Cause I'm the wanderer, yeah the wanderer ...

Felt tired and things on my mind when got off the bus today. Thought I would just go for a wander before heading down to Cadogan Street. Give me time to think.
Ended up just walking up Sauchiehall Street all the way to Charing Cross. So this just a wee selection of pictures from the Charing Cross area.
Sorry if it all seems bit unconnected and random but it was that kind of day...



Where better place to start than Charing Cross Mansions. This is a red sandstone tenement building built in 1891. Such a grand old building. With all the fine detail on it could do an entire little corners post on just this one building. What is it about the roof that makes me think Adams Family or a haunted house from Scooby Doo? :)

One of the shops in the Charing Cross mansions. And I love it!!! A proper toy shop!! With wooden toys, knights and dragons, magic kits, kites ... if you near Charing Cross then go here. Take a wander around inside and it won't take you long till you feel like you're a kid again. :)

The other grand old mansions of Charing Cross. The St. George's Mansions. These were built in 1901 to complement the Charing Cross mansions. Once again something a bit Scooby Doo about that roof!!

Quite a contrast between the mansion buildings and this one, Tay House. Can't say it's ugly but can't entirely say I like it either. But certainly better than it used to look like. This is the building built on top of the "Road to Nowhere" that looked like an unfinished bridge that sat over Charing Cross for decades. However it never actually was a bridge. It is officially the Charing Cross Podium and was always meant to have some sort of development on top.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M8_Bridge_to_Nowhere

Now at this point my wanderlust got the better of me. Just wanted to see what was behind those buildings on the left of Charing Cross and went through onto Woodside Crescent. What a beautiful row of town houses with a lovely park in the middle. I've never been up this street and was enchanted. One of the amazing things around here is the gardens in the basement flats ...

... this is just a small example. They are beautiful and shows that you don't need a big space to have a lovely garden. Because they have a little undercover area from the stairs leading into the ground floor some of them are like little rooms. One even had a leather sofa!!

Felt very conscious even taking this photo as it was almost like taking a picture in someones living room. Wandered around here for a while. Such a peaceful area just a couple of streets away from the bustle and noise of Charing Cross and the motorway. My heart was pulling me to keep walking up into Park Circus but resisted. Keep that for another day. So headed back down to Charing Cross...

Back down to see this famous old fountain. Now I've seen this so many times but why is it here and what is it for? Terrible what I just take for granted in my own city? Looked it up when got home and it is the Charles Cameron Memorial Fountain. Sir Charles Cameron was an MP that served Glasgow in Paliament from 1874 to 1900. So now I know.

And then on to another iconic landmark of Glasgow. The Mitchell Library. The largest public reference library in Europe. Whenever I've been away on business and getting a taxi back into Glasgow from the airport when I pass this building it tells me I'm home. Maybe something to do with it being on the back of the Deacon Blue "Raintown" album ? :)

Read more about it here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Library

And talking about getting the taxi home. You can't talk about Charing Cross without talking about the M8. If you can hear yourself talk over the noise that is!! :) Now the M8 is almost unique for UK motorways in that it cuts right through the centre of the city. Love it or hate it, it's there. Had to admit a certain fascination today with watching the cars stream past. And as long as I'm not travelling in the rush hour, I have to admit I've got a certain attachment to the M8. It's Glasgow's motorway.

Also would not be forgiven for not mentioning the Bon Accord pub. Which describes itself as "the mecca for Glasgow's real ale community" since 1973. The building itself dates back to the mid nineteenth century. I've had a shandy or two in here myself :)

An American icon in the heart of Glasgow. The West Coast Harley Davidson shop is just full of amazing, very shiny motorbikes and cool Harley Davidson gear. Never seen myself as a biker but there something really cool about these bikes. Maybe get myself one once my mid-life crisis really kicks in!! :)

And finally ... the Whyte and MacKay building. Actually a very nice shiny building in the Charing Cross area. Included it here for two reasons. Firstly because it is a Glasgow whisky and has an interesting history ...http://www.whyteandmackay.co.uk/

And secondly because only after I got home and started looking at some stuff did I realise that the space in front of it was meant to be the 39 story Elphinstone Tower.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=401

Seems this project been shelved for the moment but maybe in a couple of years will need to update this post with Scotland's tallest building? Watch this space.

Kept walking past the Whyte and MacKay building and down to Cadogan Street. Really not far from there. Had some time to think and had seen some proper Glasgow icons and a couple of American ones as well.

Hope you enjoyed wandering round Charing Cross with me. Tip for the day? Go to the Big Top toy shop. Make you feel young again and cheaper than buying a Harley Davidson!! :)