South Maryhill via North Kelvinside and Queen’s Cross Maryhill Walking Trail Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust presents a free, self-guided walking tour through the southern parts of old and new Maryhill, lasting around 2 hours Welcome to Maryhill “This portion of the Kelvin is possessed Transport of many and various charms - wood, You can get to the starting point of water and architectural grace being most the walk in several ways… effectively and pleasingly intermingled” By Bus: Maryhill Road is well served by buses to and from the city Hugh MacDonald, Rambles Round Glasgow, 1854 centre; alight just to the north of Shakespeare Street, outside Tesco. Maryhill - a part of Glasgow often From town, services 40, 61, and overlooked on the standard tourist trails, 119 pass here. From Byres Road or Hillhead Subway station, look for a something which these walking guides aim northbound 23 bus (Summerston). to help change! See www.travelinescotland.com for more details and times. Sandwiched between the peaceful sunken green corridor of the valley of the river Kelvin, and some stunning city views from the raised portions of the Forth & Clyde Canal, municipal Maryhill features a incredible amount of historic buildings, interesting architecture and important social and industrial heritage. Come along and find out more... By Train: The nearest mainline station is Maryhill, situated about This is a circular walk around 3 miles long. If 25 minutes walk (2 miles) north you are coming from Maryhill Burgh Halls of the start point, straight along 1 Maryhill Road. For more details, see and the north, start at Ruchill Church Hall . www.scotrail.co.uk. Hillhead and St If you’re coming from the south or centre of Georges Cross Subway stations are town, it may be easier to start at Mackintosh’s also about 20 minutes walk to the Queen’s Cross Church !9 - a few minutes south. walk north up Maryhill Road from St George’s By Bike: The canal forms part of Cross Subway station. National Cycle Route 754; more info at www.sustrans.org. Bike racks can A map of the route, featuring key locations, be found on Maryhill Road. can be found in the centre pages of this By Boat: The Forth & Clyde Canal booklet. It’s also available online and in other provides easy access to this walk. Access to mooring facilities can be formats - see the back page for more details. found adjacent to Ruchill Bridge. Full details can be found at www.maryhillburghhalls.org.uk www.scottishcanals.co.uk. Ruchill Church Hall 1 Starting point: Ruchill Church Hall The low pale building is one of the most famous buildings in the area – a church hall, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The Hall dates from 1899 - pre-dating the church next to it. The tea-room here (open Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm) makes a great place to stop for a cuppa and a look around the interior, which is little changed from when it first opened, complete with original doors, folding partitions and decorative roof trusses. The red sandstone main church build- Former Shakespeare ing next door was built from 1903-05 as Street School the Ruchill Street United Free Church, erson & Reid. It is currently empty and designed by the architect Neil C Duff. awaiting a new use. Opposite it, right, the A Cross Maryhill Road at the pedestrian curving modern tenement was a compe- crossing outside the Viking Bar, and head tition-winning design by McGurn, Logan, south down Shakespeare Street. Duncan & Opfer to create a ‘Twenty-First Century Tenement’ 3 at Craigen Court A number of the roads around this area for Maryhill Housing Association. have a Shakespearean theme - keep an eye out for Stratford Street and Hathaway 4 Shakespeare Street Youth Club Street... how many others can you spot? The low metal-clad shed on the left is the surprisingly old but extremely active 2 Shakespeare Street School Shakespeare Street Youth Club. Origi- Shakespeare Street School on the left was nally the Huw MacCowan Memorial Hall, built by the School Board of Glasgow in it was founded after Huw was killed at 1915 to the designs of McWhannel, Rog- Gallipoli in World War One. 3 Shakespeare Street Youth 1914. Before that, the school had met Club in Maryhill Burgh Halls since 1907 - originally providing classes for ‘men- tally and physically defective children’. The School soon outgrew its makeshift premises at the Hall. A report from an Inspection in 1911, while mentioning the great work being performed by the teachers, said on the other hand that: 5 Walcheren Barracks “it is impossible to speak favourably of the premises, which are extremely At the foot of Shakespeare Street on the unsuitable. A public hall used frequently left are Walcheren Barracks, portions of in the evenings for public entertain- which date to 1938, and were originally ments, lacking proper cloakrooms and built as a drill hall for the Glasgow playgrounds, devoid of suitable storage Highlanders’ Territorials. of apparatus, bare in appearance, and A At the bottom of the road, turn left into generally comfortless, should not be used Garrioch Road, then immediately take the for this purpose longer than is absolutely Garrioch first left into Hotspur Street. necessary...” This scathing report led Road, 1960s Both Shakespeare Street directly to the establishment of the and Garrioch Road were purpose built school premises, which are old estate roads. As the still in use today. tenements developed, the A Take the first right past the school, into area became known as Northumberland Street, just before Stow North Kelvinside, to try College. to distinguish itself from the rest of ‘old’ Maryhill. Now Stow College West Campus, this was originally Garrioch School 7, built 6 Kelbourne School for the School Board of Maryhill in 1905, The current Kelbourne School was with a dramatic central columned win- purpose built (in what was then called dow. To the south, the open land Percy Street) as an ‘open air’ school and of North Kelvin Meadow 8 had been used as sports grounds for Kelbourne opened in September School the school, and was originally the site of a grandstand for the short-lived Kelvinside 4 Racecourse. Aerial photos taken during trian crossing to WW2 show a barrage balloon being the right. Carry moored here. on down Queen Margaret Drive, A Turn left into Kelbourne Street. and head left up Wilton Street. Be careful to take the correct street here - it’s the second North Kelvinside Parish Church street on the left after the crossing, and the at Queen second-last before the bridge! At the first Margaret Drive junction, take a right into Kelvinside Ter- race West, and a short distance along, look for the cast iron lamppost at the top of... Sorn Dairy !2 Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s Sixty Steps 9 Sorn Dairy The Kelvinside Terrace retaining wall Up Sanda Street to the left was the Sorn and steps were designed in the 1870s, Dairy - now converted to flats - but with and were originally linked to the now the Dairy lettering still just visible on demolished Queen Margaret Bridge the front and rear facades. This was a below. They also featured in the Gillian distribution centre for a collective of Anderson filmHouse of Mirth, one of a dairy farms near Sorn in Ayrshire. number of locations in Glasgow stand- Further along Kelbourne Street on the ing in for New York. The lamppost at the right is the former North West Fire top is original and thus a rare surviving Station !0, built in red brick by Thomas relic of the Burgh of Maryhill. Somers and manned from 1941 - replac- www.sixtysteps.org.uk ing the earlier fire station in Gairbraid A For a step-free route, head back to Avenue next to Maryhill Burgh Halls. Wilton Street, and follow it back down to In 1942, King George VI and Queen the right, rejoining the walk at point A. Elizabeth visited to see the station in Otherwise, head down the Sixty Steps, and Alexander ‘Greek’ action. The fire engine entrance was carefully cross the road at the bottom. Thomson’s where the large green modern windows Sixty Steps are, and a large internal central courtyard - including a tall drying tower for wet hoses! - was surrounded by housing for the firemen, now all converted to flats, and entered via Mingarry Street. The gap site at the corner of Queen Margaret Drive and Kelbourne Street was the site of North Kelvinside Parish Church !1, which was demolished in recent years due to subsidence – look out for the fragments remaining next to the halls next door. A Continue and turn right onto Queen Mar- garet Drive; cross the road at the pedes- 5 Woodside Flint !3 Mill and Kelvin Remains of old bridge Stevenson Just ahead to the left is the start of the Memorial Church old bridge from 1870 - known as Walker’s Bridge. Look across the river from here to spot the far end of the bridge, and below the remains of some of the supporting stonework can be seen in the river. A Head to the right along the road, and look for the pedestrian gate in the fence on the left just before you rejoin Queen Mar- garet Drive. Head down these steps to the Kelvin Walkway. Keep an eye out - a heron often sits on the far bank here fishing. For more about the Kelvin Walkway, visit A Where the path splits, bear left on the wider path, and climb up the www.fork.org.uk. Follow the Walkway downstream to the concrete steps leading up to Belmont left, and notice the mill lade running Street, bringing you out opposite..