Strathclyde Country Park Caravan Club Site, Bothwell, Glasgow

In contrast to our prompt departures on all the preceding Glasgow days, we headed off mid-morning, on up the motorway system to visit a National Trust of Scotland property, Pollok House in Pollockshields. This is set in Glasgow’s largest park and only Country Park within Glasgow, formerly part of the Old Pollok Estate and ancestral home to the Maxwell family.  Last year the park was awarded the Green Flag Award, recognising its excellent standard as a quality park and green space, after having been named Britain’s Best Park in 2006, and in 2008, named Europe’s Best Park. We were impressed with the expanse of trees and green spaces as we drove through the park before arriving at the House but more surprised to learn of these awards later in the day.

The estate was home to the Maxwell family for over seven hundred years until it was gifted by Mrs Anne Maxwell to the Glasgow Corporation in 1966, although previously sections had been donated by her late husband to the Cricket and Bowling Clubs. Previously, over the preceding hundred or so years, much of the land had been sold off for residential development. The remaining land now only covers a little over three hundred acres.

There were various residences, of castle-like nature since the 13^th century but the current mansion was built in 1752 and designed by William Adam, then later extended in the late 19^th century, today considered one of Scotland’s grandest Edwardian country houses. While it is a quietly elegant house, it is the furnishings and more importantly, the collection of Spanish paintings, that makes this house stand out. The artworks are in fact only one half of the original collection, but are quite enough to fill the walls of the many rooms open to the public. There is also an excellent  film offering Spanish history in a nutshell, between the years about 1500 and 1700, illustrated with these works of art.

The last two generations of these Glasgow Maxwells, Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10^th Baronet, polititian and philanthropist, and his father Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9^th Baronet, art historian, historian, polititian and virtuoso, contributed much to Glasgow Society. It was the more recent of these who was a founder member of the National Trust for Scotland becoming one of its first  Vice-Presidents and President from 1943 until his death in 1956. One of the rooms in the house is presented as being that in which the National Trust for Scotland was hatched.

Outside, beyond the more structured parterre gardens, are great groves of rhododendrons, amassed and bred by this same 10^th Baronet, who perhaps can be held responsible for the infestation of these lovely plants throughout the countryside, now villified as invasive weeds by so many in modern horticultural reports. Certainly that thought crossed my mind this morning as I wandered down to the river to check out the bridge and weir.

After lunching, we decided to call at the David Livingstone Centre,  situated in Livingstone’s birthplace of Blantyre, not too far from Bothwell Castle we visited soon after arriving in the city. Alas, we soon discovered that it is only open on weekends, but did spend some time wandering about the centre, admiring the grand sculpture depicting the explorer fighting off an even grander lion in Africa, an event that did take place in 1844. Amazingly he survived mauling but died nineteen years later of malaria and dysentery. We enjoyed the gardens surrounding the buildings which once housed a cotton mill, where ten year old Livingstone worked fourteen hours daily and still found time to gain an education which opened opportunity for later training as a Christian missionary and doctor. This we found quite astounding and had to consult Google to make sense of this; it appears that his parents were very religious and were very keen for him to receive a good education.

We were disappointed we were unable to explore the museum, although did consider that we might alter our plans on the weekend to accommodate a visit; the jury is still out on that. Just as we arrived home, the rain, forecasted for earlier in the day, finally arrived and we considered our timing perfect.