Past the million mark for two attractions

Both Glasgow’s Riverside Museum and the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh, have clocked in their 1 millionth visitor.

Less than four months after re-opening, following a three-year, £47 million transformation,
the National Museum of Scotland  welcomed its millionth visitor. That person was among the party from Stockbridge Primary School

The landmark figure has been achieved eight months ahead of predictions, and outstrips the previous record figure for a full year. The Museum’s highest attendance then was 833,324 visits in 2007/08, the year before it partially closed for redevelopment.

Visitors from across the world have poured through the Museum’s impressive new street-level entrance and into the spectacular Grand Gallery, from where they have been able to enjoy 16 new galleries. The beautifully-restored Victorian building only last week won the Andrew Doolan Award for the Best Building in Scotland for 2011.

Over 8,000 treasures are on show, 80% of them for the first time. The Natural World Galleries with their  life-sized T.rex, and the Museum’s re-positioned Millennium Clock, are among the objects proving the biggest hit with visitors. Another firm favourite is the Window on the World, the UK’s biggest single museum installation, which features an array of nearly 900 objects representing the diversity of the Museum’s collections.

A spectacular opening ceremony on Chambers Street in July saw nearly 6,000 people pass through the doors in the first hour. Now the entire first year target has been reached in under four months.

National Museums Scotland is building on this success with a programme of blockbuster exhibitions in its new, larger, purpose-built space for special exhibitions. The first major new shows will feature Ancient Egypt and a Russian Empress when ‘Fascinating Mummies’ and ‘Catherine the Great’ open in 2012.

Gordon Rintoul, Director, National Museums Scotland said: ‘To reach this monumental visitor figure so far ahead of our predictions is an incredible achievement. Years of planning, fund raising and hard work have gone into realising our vision of creating a world-class museum that sits firmly at the heart of Scotland’s cultural landscape. To receive such a positive response from the public is truly amazing. People really are voting with their feet and giving a massive endorsement to all of the dedication, knowledge and creativity of our staff and supporters. We are delighted.’

Equal  enthusiasm was shown at Glasgow’s £74 million Riverside  museum which is now become the city’s most popular attraction since it opened on June 21.  On June 25 more than 15,000 people streamed through its doors.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, the Leader of Glasgow City Council was on hand this week to welcome the 1millionth visitor – 7 -year-old Sam Irving and his family from Dumfries. Said Councillor Matheson:’ The public response to the Riverside Museum has been phenomenal and the museum has coped brilliantly. The place has comprehensively beaten  the visitor number projections and is now a ‘must see’ attraction in Glasgow and Scotland.  I’m delighted for Sam that he is our 1millionth visitor and we look forward to many millions more in years to come.’

The Riverside Museum houses more than 3000 exhibits in over 150 interactive displays demonstrating the quality of  ’Clyde Built’.  From massive steam locomotives to recreation city streets of the 1900s, the cathedral-like structure provides a stunning backdrop to showcase the innovation and ambition of  Glasgow which was ‘Second City of the Empire.’

 Sam said it was ‘cool’ to be the VIP 1 millionth visitor.  The family were on their second visit and Sam’s favourite display was  the bikes: ‘Because I like to go out on my  bike at home.’ His mum Susan, added: ‘It’s a fantastic place and great for kids with all the interactive displays. It’s also good for Sam’s dad who was a mechanic and acts just like a big kid himself when he’s here. It’s a great day out for all the family.’

The Museum has played host to big events such as a seafood festival and a spellbinding performance by Scottish cyclist Danny MacAskill whose bike is one of the exhibits. Highlights at the Riverside include the Wall of Cars, the hanging Bicycle Velodrome, the South African Locomotive,  No 9 Tank Engine, Motorbike Deck. For more information see: www.glasgowmuseums.com/riverside

 

 

French weather doesn’t floor Chris

Cathcart resident, Chris Muldoon, has conquered one of the world’s toughest amateur cycling challenges, along with 11 of his colleagues from Sky in Scotland.

They took part in the Etape du Tour – a race for amateur cyclists covering the same route as one stage of the iconic Tour de France only days after the professionals.

Chris and the Sky team covered the gruelling Issoire to Saint-Flour route in the Auvergne region – one of the toughest sections of the Tour de France. Each cyclist who completed the course clocked up a total of 130 miles across the mountainous terrain in the worst weather in the history of the event. Organisers even withdrew many of the cyclists for their own safety.

A manager at Sky’s Livingston site, Chris, who is 28, completed the ride in nine hours 36 minutes after being forced to take an alternative route due to the dangerous weather conditions.

He said: ‘Despite the torrential rain, the freezing winds, the numbness of the hands and the uncontrollable shivering from the cold, the entire day was such an experience. Riding a stage of the Tour de France that the pros had completed only seven days earlier, with over 4,000 like-minded cyclists, was immense.

‘I was a complete novice before beginning my training with Sky for the Etape. I hadn’t owned a bike for years and only bought my first road bike in March this year. Despite the tough challenge of the Etape, I will be keeping up cycling.’

Sky supported 150 of its employees across the company to ride the 2011 Etape. Ranging from hardened cyclists, regular commuters and determined beginners, the team received six months of training, guidance and support in the lead up to the event from British Cycling, a Sky partner since 2008.

Involvement in the Etape du Tour is part of Sky’s overall commitment to encourage its staff and customers to cycle more, with the aim of getting one million more people cycling by 2013. The company also runs initiatives such as British Cycling led lunch time cycle rides from its offices, a free bike lending scheme for staff, and annual Sky Ride events which see staff and members of the public enjoying mass traffic free cycling events in city centres across the UK.

Anyone interested in cycling with Sky can sign up for one of these events – the Glasgow Sky Ride – on Sunday 11 September. Aimed to raise awareness of cycling and to encourage more people to get on their bikes, registration is via the website: www.goskyride.com.

 

Govan yard’s work sets sail

 

Sailing down the Clyde took on a new meaning when an enormous ‘slice’ of an aircraft carrier was loaded onto a barge at BAE’s Govan yard on Sunday 31 July to be transported to Rosyth for the next stage of production.
It took six months of planning and a 10-strong team to move the 8,000 tonne mid-section block 200 metres out of the shipbuilding hall on Friday 29 July, across the specially reinforced tarmac of the yard to the quayside for loading. The highly technical operation took one hour and used 64 remote controlled transporters.
The block – Lower Block 03 – is a mid section of HMS Queen Elizabeth – the first of the new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy being created in Govan. This was the first time the general public had sight of the giant warship embryo which was manoeuvered into place within the hour.
Said one on-looker from the luxury flats across from the yard: ‘It was incredible to see. The block is so big. It is difficult to imagine the size of the complete ship but you realise a little more when you see the people walking around the block looking like little toys.’
Steven Carroll, Queen Elizabeth Class Project Director at BAE Systems, said: ‘I’m extremely proud of the team’s huge achievement of successfully moving the mid section of the hull out of our hall on time.’ He said it was: ‘built to an exceptional standard’ and added: ‘This is a fantastic showcase for British engineering. It is the culmination of months of preparation and is only possible because of the strong partnership with our Carrier Alliance Partners, the skills of our workforce on the Clyde and the thousands of people working on the programme across every region of the UK.’
After being moved out of the hall, the block was loaded onto one of the two biggest sea-going barges in the world in preparation for her 600 mile journey round the north coast of Scotland to Rosyth where the aircraft carrier will be assembled. That voyage begins on Tuesday 16 August. On the same day, more than 50 cyclists from across the Alliance, will leave the Govan yard to ‘beat the block’ by peddling the 500 miles round the North of Scotland to Rosyth in the hope of getting there before the mid section of the hull arrives. The gruelling challenge expects to raise £10,000 for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
As a member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, BAE Systems is working in partnership with Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence to deliver the nation’s flagships. With advanced construction underway at six shipyards across the UK, the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme is sustaining thousands of skilled jobs.
The steel for Lower Block 03 was cut in July 2009. When loaded onto the barge it was more than 20 metres high, 60 metres long and 40 metres wide.
Approximately 350 Govan-based employees will follow the block to Rosyth where they will work with Babcock workers to complete the assembly phase of this section of the ship.
Construction of Lower Block 04, the largest and most complex section of hull, is progressing in Govan. Production on the second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, started in May.
BAE Systems is also manufacturing the forward and lower stern sections of the hull at its Portsmouth facility, along with the ship’s forward island structure. Additionally, the company is responsible for the integration and testing of the ships’ complex mission and advanced communications systems.
Each 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed worldwide. The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief and all will be operational by 2020. The QE Class will be the centre piece of Britain’s military capability and will operate at least 12 of the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter jets.

Games routes being sorted

Detailed plans to improve the river bank at Lancefield Quay and Anderston Quay have been drafted in preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Consultation with elected members is underway although most community councils will not meet between now and the Friday 29 July deadline.

‘I have asked for the times to be extended to take this into account,’ said Bailie Nina Baker of Anderston Ward.

According to George Gillespie, Assistant Director of Land and Environmental Services, the aim of the plan is to improve, significantly, pedestrian and cyclist provision. ‘We also wish to incorporate permanent flood prevention measures between the Kingston Bridge and Clyde Arc bridge,’ he said.

This route will be a main spectator corridor between the city centre and venues at the SECC complex in 2014. It will also help access to Ibrox and Kelvingrove games venues and the Riverside Museum.

Following the comments of elected representatives, the plans will be revised and a one day “pre-planning” consultation event is anticipated in early August when City Council officers will explain the proposals in more detail to Councillors. This will be followed by the public at large and other interest groups having the chance to comment through the statutory planning process in September 2011 when the revised plan will be submitted. Currently a contractor is likely to be appointed in December 2011 and work should be carried out between January and June next year.

* If you have ideas to improve the Lancefield Quay or Anderston Quay embankments for pedestrians or cyclists send them to us at: franklinfeatures@gmail.com and we’ll publish them and pass them on.

McFrankenstein tackles the Missing Link.

Up to 20,000 people are expected to take part in the M74 Bike ‘n’ Hike event on Sunday 22 May. Before the ‘missing link’ stretch of motorway from Shields Road to Polmadie to Fullarton Roundabout is opened to traffic, the M74 Project Partners and Contractor have agreed to let pedestrians, cyclists and runners cover the whole 14km stretch or parts of it, as people are able.
If you spot a cyclist dressed as McFrankenstein (Frankinstein with a Scottish twist) cheer him on and support him as he’s doing the whole 14km in aid of Yorkhill Children’s Foundation.
‘So far, I’ve raised around £200,’ said McFrankenstein who is known to his friends as Colin Todd.
‘I have my own Facebook page for the event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Colin-Todd-M74-Bike-n-Hike-event-in-aid-of-Yorkhill-Childrens-Foundation/209718129061513. It gives a link to my Just Giving website too,’ said the care worker. He has done several similar fund raisers – including the route between Glasgow and Edinburgh in the Pedal for Scotland event. ‘A friend’s son was in intensive care for three weeks after he was born so I knew, though his experience, and his ongoing care, how important the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation is. And like to support it when I can.’
People can register up till noon on Friday 20 May to walk, run or cycle the route. The event will start from the Shields Road Car Park in Scotland Street. The road formally opens in June.
Further information from : www.yorkhillchildrensfoundation.org and
www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Parks_Outdoors/m74bikenhike.htm.
Colin’s Just Giving site: www.justgiving.com/Colin-Todd0/

Friends cycle for Yorkhill

Jordanhill man, Bob Davidson and five of his desk bound friends plan to cycle 600 miles in eight days to raise funds for Yorkhill Children’s Foundation.
Starting from Berwick Upon Tweed on Wednesday 12 June they aim to reach John O’Groats having brought in £10,000 for the charity.
Said Bob who is Chief Executive of the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce: ‘Recently, we completed a 60 mile trip to Drymen and back. We were all, to put it politely, knackered at the end of it! This trip will be very, very hard for all of us, even the younger ones.’
Appealing for people to give, he said: ‘Most of us have used or know friends or family who have used Yorkhill Hospital. What people don’t know is that it relies heavily on help to raise funds to provide the services it does in the excellent manner it does it. Please visit our website and make a donation. See www.justgiving.com/but2jog Knowing that people are donating will keep us peddling on mile after mile.’
One of the riders is Stephen Hall whose daughter Abigail has regular treatment at Yorkhill following a heart transplant. He’s cycling because he knows exactly what a great facility the hospital is.

Hit the ground running and win a copy of Played In Glasgow

Football grounds, bowling greens, dog tracks, ‘doocots’, racecourses, blaes pitches, athletics tracks and swimming clubs; our city has had them all. Ged O’Brien’s book, Played in Glasgow, is a modestly-sized but mighty anthology that covers every sporting nook and cranny since Victorian times.
This is part of the superb Played In Britain series,  backed by Historic Scotland and English Heritage. The volume is subtitled ‘charting the heritage of a city at play’, and is a store of information for those of us who choose to look beyond the elegant stone facades, towering steel skeletons and pretty, manicured lawns.
Beyond Hampden Park, the home of Queen’s Park and Scotland’s international team, there are retrospectives on the homes of Rangers, Celtic, Partick Thistle, Clyde and the bullish ranks of Glasgow Junior football.
O’Brien also looks at the homes of the city’s many rugby teams and enjoys our rich bowling heritage, all recorded with excellent photography and detailed with the care of a first-class reference work.
Played In Glasgow has a section on swimming baths and clubs, from the elegant but forgotten municipal pools of the late 1800s to their 21st century heirs and the architectural wonders of the Western and the Arlington Baths clubs.
The book also strikes a nostalgic tone with a look at the city’s remaining red ash ‘blaes’ pitches and takes a flight into the world of the Glasgow pigeon fancier and their home-built doocots. Neither does it neglect cricketing heritage nor pass by the huge achievements of our many athletes over the years.
With one eye on Glasgow’s place as host for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, this book is a roadmap that shows us how far we have come, what we have won, what we have lost and hints at what could yet be.
A blend of social and cultural history and a treat with archive and modern photography, sometimes evocative and occasionally controversial, Played In Glasgow is an essential addition to the book collection of anyone who has an eye for their city’s sporting heritage.

LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW has three copies of Played in Glasgow to give away.
For a chance to win your own copy, just write and tell us which football teams play their home games at Hampden Park.

Send your answers by email to competitions@localnewsglasgow.co.uk. Please put ‘PLAYED IN GLASGOW COMPETITION’ in the header field and remember your name, address and a daytime telephone number. You can also enter by snail mail, please write with your answer to Played In Glasgow Competition, Local News Glasgow, YAM Publications, Third Floor, 142 West Nile Street G1 2RQ. Don’t forget all your contact details.

This competition closed at 9am on Monday, May 24.

On Yer Bike!

I had my first go at the Innerleithen bike trails a couple of weeks ago. Proved to be quite a challenge for my limited skills, but I enjoyed it. The red run was apparently downgraded from a black, so I found it pretty tough. As usual, there were teenage daredevils bombing down the trails making it look simple. Must confess to a certain amount of jealousy!

There are a couple of public cycling events coming up which may be of interest. The University of Glasgow is organising the 7th annual sponsored cycle in support of the Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre. The event will take place on Sunday 16 August and the meet up point is Kelvingrove Park near Kelvin Way. Participants can choose from 13 or 26 mile routes, and the entry fee is £8 for adults and £3.50 for under 16s. Details and registration at http://www.glasgow.ac.uk/cycleglasgow.

Sunday 23 August will see the closure of various city streets for the Skyride event. This one is free, and is supported by British Cycling. The focus is on family fun cycling, and there will be professional cyclists in attendance to provide encouragement and advice. Registration and more details at http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/skyride/glasgow.

Sandra White MSP is seeking to hold a Glasgow Transport Summit to discuss transport issues in the city. Seems like a great opportunity to get cycling issues on to the agenda. Send your ideas and input to Sandra at sandra.white.msp@scottish.parliament.uk or to Sandra White MSP, Baltic Chambers, Room 331, 50 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6HJ.

Maryhill Police recently made two arrests and recovered three high value bikes worth over £5,000 in an operation to combat bike theft in the area. Obviously, prevention is the best way to avoid bike theft. A friend had a very expensive Klein bike nicked from Byres Road a couple of years back. He described the sickening feeling in his stomach as when he realised the bike was gone. Police advice on bike security is as follows:
• Take a clear colour photograph of your bike, and make a written description, including any unique features, so that you can report it accurately if stolen.
• Security-mark the bicycle, in at least two places, using a tamper resistant label, etching or an inaccessible electronic device. One mark should preferably be on the frame and one of the locations should not be clearly visible.
• Take out insurance (extend home content or a separate policy),
• Keep your bike padlocked in a secure garage or shed, and keep the door locked.
• Keep it out of public view.
• Secure it through the frame to an immovable object.
• Don’t always leave your bike in the same place and avoid isolated or dimly lit places.
• Take smaller or removable parts with you (lights, pumps, computers, panniers and quick release saddles).
• Buy a quality lock, hardened steel D-shaped locks are recommended as the minimum standard.
I leave my bike chained up in the close, though this is not an option for everyone. Some folks favour riding an old banger just to divert attention of thieves.

Bike Column April 2009

Good to have the bike column back after a brief winter hibernation. Did my first mission on the mountain bike for a while at Carron Valley. This is the closest decent facility to Glasgow, nestled in the hills beside the Carron Valley reservoir between Denny and Kilsyth. There are red trails and a little skills circuit at the end. The whole thing can be completed in just over an hour, depending on how energetic you are feeling. The first hurl round was pretty slow and creaky (me, not the bike!) but the second circuit was much faster and more enjoyable. It was a beautiful clear day and from the top of the Tak-ma-doon Road above Kilsyth it was possible to see the Forth Rail Bridge.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/carronvalley

 

Clyde Tunnel Controlled Entry

The southbound bike tunnel under the Clyde now has a controlled entry system. You ride up and press an intercom button, then someone from the control room buzzes you in to a second gate, where the process is repeated before accessing the tunnel.  The idea is to discourage anti-social behaviour within the tunnel, such as graffiti, vandalism, damage to lights, litter and broken glass. Glasgow City Council has spent £125,000 on the new entry system, which pedestrians can use in both directions. The council hopes to find funds to install the entry system on both cycle tunnels soon. This is intended to improve links between communities north and south of the river, and to provide a secure crossing point. Currently, the Clyde Tunnel is the only pedestrian crossing point between the ferry at Renfrew and the bridges at the Science Centre. Bike activist David Brennan has recorded some footage of the new security gates, see below.

 David has pioneered the use of helmet cameras to monitor the behaviour of motorists towards cyclists, you can see further examples on his blog. http://magnatom.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-clyde-tunnel-entrance.html

Potholes

Sadly, the potholes on our roads seem to be worse than ever. There are huge sections of Victoria Road from Kingarth Street up to Queen’s Park which are like the surface of the moon. I used www.filthathole.org.uk to report these defects so let’s see what happens.

Going for Commonwealth Gold

The Sport Scotland Institute for Sport is seeking new female talent to add to the Scottish team for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The first Gold4Glasgow event will focus on women’s cycling and takes place at the Stirling Athlete Village on Sunday May 3.  Scots aged between 16 and 27 are invited to attend where they will go through rigorous testing on Watt bikes.  Those who meet the requirements will then be asked back to a training weekend.  They will then receive close monitoring and work with the Institute’s team of experts, such as sports medicine and strength and conditioning, in a bid to find athletes who could represent Scotland and ultimately win medals. For more details and registration info, visit www.gold4glasgow.com

Olympic Bikes at Bannerman High

A £40,000 mountain bike circuit was opened in the East End last month at Bannerman High School by medal winning members of the Special Olympics cycling team.

The track, which was two years in the making, was a result of requests from pupils who wanted a venue where they could train without travelling a distance.

The only other inner city mountain bike track is in Pollok Country Park. It was opened in 2004.

Triple Olympic cycling champion, Chris Hoy, who opened the Pollok track said: ‘This new track may bring on the next generation of Olympians.’

Almost 100 individuals, including 60 pupils, gathered in the pouring rain on Tuesday October 21 to watch demonstration rides by the team.

Pupils from Bannerman High, and feeder primary schools Swinton, Sandaig and Caledonia also took part in races.

The 1km bike trail, which will also be open to the local community, has been constructed around the school’s football and hockey pitch. It is designed to improve the confidence of off-road cyclists and improve their mountain biking skills.

A hard grade circuit has jumps, ramps, cobbled stones and raised embankments while an easier grade circuit is made up of gentle bends and surfaced stone.

The track was funded by Sustrans, a leading UK charity focused on sustainable transport. It was built in response to the huge rise in popularity of mountain biking in Scotland.

Councillor Euan McLeod, Convenor of the Land and Environmental Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee told the gathering: ‘The young people of Bannerman High have been at the heart of this project.’

John Lauder, Sustrans Scotland Director, said: ‘Through our project ‘Tackling the School Run’ we know that more and more children are cycling to school. The more opportunities young people have to get on their bikes the more they will do just that.’

 

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: ‘It is hoped the track will also provide a bridge between the secondary school and its feeder primary schools, so easing the transition for pupils.’

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