PROMOTED CONTENT
SHARE
Hall of frame
Recently refurbished,
The Burrell Collection is
one of Europe’s most beautiful museums
n 2019 the European Commission crowned Glasgow the UK’s top city for culture and creativity, and in 2022 the city continues to impress visitors.
The latest good news is that The Burrell Collection, one of the abiding stars in the city’s artistic firmament, is now sparkling again – and brighter than ever, having recently reopened following a £68.25 million project, over nearly six years, to extend the space and create a more accessible and eco-friendly experience.
Shipping magnate Sir William Burrell gifted his remarkable collection of 9,000 objects – comprising paintings, ceramics, ancient artefacts, armour and medieval tapestries – to his home city in 1944, and the collection was made available to the public for the first time in 1983.
Housed in a purpose-built museum in Pollok Country Park in the south of Glasgow, the collection was welcomed by this post-industrial city at a time when it was seeking to reinvent itself.
I
Over the next four decades, the collection played a central role in Glasgow’s transformation into a place that loves its public art spaces – indeed, according to Glasgow City Council, its museums are now the second-most visited in the UK after London.
You could spend a week at the Burrell taking in every exhibit but, for day trippers, the highlights are widely regarded as the Chinese collection starring tomb guardians from the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) designed to ward off evil spirits; the medieval stained glass and tapestries; The Red Ballet Skirts (circa 1900) by French impressionist painter Edgar Degas; and the first bronze casting of Auguste Rodin’s famous statue The Thinker (1880-1881).
Getting there is easier now too, thanks to a free new 100 per cent electric shuttle bus, green in hue and purpose, transporting visitors through Pollok Country Park to the collection.
Pause for thought
The Burrell Collection holds the first bronze casting of Rodin’s The Thinker (1880-1881)
High pointe
The Red Ballet Skirts by Edgar Degas at The Burrell Collection (circa 1900)
Fear no evil
Tomb guardian figure from the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD)
For lunch, sit in the park with a picnic and snap a picture of the Highland cows.
This herd (or fold, if you want to be technically correct) of 50 animals lives in Pollok Country Park and is a great favourite with locals and visitors alike. They’re probably the most cultural “coos” in the country, sharing their parkland home with not one but two “mooseums”: the Burrell and the National Trust for Scotland’s Pollok House, a grand, beautifully preserved stately home hosting an impressive art collection of its own, featuring one of Britain’s best selections of Spanish works.
Finished your lunch? No need to stress about finding a bus or taxi. Head to nearby Shawlands railway station where you can hop on a bike and pedal away, thanks to Ovo Bikes. This popular cycle share scheme makes it easy to scoot between venues. You simply register via the app and collect a bike – there are more than a hundred hire locations across the city.
There’s one at Eglinton Toll in the city’s Southside, five minutes’ walk from Tramway, a contemporary visual and performing arts hub in a former tram depot. This spring and summer its Human Threads exhibition exemplifies Glasgow’s ethos of art for all, with audiences invited on an interactive journey of light, sound, touch and smell informed by people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. There’s a huge silk sail swaying softly, evoking a sense of calm and peace, and a tower that emits light, smoke and bubbles.
Parklife: gazing and grazing
Have we got moos for you?
A herd of udderly photogenic Highland cows resides in Pollok Country Park
Look here: follow the art trail
If pedal power’s not your thing, explore on foot with the downloadable self-guided City Centre Contemporary Art Trail. This 90-minute meander past 14 of Glasgow’s most celebrated public artworks includes what locals call the Clyde Clock: a sculpture, named Running Time, of a pair of legs supporting a square timepiece as a torso.
There’s also a self-guided City Centre Mural Trail that takes in a modern depiction of Glasgow’s patron saint, Mungo, wearing a woolly hat and holding a robin, as well as two images of Billy Connolly, which were commissioned to honour his 75th birthday in 2017.
Or join an expert guide on an organised tour. There’s one that follows in the footsteps of Scotland’s favourite architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, finishing with a cuppa at the tearooms he designed. There’s another guided walk that culminates in whisky tasting at a local pub.
Watch the birdie
The City Centre Mural Trail includes a modern take on Glasgow’s patron saint, Mungo
Go for baroque: see a quirky collection
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow’s West End has been loved by locals since the day it opened in 1901. One of Glasgow’s most enduring tales is that the grand sandstone building was actually constructed back to front by hapless builders, causing the architect, John William Sampson, such misery that he threw himself from one of its baroque towers. In fact, Sampson went on to live for another 32 years. And besides, both aspects of the edifice – one overlooking Kelvingrove Park, the other facing Argyle Street – are imposing and impressive.
As well as showing artefacts (some of them – such as the stuffed elephant called Sir Roger who was a beloved resident of the former Glasgow Zoo – delightfully random), Kelvingrove holds a daily organ recital. During the Summer Nights music festival, the park’s bandstand hosts the likes of Billy Bragg, Suzanne Vega and Pixies.
In June, there’s a free festival in the park: Dandelion sees specially constructed “potting sheds” host performers and community organisations to highlight the organiser’s goal of encouraging connection with the seasons and growing your own. Writers, scientists and activists will spark conversations around the environment while cooking workshops run by chefs will focus on locally sourced and low-food-miles ingredients.
Exhibit factor
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a firm favourite with locals and visitors
Food and drink
For haute cuisine to accompany a day of high art, head down the road from Kelvingrove to Finnieston, which has established itself as Glasgow’s go-to district for gourmands over the past few years. Glaswegian chef Graeme Cheevers has just bagged a Michelin star with his modern European eatery Unalome, which offers delicacies from the west coast of Scotland’s larder in the form of halibut from the island of Gigha and Ayrshire lamb.
Other Finnieston favourites are Porter & Rye, for fine aged meats and wild food, and aptly named The Gannet for modern Scottish fare.
If you’ve energy to spare, a night out in Glasgow never disappoints, especially its live scene: the city stages an average of 130 music events a week, ranging from punk to classical – which might explain why Glasgow was the UK’s first Unesco City of Music. There’s even a new sightseeing bus tour dedicated to the city’s musical heritage.
Or stop for a wee dram in one of the traditional pubs and listen to some fine – also free – fiddle or folk music. The patter of the locals is pretty musical too, and they’ll happily chat through their hometown’s aesthetic attractions with you. Sir William Burrell was spot on when he bequeathed his artworks to the appreciative people of Glasgow. This is a city with art at its heart – and everyone’s invited to enjoy it.
Nightlife
For more great ideas on things
to see and do in Glasgow visit peoplemakeglasgow.com
Glasgow:
art for heart’s sake
Stellar galleries, fine dining and lashings of live music make Scotland’s second city a choice destination and cultural hotspot
