list.co.uk/aroundtown
MUSEUMS AND ATTRACTIONS Museums and attractions are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue.
GLASGOW
■ BURRELL COLLECTION 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 287 2550, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. In the heart of Pollok Country Park is this collection of art, including work by Degas, Rodin and Cézanne, as well as ancient and medieval artefacts. It is named after shipping tycoon Sir William Burrell, who amassed much of its collection of over 8000 objects in his own lifetime. ■ GLASGOW BOTANIC GARDENS 730 Great Western Road, 339 6964, glasgowbotanicgardens.com Gardens open daily 7am–dusk; glasshouses open daily 10am–6pm; tea room 10am– 4.15pm. Free. A great place to relax in summer or take a brisk walk in winter, with a programme of events including stargazing, gardening talks and even theatre. Also look out for exotics and exhibitions in Kibble Palace Glasshouse and the vegetable, herb and flower gardens.
■ GLASGOW NECROPOLIS 50 Cathedral Square, 552 3145, glasgownecropolis.org Daily 7am–dusk. Free. Standing on a hill behind Glasgow Cathedral, the necropolis is the city’s own Père Lachaise with an obelisk to John Knox, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s first solo work and breathtaking views to boot. Tours are offered by the Friends of Glasgow Necropolis, advance booking essential. ■ GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART 164 Renfrew Street, 566 1472, gsa.ac.uk/ visit-gsa/gsa-shop Interpretation space & shop open daily 9.45am–5.15pm and building tours depart 10am–4.30pm. Tours £9.75 (£8; under 18s £4.75; under 5s free). Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s astounding architectural masterpiece (and still a working art school) can be viewed throughout the year, with daily tours led by current students. Due to the fire, the Mackintosh Building Tour has been reworked as an outdoor architectural tour of GSA and local buildings.
■ GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE 50 Pacific Quay, 420 5000, glasgowsciencecentre.org Daily 10am– 5pm. £10.50 (£8.50; under 3s free); Planetarium, Glasgow Tower or IMAX Science films £2.50 extra. The home of Scotland’s first IMAX cinema, as well as fun exhibits, science shows, workshops and talks. BodyWorks Until 2018. Exhibition all about how your body works, with the chance to run in a giant hamster wheel and become a ‘snot ninja’ (lovely). Compare your physiological stats with other visitors and find out about all the latest scientific research into your very own body. ■ HUNTERIAN MUSEUM & ART GALLERY 82 Hillhead Street, 330 4221 (museum) / 330 5434 (gallery), gla.ac.uk/hunterian Tue–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–4pm; closed Mon. Free; Mackintosh House £5 (£3; under 18s free). Scotland’s oldest public museum, founded in 1807, houses collections relating to science, medicine, archaeology, geology and more, as well as art by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (including the Mackintosh House – the reassembled interior of his home) and James McNeill Whistler. FREE The Lost Tomb of Robert the Bruce Until Jan 2015. See the first
Museums & Attractions | AROUND TOWN
FESTIVAL SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL Various venues, Edinburgh, Fri 24 Oct to Sun 2 Nov
‘Storytelling is an art of performance and community with elements of improvisation and live audience interaction ‘‘off the page’’,’ says Scottish International Storytelling Festival director Donald Smith, by way of explaining how different his event is from a regular literary festival. ‘Most storytellers don’t work from scripted texts but from narrative patterns of sound, shape, form and colour in the imagination. Of course, we also love books but here we concentrate on telling the story eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart.’
Started in 1990 and now in its 25th year, the Storytelling Festival, says Smith, is designed to celebrate and bolster the craft of live storytelling – a specific type of performance reading removed from both monologue theatre and straight book reading – and interact with what he calls a global renaissance in the traditional storytelling form. Featuring storytellers from Germany, Portugal, Wales, the Canadian Pacific, Pacific Islands and New Zealand, events are aimed at adults, children and families of all ages, with a festival exhibition revisiting renowned Edinburgh artist Richard Demarco’s Road to Meikle Seggie, which Smith describes as a ‘pioneering endeavour to bring traditions of place and the contemporary arts together’.
This year the theme is ‘Once Upon a Place’, and the aim is to
consider ‘our intimate connection with the environment, evoking our shared and creative sense of place’. Among the further highlights Smith selects from the programme are Tales of a Grandson, which revisits Scott’s Tales of a Grandfather in reimagining Scotland’s history as the peoples’ story (see preview, page 71), and the site-specific ‘Storytelling for a Greener World’ series at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (David Pollock)
3D digital model reconstruction of the fragmented tomb of Robert the Bruce, who was buried at Dunfermline Abbey. ■ KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY & MUSEUM Argyle Street, 276 9599, glasgowlife.org. uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am– 5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. 22 collections and over 8000 artifacts, from natural history, armour and weaponry to art from many different eras and touring exhibitions, all housed in a grand red sandstone building on the banks of the River Kelvin. See Visual Art section for more exhibition details.
■ NATIONAL PIPING CENTRE 30–34 McPhater Street, 353 0220, thepipingcentre.co.uk Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; Sat 9am–1pm; closed Sun. £4.50 (£3.50; under 16s £2.50; family £11). Home to the Museum of Piping as well as a reference library, shop and restaurant.
GREAT DAYS OUT
Green, the Palace gives an insight into how the people of Glasgow lived from the 1750s to the late 20th century, while next door the Winter Gardens house exotic plants and a café. ■ POLLOK HOUSE 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 0844 493 2202, nts.org.uk/property/pollok-house Daily 10am–5pm (last entry 4.30pm). £6.50 (£5; family £11.50–£16.50). Set within Pollok Country Park, this 18th century house holds one of the best collections of Spanish art in the UK, as well as traditional Edwardian furniture and decoration.
■ PROVAND’S LORDSHIP 3 Castle Street, 276 1625, glasgowlife. org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm;
closed Mon. Free. The oldest
house in Glasgow, and one of only four surviving medieval buildings. Restored to its 17th century finest, there is also a medicinal garden with the intriguing Tontine Faces stone masks.
IDEAS ■ PEOPLE’S PALACE & WINTER GARDENS Glasgow Green, 276 0788, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Palace open Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon; Winter Gardens open daily 10am–5pm. Free. Located on Glasgow
■ RIVERSIDE MUSEUM 100 Pointhouse Place, 287
2720, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums
Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. A rebooted version of the Transport Museum housed in a cutting edge piece of architecture by
FIVE REASONS TO GO TO FIT FESTIVAL Banish the post-summer excesses at a festival which forgoes guilt and embraces healthy change Harder Working out the most productive changes to make to your lifestyle can often be the hardest part of getting fit. With over 70 confirmed exhibitors set- ting up shop, including personal trainers, chiropractors, yoga in- structors and even a pole-dancing school, let them do the hard work and ask all the questions you need without feeling silly. Better You don’t have to com- promise taste in order to improve your diet. Sample and learn about some healthier but equally deli- cious alternatives to guilty food pleasures, including raw chocolate from Decadently Pure and energy- boosting wheatgrass shots from the Squeeze Juice Cafe. Faster Learn how to speed up your metabolism and more by get- ting a free 15-minute one-on-one nutritional consultation from Eat And Think’s dietitians. These lovely people understand that nutrition is a science, so let them help you create a personalised diet. Stronger Take another step closer to embodying the ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ mantra with the free masterclasses avail- able every day covering a range of health-related topics. Each 45-minute session has room for 90 folk and, as it’s first-come first-serve, make sure you’re there early. The personal trainers at Burn It Fitness are putting on our favourite class, the guilt-inducing ‘Wine! Now we have your atten- tion, learn to find a balance in your life’. Get lucky Fancy a free gym membership at Edinburgh Leisure or Pure Gym? While browsing the stalls, look out for the many com- petitions and win some goodies to take home. (Maud Sampson) ■ Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 18 & Sun 19 Oct.
Zaha Hadid. The recently acquired South African locomotive is the largest exhibit in the Glasgow Museums’ collection. Adventurers Until Mar 2015. See and learn about the machines that have been the choice mode of transport for rebels, hellraisers and anyone wanting to annoy their mother. The Road from Delhi Until Jun 2015. Display celebrating the collaboration 16 Oct–13 Nov 2014 THE LIST 45