Further Groovy Travels: City of the Dead

Today I visited my favorite bits of Glasgow, the most favorite being the Necropolis. City of the Dead...Wooohooo!! Oh, and this is gonna be a HUGE blog post kids. I'll try not to bore you with graveyard photos or architectural bits

Got up later than I wanted to...yadda yadda...you've heard it before. I got up, showered, ate breakfast and headed out in the direction of Cathedral Square. I can happily report that I did not get lost at all. Although, I did get a pleasant surprise on the way.

If I didn't know better, I'd say someone in a blue box was stalking me. The blue box was good news, there was also bad news right around the corner (literally).

Glasgow Cathedral is undergoing restoration. While not bad news for the Cathedral (which, admittedly, needs a lot of work), it bummed me out as I couldn't get a good photo of the front. Well, at least I did last time I was here, so I will live with that.

And we have some lovely gargoyles.

This is my all time favorite Gargoyle EVER. I have a framed photo of him at home from my last trip. He does a very good job glaring down and guarding the doorway.

And more Gargoyles

As well as what appears to be some late 18th century graffiti.

Glasgow Cathedral is the only Gothic cathedral on the mainland of Scotland to survive the Reformation, although the interior was stripped of all Catholic trappings. I especially love the copper roof.

Despite having been stripped, it's still lovely inside.

This is the upper part of the pulpitum, which has survived from the 15th century, with the lovely ceiling above it.

This is the main altar.

This is another altar in one of the chapels.

This is the rose window which, unfortunately, is partially hidden by scaffolding on the inside of the cathedral as part of the restoration.

This is a lovely window which I believe is more modern than most. Yes, I like the colors.

This window has an image of St. Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow who is entombed in this cathedral. His shrine once stood in the cathedral and was the destination of many a Medieval pilgrim. You can still visit his tomb (I did). It's WAY too dark down there to take photos, and I just don't feel comfortable taking flash photos in a church.

This is the Blackadder Aisle, which has nothing to do with Rowan Atkinson, and everything to do with Archbishop Blackadder, who had it built.

The aisle is an addition to the side of the cathedral and is famous for its lovely ceiling.

Then it was time to head out behind the Cathedral to the Necropolis, which sits on the hill behind it. You have to cross The Bridge of Sighs (no, not the one in Venice).

I'm just going to post a crapload of photos now with a bit of sparce commentary.

There are a LOT of Celtic crosses in this cemetery...go figure.

This is one of my favorites from my last trip. I think I used her on a Christmas card one year.

This was actually inside one of the crypts, I'm surprised it came out so well as it was very dark. (I shot it through the grate over the entrance)

Here is a closeup of the main figure of the one above, it's a bit creepy, right?

Looks like students aren't climbing up to put glasses on this one anymore.

This is a particularly lovely variety of Japanese Maple. The leaves were a gorgeous peach color.

I was wondering around in there for several hours and circled it entirely. I then headed down to the St. Mungo Museum of Religious life. It was little changed from the last time I was there, except for my main reason for visiting. The Salvador Dali painting "Christ of St. John of the Cross" is no longer there. It's been moved to the Kelvingrove. Feh. So I had tea and a pastry in the museum cafe and headed out.

Here's another lovely church I happened upon nearby.

Here's more of it.

The street lamps at Cathedral Square show the Glasgow Coat of Arms.

This is the Provand's Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow. It dates back to Medieval times, in the mid 15th century.

One last time before we leave Cathedral Square...LOL.

I headed back toward Merchant City and went past the Tollbooth. I decided to go around taking photos of the lovely Victorian architecture. Let me just throw some at you.