Breakfast at Harelaw Dam

After a long wait due to the weather not being ideal, The group finally got to visit Harelaw Dam for an outdoor breakfast at the Harelaw Trout Fishery & Café. This one has been on the wish list for some time so the visit was eagerly anticipated by everyone and it gave Raymond a break from the cooking.

I think we had our largest turnout so far with 15 of us attending and, while Raymond has done an excellent and well-appreciated job so far arranging and mostly cooking the breakfasts himself up till now, that level of catering is getting beyond the capabilities of a home kitchen, well, at least not without a lot of cursing. Time to scale up...

 

A Nice day on Harelaw Dam

 

The reservoir was built in 1844, extending to 102 acres, and it feeds into the Levern Water, which is the same little river that runs through Neilston, joins the White Cart and eventually flows into the River Clyde at Clydebank. If the weather is good, then it's an excellent place to relax or have a meal or snack outdoors. Also, if you're into fishing, then it has a good reputation locally as an excellent trout fishery.

 

 

Harelaw Dam Fishery

 

The fishery and café is run by Ross and Sylwia, who are in turn run by dogs Alba and Lucy who are pretty much always around - It's a very dog-friendly place. If you're feeling fit, then you can walk out there from Neilston, we've done that a few times, but remember that you have to walk back again. That said, it has a wee car park and there are couple of others nearby on Harelaw Road here, here and here if that's full.

We spent a couple of hours up there sitting outside chatting and relaxing and we enjoyed a very tasty Scottish breakfast. There were quite a few boats out fishing and a couple of hopefuls casting from the bank and jetty but it was very bright y were so maybe not the best weather for fishing. The last time we were up there, Ross mentioned that they were doing evening fishing sessions and those were pretty popular during the better weather.

 

 

Waiting on Breakfast

The Neilston Men's Group is a group of local men who get together regularly to socialise and participate in activities. They're committed to making a positive contribution to the local community, and believe that visiting Harelaw Dam was a valuable way to learn about some of the outdoor amenities available to the local community while taking advantage of the good weather.

While we were there, we had a visit from Liz Highet from Mearns Kirk Helping Hands, a charity that offers a free befriending service in East Renfrewshire. She explained that the organization did, how they could help with loneliness or isolation and that they were always looking for more volunteers. It's pretty much what our wee group offers to Neilston men but they have a wider scope as regards area and gender but are more focussed on one-to-one sessions.

So, many thanks to our leader Raymond for organizing the outing and to Ross and Sylwia for the excellent breakfast. There are a few more photos of the day and more of Harelaw Dam here:

 

 

If you’re interested in visiting Harelaw Trout Fishery & Café, then here are some more details:

• The fishery is located on the Moyne Moor in East Renfrewshire, near Neilston and is easily accessible by car.
• It’s open for fishing most of the year and the café is open until 4pm.
• There's a wide variety of moorland wildlife around the reservoir. An Osprey was spotted hunting on the water several times this year.
• There are toilets, a picnic area (if you brought a pack-lunch), and a shop that also sells fishing equipment.

For more information, please visit their website:

https://harelawtroutfishery.co.uk/

A Visit to The Burrell Collection

The Neilston Men's Group recently visited The Burrell Collection in Glasgow. The collection of artworks, then valued at about one million pounds, was donated to the City of Glasgow by Sir William Burrell and his wife Constance in 1944.

 

Originally opening to the public in 1983, the collection's 9,000 works of art spanning 6,000 years of history are housed in Glasgow's Pollock Country Park in a purpose-built museum. It's since undergone a full refurbishment and has re-opened in March 2022 in a brand new building. I'd been to the earlier museum so was keen to see what the new one was like. First impressions were good - it's much bigger, there's lots more glass so inside is much brighter and spacious, with lots of places to have a seat and enjoy it. The museum has done a great job of presenting the collection in a clear and accessible way. The galleries are spacious and well-lit, with informative labels and interactive displays.

 

Sadly, parking is no longer free and it'll set you back £5 per car now. That said, the car park was very busy when we got there just after 11 a.m. but it was a sunny day as the park, Glasgow's largest, was busy too and there are plenty of walking trails around that if you want to make a day of it.

 

The collection is a mix of Chinese art, medieval treasures including stained glass, sculptures, arms and armour, over 200 tapestries, and paintings by renowned artists including Rembrandt, Manet, Cezanne, Hals and Degas. There are even bits of furniture, carpets and several, very large carved stone portals.

The Reheasal by Edgar Degas

There are three levels in the building and most of the artwork rooms have plenty of information and some have videos that fill the walls. There's even an animated movie of the painting above (The Rehearsal) that brings the characters to life and pans around the room - it's really well done. Yes, there are lifts if you need one as well as stairs.

Burrell was obviously a bit of a magpie, well, one with a great deal of money, but he also seems to be of a different mould from most of the people that made their money from shipping in that he had a bit of a social conscience and a philanthropic nature as he wanted his prized collection to be viewed and enjoyed by everyone.

The group split up and we wandered around for about an hour before meeting back at the coffee shop for a welcome refreshment. We could easily have spent a few more hours wandering around so I'd be happy to go back sometime.

To offset that parking fee, there are what seemed to be free, regular guided tours on the go. There's also a decent sized restaurant and a coffee shop, as well as the wee coffee shop we used, several picnic areas, an exhibition space and the obligatory souvenir shop.

The web site has a very decent "Plan Your Visit" page where you can get all the information you need before you go - opening times, accessibility, and how to get there. You can also download the floor plan but you can get a printed copy of that from reception as well.

I wish I'd spotted the fact there's a mobile app that has an interactive guide to the museum before we went so, if you are planning on going to the museum, then this might be worth checking out. It's available for Android and iOS and can be downloaded from the Bloomberg Connects web site. The app features free digital guides with expert-curated content to over 200 museums, galleries, sculpture parks, gardens, and cultural spaces from around the world, including a few others in Scotland. 

There are more photos taken in The Burrell Collection here:

A Visit to the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre

The Neilston Men's Group visited the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) in Nitshill today. The GMRC is basically the storehouse for the city museums' collections, when they're not on display at any of the venues, and is home to an impressive collection of around 1.4 million objects, from animals to armour, fine art to fossils, and much more. With only 2% of the collections on display in museums at any one time, you begin to realize just how many objects are stored here - it's huge!

 

A Coal Merchant's Lorry

 

The Resource Centre is made up of 17 environmentally controlled storage "pods", each with a different theme and collection, and visitors can explore these pods through a wide range of tours, talks and activities.

 

We opted for a one hour taster tour, which meant we only had time to visit two of the pods.

Grant, our guide, took us through the warren of corridors to the transportation pod, which contained everything from penny farthing cycles to more modern sports cars, prams to steam engines, motor bikes to lorries and so on. All in all, a varied mix of vehicles, which reminded me a bit of the exhibits in the Riverside Museum so it's likely these were part of that place's stock to draw on.

Suits of Armour

The second pod we visited, via a huge goods elevator, was full of arms and armour and Grant proved very knowledgeable about almost everything in there. It was a vast repository of historical arms (guns, rifles, pistols, swords, daggers, maces, etc.) and many suits of armour.

 

The only downside to having so many objects is that there are no fancy wee descriptive plaques or notes on any of them. Some have handwritten tags attached, mostly there are just reference numbers. You really do need a guide to tell you about what you're looking at.

I imagine we'll try and get back to visit some more the pods but, until then, there's a good virtual tour online of you want to see what's on offer:

 

Just to finish with a bit of humour, here's a sign displayed on the wall of one of the many corridors:

Gonnae No Dae That!

Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve

The Neilston Men's Group recently visited Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve, one of the few wetlands left in the West of Scotland, and had an enjoyable time. The group met at the reserve's visitor centre, where they were greeted by friendly rangers who gave us a brief overview of the reserve, the trails and what we were likely to see as we wandered around.

Aird Meadow Loch

We then enjoyed a leisurely walk around the reserve as far as the new boardwalk and along to the ruins of the Peel Tower on Castle Semple Loch. One of us was in a wheelchair and we had no problem getting him along the trail and boardwalk. The trail stops at the Peel Tower but the rangers said that, funds permitting, they would like to extend it further and join up with the trail on the other side of Aird Meadow Loch, which would make it more of a circular walk.

There weren’t many waterfowl around, probably due to the time of year, but we did see a Mute Swan and what looked like a pair of Great Crested Grebes farther out on the loch. The surrounding trees, on the other hand, were pretty busy with birdlife and, even if we couldn’t see them, we could hear them well enough. Using a mobile app called BirdNET, we identified a few of them as a  Eurasian Wren, a Willow Warbler, and a Eurasian Blackcap.

The Peel Tower, sometimes called the Peel of Castle Semple or even "Defender of the Faith", was a fortified tower house built shortly before 1560 by the local Semple family, during the troubled times of the Scottish Reformation, to protect their land and property from raiders and as an impregnable retreat. It was originally built on a rocky islet in Castle Semple Loch but subsequent drainage programmes have left an embankment that now connects it to the shore.

Peel Tower

There's not a lot to see from the boardwalk other than some musket ports and there's no easy way for anyone to clamber over to it and there are warning signs not to leave the boardwalk. Anyway, there was no way we were getting Billy's wheelchair over there and there was a big black Carrion Crow bobbing around, probably hoping someone would try it.

 

After a bit of standing around enjoying the pleasant weather and surroundings, we returned to the visitor centre picnic area for a tasty, à la big box that Raymond brought, salad roll lunch supplemented by teas and coffees from the visitor centre. There were even doughnuts and a cheeky Jackdaw and some wee Sparrows trying to cadge a few crumbs, although I suspect in case of the Jackdaw, a finger would have been more appreciated.

We really enjoyed the visit to Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve and had a good time wandering along the trail. We would definitely recommend it to other groups or individuals who are looking for a fun and educational day out.

Castle Semple Loch

The Neilston Men's Group is a group of local men who get together regularly to socialise and participate in activities. They're committed to making a positive contribution to the local community, and believe that visiting Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve was a valuable way to learn about some of the nature and wildlife that surrounds us while taking advantage of the good weather.

Finally, the standard group shot in front if the visitor centre:

There are a few more photos here:

If you’re interested in visiting Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve, then here are some more details:

• The reserve is located in Renfrewshire, Scotland and is easily accessible by car or train.
  
• It’s open all year round and admission is free, although there is a charge for parking.
• During the Spring, you might see the Great Crested Grebes courting and in Winter you’ll likely see Whooper Swans, Wigeon and a wide variety of ducks and other waterfowl.
• The visitor centre has toilets, a picnic area, a kids play area, and a shop that also sells light refreshments.
• There are a variety of nature trails to choose from, including a wheelchair-accessible trail.

For more information, please visit the RSPB website:

• https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/lochwinnoch/

A Visit To Whitelee Wind Farm

The Neilston Men's Group recently visited Whitelee Wind Farm, the UK’s largest onshore wind farm. Located on Eaglesham Moor, its 215 turbines generate up to 539 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power over 350,000 homes.

Whitlee Wind Farm

Entry and parking is free and with 130 kilometres (over 80 miles) of trails to explore, it’s an ideal venue for walkers or cyclists. We were really impressed by the scale of the site. It's hard to imagine how many turbines there are until you see it for yourself.

We’d booked a guided bus tour so, after some mid-morning refreshments in the pleasant visitor centre café, we spent the rest of time before the tour in the interactive, on-site exhibition, where you can find out how green you really are, feel the force of the wind, be in control of a wind farm, and learn all about our race to net zero. We also learned about the environmental benefits of wind power, such as reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality.

The (electric) bus tour, which lasted about an hour, was enjoyable and Stuart, our driver, gave us an interesting and informative explanation of just about anything you can think of related to the wind farm, which covers an area of over 20 square kilometres. We learned how wind turbines work, the different kinds there are on site, and how they contribute to the UK's renewable energy supply.

The bus stopped for a short break at Turbine 42 where we had a walk around, patted the turbine and enjoyed the view over Lochgoin Reservoir. On the return trip Stuart told us about the next phase in the wind farm’s development plan, which will be a solar energy farm that will be built to provide power for Glasgow City Council’s transport vehicles to support their pursuit of having a low emission zone in the city centre.

The Neilston Men's Group is a group of local men who get together regularly to socialise and participate in activities. They are committed to making a positive contribution to the local community, and they believe that visiting Whitelee Wind Farm was a valuable way to learn about renewable energy and its potential to help tackle climate change.

Lochgoin Reservoir

The group would like to thank the Whitelee Wind Farm team for their hospitality and for providing them with such an informative tour. They would also like to encourage other people to visit the wind farm and learn more about this important source of renewable energy.

 

You can see these and other photos I've taken at Whitelee Wind Farm  here:

 

For more information, please take a look at the web site:

• https://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/
  

J&M Murdoch's Transport Museum

The Neilston Men's Group's first outing was to J&M Murdoch's Transport Museum, which has its home in what was originally Neilston's Crofthead Mill, which was built in 1881. The mill and surrounding buildings are now called Crofthead Industrial Estate.

Crofthead Mill

The mill is now home to J & M Murdoch & Son Ltd., a family business who provide road haulage, waste management, disposal and recycling services across central Scotland and are the biggest employer in the area.

Our group were met by brothers John and Drew Murdoch who explained that, trucking being their main business, it sparked a love of restoring older vehicles. That interest has spread among their workforce and it's not unusual to find people working on restoring vehicles long past going home time.

Just behind the reception, they have a wee museum housing a few large trucks, a collection of very nice motorcycles, a golf cart, a big American muscle car, an old tractor and even an electric train carriage and more. The lads are great recyclers so have also collected a range of industrial tools like scales and lifts and they even have the bell from an old Neilston school, rescued as it was being demolished.

Trucks

We were treated to a very nice sandwich lunch (there was cake as well) and we were shown a range of videos showing some of the things the company had been doing, including their aggregate reclamation facility on the braes opposite the village. All of it was interesting and the brothers and staff proved to be very affable and hospitable hosts. We even had a visit from their father John, one of the founders of the business back in 1965, who proved just as friendly and welcoming.

Most of the serious restoration work happens in another building so we all trooped over there for some more truck porn. I think one of the lads said it used to be a paint shed in the old days but it seemed pretty happy housing a collection of elderly trucks and other vehicles.

More Trucks

The group would like to thank the Murdoch's for allowing us to visit their facility, which isn't normally open to the public, and hear about their love of restoring old vehicles. We'd also like to thank Christine for organizing the lovely lunch. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The Neilston Men's Group is a group of local men who get together regularly to socialise and participate in activities. They are committed to making a positive contribution to the local community, and they believe that visiting the transport museum was a valuable way to learn about our local heritage and the workings of our largest local business.

There are some more photos taken on the day here:

If you're interested in learning more about the history of Crofthead Mill, then take a look at this information on the Bobbins & Threads web site:

• The History of Neilston Mill