I have been out on the bike a few times recently, but haven't bothered to stop and take a photo. The reason being the runs are so embarrassingly short, a mere 10-15 miles, the 60+ to 90+ miles two or three times a week seem to be over. The weather hasn't been too kind to me, short spells of good weather and then a return to cold and showery. Since I am now a fair weather cyclist, that limits me quite a bit. Actually I no longer refer to myself as a cyclist, but more an old guy who goes out on his bike now and again.
Today, despite the overcast sky and a bit of a cold wind, Stasia and I headed for Hogganfield Loch. A small loch to the east of Glasgow, a popular walking, cycling, dog walkers area and kids play area. It only measures approximately 1.3 miles going round the loch, but there are paths that you can deviate from the lochside and meander to change the scenery.
Though a small loch, I suppose you could say that if it was not for this small loch, Glasgow may not have been the city it is. It is from Hogganfield Loch that the Molendinar Burn runs towards the Clyde, and it was on the banks of the Molendinar Burn that St Mungo set up his little Christian sanctuary, at the site where the Glasgow Cathedral now stands. This attracted people to the area and the rest is history as they say.
Today the Molendinar Burn has all but disappeared, in the late 1800's it was contained in a culvert and now runs towards the Clyde somewhere under Wishart Street. Though there is still a small bit just about visible to the Gleswegians that want to have a wee look. At the west side of a fine looking building, 100 Duke Street there is a patch of trees and shrubs and through that growth there is a part of the Molendinar that is still open to the sky.
The building 100 Duke Street started life as a rather ornate mill, belonging to R F and J Alexander, and is reputed to be the first building in Scotland that was built to be fire resistant. The mill and its workers disappeared as technology changed, and the building then became a home for homeless men, known as the Great Eastern Hotel. Now it is a "residential redevelopment", Still an impressive looking building.
