpture that pays to the tribute to the men and women who went to fight fascism in Spain between 1936-1939, and a milepost for the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Charity titled “Fossil Tree” which is decorated with imagery of fossils (although I thought it looked like a fish).  The waterfront hosts cultural sites like the Riverside Museum, Glasgow Science Centre, and OVO Hydro Sports and Concert Space but unfortunately, we did not have time to get to any of these sites.

One of our first meals in Glasgow was at The Buttery, Glasgow’s oldest continuing operated restaurant since 1870 until it was taken over in 2007 and renamed Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery.  The restaurant is known for its historic Scottish décor including ornate, brass roosters sitting as decoration on each table, and serves Scottish food with a focus on seafood. A very good deal is offered as an “early bird menu” from noon-5:30 where you get a starter and main course for £35 or three courses including dessert for £43.  Because we foolishly ate a big lunch earlier in the day, we settled for the two-course meal. For appetizers, we chose hot smoked salmon & pea pannacotta with caviar, lemon, dill crème fraiche and brioche crostini, as well as braised pork belly with asparagus, wild mushrooms, and a chicken mustard butter reduction. For mains we chose the two fish dishes. I had pan fried fillets of sea bream with sun blushed tomato mash, toasted pine nuts, roasted cherry tomatoes and a basil pesto cream.  Rich picked pan fried West Coast coley topped with lemon and parsley butter, served with crispy capers, pea shoot and herb salad.  The food was delicious and it was too bad we were not hungrier since the desserts sounded great as well.

Scotland 2025: Glasgow - Architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh

On our first day in Glasgow, we could walk to all the places that we wanted to visit. To reach our planned destinations for the next two days, we needed to take transit.  Luckily, the St.Enoch subway station was within a block of our hotel. The Glasgow subway system consists of 15 stations that form a circular route with an Outer (clockwise) and Inner (counterclockwise) loop. You can buy a paper ticket for a one-way or return trip from the kiosk in the station and you need to both tap on to enter and tap off to exit. All-day passes are also available and are worth the money if you plan to take 3 or more rides in a day. 

We spent the next few days exploring the architecture, designs and artwork of renowned Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and his artist wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1864-1933).  Charles designed architectural masterpieces including tea rooms, churches, offices, schools, art galleries, shops and homes, prioritizing the use of stone, glass and iron. He provided designs for both the exterior and interior including furnishings while Margaret worked in metalwork, textiles, graphics, watercolours and gesso, contributing many artworks to his buildings.  Margaret also often worked in collaboration with her equally talented sister Frances Macdonald Macnair.

Mackintosh's works are associated with the "Glasgow Style Movement," a subset of Art Nouveau that is characterized by floral-inspired decorative motifs with subtle curves as well as strong right angles. The style also incorporates influences from Arts and Crafts, as well as Japanese and Scottish designs.

Since Glasgow was their hometown and primary place of business, the city has the largest number of surviving buildings, interiors and designs by Mackintosh. There is a Mackintosh Trail on the Visit Glasgow website as well as many free self-guided or paid tours that can be used to visit locations featuring his works.  In preparation for our trip, we researched and planned our own Mackintosh tour, which involved visiting two museums, two houses and two tearooms.  There are other tributes to Charles Mackintosh throughout the city including a massive mural of him decorated with his signature rose motifs by the River Clyde and a bronze sculpture of the architect seated on one of his iconic Argyle chairs located near Kelvin Hall.

The first museum that contains examples of works by Charles and Margaret Mackintosh is the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, a public institution for art, culture and natural history.  This museum includes a gallery titled “Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style” with works on display by both Charles and Margaret, as well as other contemporaries who contributed to that movement.  Highlights include items saved from Miss Cranstan’s Ingram Street Tea Room which originally opened in 1886.  It was redesigned and added onto by Mackintosh from 1900-1912 and finally closed and was demolished in 1971.  Margaret’s Gesso panel “The Wassail” once hung on the wall while the tables featured high-back chairs which Charles designed in 1900.  A few artifacts were on display from the Chinese Room or Blue Room (1911) which featured blue lattice panels, decorative screens, a pagoda-like canopy, distinctive Asian-styled oak chairs with blue cushions matching the walls, and a Chinese tea service.  Two oak barrel chairs (1907) and a Domino table (1910) were also designed for various tea rooms.  We saw a Domino clock (1917) made from ebonized wood, ivory and plastic with the numbers shaped like square domino tiles.  We would see more clock designs at the next museum.

Opened in 1807, the Hunterian Museum is Scotland’s oldest public museum and is operated by the University of Glasgow.  A separate building is allocated for the Hunterian Art Gallery which houses the largest collection of works by Charles and Margaret Mackintosh including furniture, drawings, watercolours, gessoes and even a meticulously reconstructed house which requires an entry fee.  Several artworks by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh include “White Rose and Red Rose” (1902), a panel made from Hessian fibre, gesso, glass beads, shells and paint created for the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Turin.  Her blue/green/yellow tiled stained-glass work titled “Summer” (1893) depicts an elongated female rising towards the sun. With her sister Frances, Margaret created a design for a screen titled “Birth and Death of the Winds” which was created into 3-paneled metal screen.   Variations of the design for the Domino Clock that we saw at Kelvingrove include versions where the dice representing the numbers were triangular or circular.  Photographer Jimmy Robert created a self-portrait photograph of himself sitting in one of the chairs in the Hunterian’s Mackintosh House, which we would visit next.

Charles and Margaret Mackintosh lived in a 3-storey (plus attic) house in the Hillhead area between 1906 to 1914. Although the actual building was not designed and built by Mackintosh, during the 8 years that they spent there, the couple renovated the interior extensively.  They expanded rooms and added elongated windows for more light, designed and built custom furniture and other decorative features while emphasizing austerity in their design.  They moved to London in 1915, selling the house, furniture, fixtures and fittings to patron William Davidson.  Upon Davidson’s death, the building and contents were donated to the University of Glasgow.  While the original house was demolished in 1963 to build more student quarters, the contents of the main rooms were carefully removed, photographed and catalogued.  Between 1966-1981, a new building dubbed the “Mackintosh House” was created in the Hunterian Art Gallery and the interior rooms of the original house were carefully reconstructed. Even the orientation of the original house was replicated so that the same light exposure would be experienced.  The front hallway is notable for a beaten lead mirror titled "Vanity", decorated with subtle natural motifs and geometric forms, designed by Margaret and Frances.

The Dining Room has a large bay window for natural light.  White walls and ceiling contrast with dark-stained wood paneling accented with rose motifs, and dark furniture including a buffet cabinet, a fireplace with geometric carvings flanked by built-in shelves, and a wooden rectangular dining table surrounded by Mackintosh’s signature high-back Argyle chairs with the oval head rests.  It is interesting how Mackintosh’s designs can feel minimalist and yet ornate at the same time.

A large L-shaped space is divided into a studio/library and a drawing room, delineated by linen drapes that could close to keep the rooms separate, or stay open to create one large space. The Studio/Library features the original version of Margaret’s White Rose and Red Rose gesso hanging over a fireplace with large bookshelves on either side.  The shelves are stocked with books reflecting the time period and interests of the Mackintoshes.  The impressive mahogany desk found by the window was created by Charles in 1904 for his own use. It has a writing cabinet decorated with mauve glass flowers with twin doors adorned with squares made from mother of pearl.  The desk was sold at auction for almost $178,000 USD in 1979 and was donated to the Hunterian Art Gallery for inclusion in the house.  Ivory white cabinets with stained glass inlays depicting floral motifs line the wall facing the fireplace.

The Drawing Room is decorated almost entirely in off-white, including the walls, ceiling, carpet, drapes and furniture.  The only major exceptions are the dangling light sconces and the dark accent found at the base of the fireplace which also has built in seating on either side and built-in cubby-holes for knickknacks along the side.  The position of a high-backed armchair with a dark wooden frame, linen upholstery accented by a beige checkered pattern, and round medallions adorning the arms help to separate the studio from the drawing room and is the only piece of furniture that is not primarily white in colour.  Green-patterned stencils of floral motifs resembling vases full of roses are printed on the cloth backs of some chairs, which along with an oval table were part of a room setting in “the Rose Boudoir” exhibit in Turin in 1902.  Other ornamentations on the furniture include the decorative metal panels of females holding roses on the inner doors of a white cabinet, the ornate silver panels affixed to a desk, and the purple accent cushion on a high-back chair.

The second floor contains two bedrooms that could not be more different in design and aesthetics.  The principal bedroom is mostly white, reminiscent of the drawing room below.  A four-poster king-sized bed is decorated with an elongated, plant-like geometric pattern in the centre post and rose motifs on the canopy.  A metal panel depicting a female form flanked by two babies sits above the fireplace.  A magnificent full-length vanity mirror made of painted wood has elaborate carvings of stylized rose and thistle patterns with small pull-out drawers running down both sides of the frames.

Located in the Mackintosh House Gallery on the top floor, the other bedroom on display is not part of the Mackintoshes' original home, but rather a recreation of a guest bedroom that Mackintosh designed for his patron W.J.Bassett-Loweke from Northampton, U.K.  The bedroom suite is made of light oak decorated with blue squares along the top edges.  But what made this room most striking were the white and navy-blue vertical stripes on the back wall that extended up onto the ceiling and were complemented by similar stripes in the bedding.  This is one of Charles’ last interior designs which might explain its more modern feel.

The Gallery houses other Mackintosh works owned by the university including extensive holdings of drawings and designs.  Up high on the walls of the stairwell leading up to the gallery was the oil on canvas painting “The Little Hills” (1914) by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.  The work depicts themes of abundance and divine bounty and highlights her Art Nouveau style.  Next to it is George Walton’s decorative panel titled “Eros” (1901) made from marble, slate, glass, bone metal foil, silver and mother-of-pearl.  On an adjacent wall is a replica of the banner created for the Scottish section of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art, Turin (1902). It depicts a female form holding a rose.  Arriving in the actual gallery space on the top floor, we found paintings, drawings and photographs, and furniture.  This included a table that has 10 slender legs and an intricate lattice of intersecting rails at the bottom, a cabinet with decorative metal panels with inlays that look like reeds, (but when put together look like the head of the alien ET), and various styles of chairs.

House for an Art Lover Mackintosh was constructed between 1989 to 1996, based on plans that Charles and Margaret created for a German design competition in 1901. Entrants submitted anonymous original, artistic designs for a “modern” house on a site with pre-specified room sizes and layouts, emphasizing harmony between exteriors and interiors. The Mackintoshes' entry was late and incomplete and therefore disqualified from the main prizes but was impressive enough to be awarded a special prize and published in design magazines. Almost nine decades later, civil engineer Graham Roxburgh spearheaded a project to construct the house based on the original design portfolio.  A location in Bellahouston Park in the south-west end of Glasgow was chosen for its spacious parkland setting, landscaped grounds, and play areas.

The result is a three-storey building with a “minimalist Art Nouveau exterior” consisting of off-white plastered walls accented by columns of rectangular windows, with elongated ones overlooking the terrace for the dining room/music room.  Large yellow-hued relief panels on the façade depict natural motifs and intertwining organic forms representing growth and nature. From the back, you can see a round, turret-like structure which contains a winding “apsidal” staircase that connects all the floors.

Because their proposed house was not meant to be built, the Mackintoshes could design freely without worrying about cost and so this house is much more lavish than the Mackintosh House, which was modeled after their personal home.  Built as a visitor’s attraction, House for an Art Lover includes a café, kitchen and gift shop in the basement and a ground floor gallery/museum that was not part of the original design. In addition to tours, the space and grounds are rented for weddings and private events.

Upon entering the house from the ground floor, we were ushered into an interpretation room/gallery where we learned more about the house, its architecture, and design features.  We saw 3-D models of the house, descriptions of the rooms, and details about how finishes and decorations were reproduced to match Mackintosh’s design.  This included information about stained-glass for windows, textiles and embroidery, gessoes, ceramics, woodwork, metal work, and stone carving.

The first room that we visited was the Oval Room where Edwardian women would withdraw after dinner, while the gentlemen retired to a smoking room.  Mackintosh selected the oval shape as a symbol of femininity and fitted the fireplace, cupboards and windows along the gentle curves of the walls. The chandelier also reflects the circular shape. Tucked against both sides of the window are two chairs each separated by a short wall for privacy. The chairs are facing one another to provide a space for intimate conversation.  Although the room feels sparse and austere, a closer look reveals subtle organic carvings on the furniture and the grill of the fireplace.

The lengthy Main Hall leads to the Dining Room and can be separated by a moveable partition. For large banquets, the partitions are opened to create a single room where many tables can be arranged.  Since the space is often rented out for weddings and other events, this is the configuration that we saw during our visit.  But photos from the internet show that when the rooms are not required for a large event, the hall is empty and the dining room features a single long table with high-back chairs.  The dark paneled walls of the two spaces are decorated with gesso panels and the back wall of the dining room features a fireplace and the rose motifs.

The centrepiece of the house is the beautiful Music room with south-facing floor-to-ceiling bow windows that flood natural light into the space and curved doors that lead to the terrace overlooking the park.  The room is decorated with white panels covered in rose, green, and violet images of stylized females surrounded by curvy vertical lines and roses, which are repeated on the fabric banners hung by the windows. A gorgeous functional piano sits against one end of the room. It is decorated with a spiraling timber structure that rises up from the keyboard and forms the shape of a flower from afar but also contains roses and other floral designs within its curves.  At the other end is a fireplace with roundels featuring images from Margaret’s gesso art.  This room is also often rented out for weddings and banquets and is really stunning to behold.

The rooms in Mackintosh’s design for the first floor were not built. Instead, this level is used as an exhibition space where models of other Mackintosh designs that were never built are on display.  These were entries for the Glasgow International Competition for Kelvingrove Park including an exhibition hall, a bar and restaurant, and two designs for concert halls.

Bellahouston Park, the site chosen for House for an Art Lover Mackintosh, is a public green space spanning 180 acres that was acquired by the city of Glasgow in 1896. It hosted the 1938 Empire Exhibition which resulted in the construction of a Palace of Art that has since been converted into a major sports centre. The Bellahouston walled garden was originally a kitchen garden for the Ibroxhill House built in 1840. Today it is a pretty flower garden with seasonal shrubs and plants. Several prominent sculptures are found in the park including “Foot and Arch” depicting a concrete foot in front of a block of cement with a footprint cut out of it, created by Indian sculptor Ganesh Gohain, and the 11-tonne “Elephant for Glasgow” made from scrap iron by sculptor Kenny Hunter. Just outside the Art Lover house is a playground full of colourful and whimsical climbable structures including a pirate ship and abstract shapes. Many events take place in the park including a mass led by Pope Benedict XI in 2010, pipe band competitions, concerts and more.

Our final planned destination was Mackintosh at Willows, the only surviving tearoom designed by Charles Macinktosh.  Located at 217 Sauchiehall St., it was commissioned by Miss Catherine Cranston who owned multiple tea rooms, and first opened in 1903.  Today, tea service including high tea is still served in the front and back salons on the ground floor, and a paid guided tour describes Mackintosh’s architectural style and design, takes you upstairs to see more historic rooms that are not always open to the public and concludes with access to an interactive exhibition detailing the history of the building (which is free to the public even without the tour).

This tearoom underwent a major £10 million project in 2018, renovating and restoring all the rooms to their former glory. On the ground floor the front salon installed a new fireplace and replicated decorative panels. The windows facing the street make the space bright and cheery and are covered by banner-like drapery with green and pink geometric designs similar to what we saw at the Art Lovers house. The high-back ladder chairs and low-back armchairs are all replicas based on Charles’ original designs. The design above the fireplace features a decorative panel with a willow motif, in keeping with the name of the tearoom.

The back salon was kept intentionally darker with a lower ceiling like in a Japanese teahouse, for the purpose of saving electricity. Rose and willow motifs on stained glass and frosted glass paneled doors decorate the space. On the next level, with a light well overlooking the back salon, is the Mezzanine Gallery which hosts private functions in a quieter space away from the lower salons. A lattice ceiling was reinstated and a supplementary railing was subtly added around the original railing of the light well in order to raise the height and meet current safety standards without detracting from the original design.  The carvings on the six central pillars with chandelier lights dangling against them evoke the willow tree. The space is decorated with purple panels topped with pink roses and divided by vertical black trellis patterns. Hand-rung bells on the tables hark back to Edwardian times as a discreet way for patrons to summon waitresses. A stained-glass railing with willow designs provides of view of the front salon from above.

The highlight of the tour came on the floor above the mezzanine. We entered the Salon de Luxe through a beautiful set of double doors featuring intricate leaded glass designs that reflect Mackintosh’s stylized geometric patterns and willow and rose motifs. These doors are replicas created in 2000, while we would see the originals at the end of our tour in the exhibition space. The room, which was a private ladies’ tearoom, has a barrel-vaulted ceiling where an unbelievably elegant and ornate chandelier hangs, comprised of a complex arrangement of green and pink spheres intermixed with white orbs infused with air bubbles to mimic willow tree dew drops. An entire wall of glass windows brings natural light into the room that is decorated in hues of pink, purple, silver and grey to “imitate a jewel box”.  High-back silver chairs with purple plush velvet upholstery are accented with small squares of pink glass on the backs that are echoed in the black squares running along the grey carpet. Like in the Mezzanine Gallery, bells are found on each table. On the walls are mirrored panels with the willow design and a replica of Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh’s iconic 1903 gesso panel titled “O Ye, All Ye That Walk in the Willowwood”, made from painted gesso, twine, glass beads and other materials.  The original work was inspired by Dante Gabriel Rosetti’s Willowwood sonnets and is found in Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

On the next floor up is the Billiard Room where gentlemen would congregate.  In contrast to the colours used for the Salon de Luxe, this male-only room is decorated with dark oak paneling and forest green tones in the leather backs of the bench-styled banquettes and the lamp shades of the chandelier.  The billiards table that once dominated the space has been replaced by a long table and chairs, suitable for business meetings.  A replica fireplace with royal blue tiles, a metal grill and a pair of metal candleholders is found on one side of the room. A small space that used to be a smoking room has been converted into an area for preparing and serving food and drinks during private events.

After our tour ended, we were directed into the interactive exhibition that gave a good background on the life and culture of Glasgow society during Mackintosh’s time, as well as more details on the history of the building and its design. We were able to dress up in some period clothing, played a game where we guessed the food based on its appearance, then reviewed panel boards and watched videos describing the techniques that Mackintosh used, and the efforts to recreate them during the restoration. We learned about the history of Miss Cranston and how she initially had to hide her gender in order to operate her tearooms. We inspected a deconstructed example of the silver and purple high-back chair that we saw in the Salon de Luxe so we could understand what was behind its creation. We learned about recreating the gesso work and the chandelier bobbles from that room and were able to see the original doors.

We had pre-booked a seating for high tea in the front salon immediately following our tour.  During the tour, we had spotted this amazing architectural centrepiece in the middle of the room. It was a "baldacchin" (ceremonial covering) that formed a wooden and metal canopy shaped like a stylized willow tree. Four wooden legs spanning in each direction form the base, which is topped a sphere-like vase with flowers extending upwards and lights hanging from the bottom.  Surrounding the vase are metal beams that reflect the willow shapes seen throughout the tearoom.  Two tables, each with two chairs are nestled between the legs of the canopy, providing unique, intimate spaces for enjoying tea.  Luckily, we were able to secure one of the tables, making the experience all the more fun.  

For our high tea, we had savory items including cheese and caramelized onion chutney quiche, chicken Caesar wrap, cheese and pickle as well as a tuna and cucumber finger sandwiches.  On the next tier were plain and fruit scones with jam and clotted cream.  The top plate featured a lemon meringue tart, pistachio and raspberry macaroon, rhubarb and custard cream mousse cake, and a black forest cake.  The blue and white tea set featured Chinoiserie Willow patterns with pagoda, bridge, boat and willow trees reminiscent of the patterns used in early 1900s. There was an extensive tea menu with a wide assortment of loose-leaf teas from which you could have unlimited selections. We each tried two teas including the 1903 Blend (pekoe black tea), Blue Lady (black tea with grapefruit and marigold flowers), Orange oolong, and Berry Hibiscus teas. They each came in a separate tea pot with a metal strainer to catch any loose tea leaves.

The next day, we passed by another establishment called “Willows Tearoom on Buchanan” which had a very similar façade and signage design as the original building. I went upstairs to have a quick peek and was disappointed by how small and cramped the space felt and the relatively sparse decorative features. The only thing that reminded me of the original tearoom that we visited the day before were the chairs, which were decent replicas of Mackintosh’s designs. Further research showed that this tearoom and another in Edinburgh are run by a different business entity founded in 1983 that merely uses the name and inspiration of Miss Cranston’s Willows tearoom. So, if you just want a nice cup of tea and scones, this is a good alternative. But if you want to see the full glory of a Mackintosh designed tearoom, you need to go to Mackintosh at the Willows.