Our last Waterstones of the day was at Braehead Shopping Centre, a riverside complex that opened in 1999 on the site of an old power station on the River Clyde. By this point we’d packed so much into the day that we only had a quick look around, eager to swap shopping centres for a hotel key and some well-earned rest in Glasgow!
The view from our room, and a welcome glass of wine!
The next Waterstones on the list was in Silverburn Shopping Centre, in the south-west of Glasgow. Opened in 2007, it was built on the site of the former Pollok Centre from the late 1970s, which had itself replaced 1940s tenement housing.
The bear in the photo below is in the entrance to H Beauty, a fairly new concept by Harrods to provide high-end products to customers outside of London.
East Kilbride was designated as Scotland’s first new town in 1947 as part of a post-war programme to ease overcrowding in Glasgow. We didn’t have long to spend here, but from what I can gather, there isn’t an outside town area with a high street, and all the shops are all within the East Kilbride Shopping Centre, which is where the Waterstones is located.
After our few days in Edinburgh it was time to go to Glasgow, but not before a trip over the Forth Rail Bridge and back. We went over the bridge on the train, of course, and over coffee in Inverkeithing we discovered we could get the bus back over Forth Road Bridge for great views! After that we headed west. The first of four Waterstones that we did this day was at The Fort retail park, which opened in 2004.
Deer sculpture at The Fort, sculpted by Lucy Casson
Forth Rail Bridge
They have trams in Edinburgh, and we love a tram (we don’t have them in the south west of England), so after lunch we hopped on one, and went to visit the Waterstones in the Gyle Shopping Centre, a 27-minute trip from Princes Street in the city. The centre opened in 1993, with the Waterstones opening there in 2023. There wasn’t really anything to photograph there (apart from the shop) but we enjoyed our visit, largely due to the aforementioned tram trip!
The Georgian House
In the morning, we had visited the National Trust for Scotland’s The Georgian House, one of the lovely houses in the New Town area which is decorated as it would have been in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Whilst there we met a volunteer, in period costume, who many years ago, lived very near where we live in Somerset! The house was very interesting and informative and we enjoyed our visit very much.
Edinburgh by Night
Edinburgh is very pretty and photogenic at night, especially when it has been raining. Luckily the rain had stopped whilst we were outside taking the photos!
Clockwise from top left – Victoria Street, Dundas House (the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland), the Museum on the Mound, Gleneagles Townhouse, The Balmoral Hotel with its famous clocktower (historically 3 minutes late every day apart from New Year’s Eve, so that people don’t miss their trains at the nearby train station!) the Scott Monument, the Scottish National Gallery.
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is full of history and wonderful architecture. The city is mainly divided between the medieval Old Town with it’s winding closes and the impressive Castle, and the Georgian New Town. Edinburgh is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is known for its literary connections from Sir Walter Scott to Ian Rankin, who set his popular Rebus series in the city.
Other famous people born in Edinburgh include the actor Sean Connery, comedian Ronnie Corbett, actor Alastair Sim (who played Ebenezer Scrooge in one of my favourite adaptations of Charles Dickens’ wonderful novella A Christmas Carol), author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and, of course, Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Waterstones is located in Princes Street, the main shopping street in the city. The building, which is very attractive, was completed in 1866 and was constructed by Peddie and Kinnear as The University Club. If you look at the top right of the building you can see the initials P&K, and on the left, the year 1866!
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle, set high upon Castle Rock, a dormant volcano, is one of Scotland’s most renowned historic sites. Its history stretches back to ancient times, and over the centuries it has served as a royal residence, a fortress, and a military garrison. Today it remains a powerful symbol of Scottish heritage, home to the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny, and is visited by people from all over the world. The views from the top are spectacular on a clear day.
Greyfriars Bobby
Greyfriars Bobby was a small Skye Terrier in 19th-century Edinburgh, famous for his loyalty. After his owner, John Gray, died in 1858, Bobby reportedly spent 14 years guarding his master’s grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard until his own death. His devotion made him a local legend, and a statue now stands near the cemetery in his memory, as well as one inside the kirkyard. I started reading the book based on him by Eleanor Atkinson whilst in the city and finished it a few days later. It was very enjoyable, although the broad Scots dialect in which it’s written took some getting used to!
St Giles’ Cathedral
St Giles’ Cathedral, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, dates back to the 14th century. The cathedral is easy to spot thanks to its striking crown-shaped spire, and inside contains colourful stained glass windows, impressive memorials, and the ornate Thistle Chapel, home to Scotland’s highest order of chivalry. I foolishly forgot to take a photo of the front of the cathedral once we’d visited, so the photo of the cathedral on the top row is watermarked to credit Ian S and used under the creative commons licence.
Edinburgh by Day
Clockwise from top left – Victoria Street with its pretty cobbles, Parliament House, a traditional bagpiper in Highland dress. Victoria Street again, the Institut français d’Ecosse (French Institute of Scotland), Mercat Cross on the historic Royal Mile and Edinburgh City Chambers
Currently reading: Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson and The Face Pressed Against a Window: A Memoir by Tim Waterstone.
The final stop for the day before we arrived in Edinburgh was in Fort Kinnaird, which is a large outdoor retail park located to the south east of the city. It opened in 1989, and the site was expanded later in 2013. We only stopped long enough for me to pop into the Waterstones to take the photos as it was late afternoon by the time we arrived and we were keen to get to our hotel.
Having stayed overnight in Yorkshire, we left the next morning to travel to Edinburgh where we were staying for two nights. We drove across to Tyneside for lunch in the Durano Lounge, one of our favourite café bar chains, before heading up the coast. It was a bit drizzly, but still very pretty. The first of two Waterstones we visited today is located in a small shopping centre about two miles south(ish) of the city.
Tynemouth
We stopped at Leeds White Rose shopping centre on our way north at the start of a recent holiday. It’s a large modern out-of-town centre on the edge of Beeston which opened in March 1997. There is a Waterstones located here which opened in May this year.
Currently reading: One Small Mistake by Dandy Smith
Harborne is an affluent town in the West Midlands about 3 miles from Birmingham. In the morning, we had visited the National Trust’s Hanbury Hall near Droitwich Spa on our way to Solihull, and as this wasn’t a million miles out of our way, we decided to visit the Waterstones. It’s located in a modern building in the High Street and opened in 2023 in what was previously a bank. We didn’t have long to explore the small town, but it seemed very nice.
National Trust Hanbury Hall
Hanbury Hall is a pretty, red brick house built in the early 18th century in the William and Mary style for a wealthy lawyer called Thomas Vernon. We stopped there for the obligatory coffee and cake, and to have a look round the house, which was very interesting, and the pretty gardens.
Currently reading: Murder Before Evensong (Canon Clement #1) by The Reverend Richard Coles
Janet's Adventures in Waterstones 