Dumbarton Days

There's much more to Scotland than the traditional tourist highlights of Edinburgh, Loch Lomond and Inverness. There are plenty Scottish towns and cities with their unique historical and cultural experiences. Just outside Glasgow is not normally known as a tourist hotspot, but as the Fortress on the Clyde, the Scottish town of Dumbarton proved itself an interesting and challenging CPD visit for for 44 of intrepid Scottish tourist guides.

A cold and icy day on the 6th of December found them climbing the volcanic plug know as Dumbarton rock, to the castle. Now run by Historic Scotland, the Dumbarton Castle sits on the site of an ancient Roman fortress and later capital of Strathclyde. The name of the town itself alludes to this illustrious heritage - the Scot Gaelic Dun Breatainn meaning fortress of the Britons.

Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Denny Ship Model Experimental Tank, to learn about the engineering prowess of the Denny Brothers who built the infamous Cutty Sark. Lunch was held close by at the Riverside Church, then onto a tour of St Augustines Episcopal church, where C.R. Mackintosh married Margaret MacDonald.

After a short walk through the town to the river and an interesting visit to the library, the guides headed over to Overtoun House in Milton. An impressive Scottish baronial house, it was for a wealthy Glasgow industrialist and is now a Christian centre for ‘Women in Crisis’. With the snow starting to look somewhat serious, and mindful of negotiating the coach down the long slippery drive, the guides enjoyed a speedy afternoon tea with mince pies and made their way back to Glasgow after a most enjoyable day.

All agreed that there was much more to Dumbarton than the A82 road north.

Posted by Gem Scotland on 19 December 2011