The Garden festival then and now; Astonishing Glasgow Ep39

Hard to believe that its 35 years ago this year that the Glasgow Garden festival took place.
What is left of the site and where did the exhibits go? Find out in this episode of Astonishing Glasgow.
If you want to get in touch, leave a comment here or via my social media pages on Facebook and Instagram pages here;
/ astonishing-glasgow-10...
/ astonishingglasgow
Thanks again for watching and see you next time in Astonishing Glasgow;
Dave.
#astonishingglasgow #glasgowhistory #glasgowgardenfestival #Atlanticquay #peoplemakeglasgow #cardwellbay #srps #Gourock #Festivalpark #govan #riverclyde #trams

[@Mevmotto]

Best school trip ever!

[@ariescustom]

I grew up in Glenrothes in Fife, we ended up with Malcolm Robertson's big metal Iris sculptures, Glenrothes' contibution to the garden festival, just around the corner from our home. Now I live in Ibrox, just around the corner from their festival location. I remember not long after they returned to Glenrothes and were installed I moved a "Heavy Plant Crossing" sign from a nearby work site in front of them and someone thought that was funny enough that it got in the local paper The Glenrothes Gazette. 🤣 Great video.

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Heavy plant crossing is perfect 🤣

[@calanm7880]

Astonishing work went into this: the research, the travel to where these artefacts now live, and the awesome editing of old photos placed in perfect perspective with modern footage. This should be on the TV - way more interesting and relevant than plenty of the guff on the box!

[@cappaslangmurderer]

well said

[@TopCatFCD]

Ah fair few memories there. I was not long time served in the Glasgow Parks and Recreation as a Gardener and well remember some of the work that went into that site. The grass pyramids were a "favourite" amongst the team lol. Thanks :)

[@Htiler]

Great to see those photographs people sent in, keep them coming.

[@hettyscetty9785]

This is pretty cool, the festival itself is a bit before my time but its pretty cool to see the event that changed the city's reputation for the better.

[@taxidude]

A lot of travel, research and hard work went into this. Thanks!

[@bernarddalbeck2199]

Just watch this wee video, I’m a Glasgow born and bred man and this brought back so many memories, I worked in the shipyards on the Clyde at Govan for 45 years and can so appreciate what what you have created in this video it so much of the soul of the city.

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Thanks for getting in touch and I hope you can check out my other videos as I cover the Clyde and parts of the shipyards in other episodes.

[@joannepaul7889]

Superb!! I was 5 years old when I visited the garden festival...memorable place for me ❤

[@colinriley123]

Just watched this again. Brilliant!

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Thank you. Im sitting working on the next episode. I hope to have it ready by the end of this week.

[@VONMEEK]

Thank you so much for this vid! I was 12 at the time and so great to see it all again 😊

[@skyhill4279]

Great video. I'm not on social media except this platform so didn't see your plea. I have lots of photos I took at the festival. It was held mainly in Princes Dock where I worked when it was a cargo dock. Love your videos!

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Im starting to think about a part two so I may be in touch if thats OK?

[@skyhill4279]

@@AstonishingGlasgow most certainly!

[@DiscoverWithPajerico]

I remember most of the things shown here on my visit as a 13-year-old and have always remembered how much I enjoyed it, great work putting this together and thanks for the flashbacks 👌🏼

[@connormeechan5784]

Great Video👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[@hamishpaterson2413]

Brilliant! Loved this, brought back so many fond memories - it was an amazing event, one Glasgow should be very proud of!

[@pattyd3205]

LOVED this brilliant Video. Glasgow is and always will be my FAVOURITE Scottish City 😀 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@stephenlemon8270]

Well done great video I always enjoy your videos

[@YokoBhoona_Raistlin]

Hi. I found your channel last year while looking for photos/vids of the Garden Festival. I'm quite a reclusive person, always have been but every now and then throughout my life I randomly make a connection with someone that leaves a mark and I believe you are one of these people. If I'm right I met you and your mother at the festival as you took photos and I asked you both about it. I was 13 at the time and had previously been there as part of a school trip. We ended up talking about the history of some of the festival attractions, Glasgow's Statues of Liberty, Scotland Street and some other stuff. I for sure remember seeing you at the waterfall feature as that was my favourite piece there. Great to see that you still have your health and zest for life. Your vids have been helping me remember those times and for that I truly thank you. They really are inspirational.

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Thanks for getting in touch and Im really glad you found my channel. Im a great believer in not trying to change the whole world but trying my best to make my wee bit of the world better and even better if it brings a smile to other people. If you did get chatting, I do tend to waffle on so apologies if you were trying to get away from me as I went off on a rabble. There are so many places in Glasgow that hold stories that need to be told and I just try and tell them. Have a great year and I hope you hang around for more videos when I make them.

[@YokoBhoona_Raistlin]

@AstonishingGlasgow Hi. Yeah, I'll be around for sure. I know I sound unsure that we met back then but that's just because, we'll, to put it bluntly, before we met I had childhood trauma that led me to suppress my past memories, starting with the bad and then finishing with the good. We definitely did meet. I said to both of you that I had a phobia about having my photo taken but I may have asked you to take a photo with me by the end as you were both such genuine, nice people and I knew even then how rare and previous that is. If I didn't ask you to take a photo with me then it's likely that I was kicking myself about it for years afterwards. The past few years fragments have been resurfacing and I've been using the Internet to help me put the pieces together. That's when I found your content. Your reply has helped me more than you could imagine. I remember your mum and perhaps you also telling me you talk too much and apologising in the same way you did in your reply. I replied that it was fine and I laughed and said to you both that you'd probably met your match in me and nit to worry about it. I remember telling you both about Charles Rennie Mackintosh and some of the places you have visited on your channel here on YT are one's I mentioned back then. I also told you I had recruited guys door to door from my primary school and convinced them all to go on historical walks in my hometown of Coatbridge. One of these walks was from Coatbridge to Calderbank and back again in the same day. A very hot summer day walk along the Monklands Canal pathway to the Calderbank end with the lily pond and Eurocentral which was still in part under construction. I had been inspired by The Goonies and Stand by Me and I asked them to think about those movies and how good it would be to look back on trips like that we had taken ourselves as children without any adult supervision. We were at most 10 or 11 years old. I'm not on social media, only YT but I'd like to stay in touch by email or something. You lead an incredibly packed and busy life so it would be at your convenience. I'm flexible but can take a while to reply to messages, like just now lol. Great to hear from you man.

[@davehedgehog4391]

Brilliantly researched video and very well put together 👍

[@dmcn6940]

Great video. Good job

[@Kal-ir9ze]

Ahhhhh the memories

[@marjoryross2754]

Great video and a ton of work🇨🇦

[@TheDon-m3h]

A wee trip doon memory lane 👍♥️

[@dmgsoultogetherness6667]

fantastic video

[@rickyhaggerty6159]

That was brilliant! Great bit of nostalgia and can't believe I drive past the furkin trowel 😂😂😂 every day.... Had no idea that was them! 👌👍

[@dustymillar7026]

I'm the sole survivor of the Saltcoats Harbour Band who were regular performers at the festival. My wife and I visited it often, taking advantage of our free ticket, and I even got a solo gig entertaining guests at a private company soiree on board the Blue Bird, where my wife and I were wind and dined and given accommodation! Oh the memories! The band also wrote and performed a song for an earlier contest about our wee pal "Oor Wullie", who was of course, resident at the festival! Thanks for these great memories ❤

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Thank you very much for sharing your story and I am glad the video brought back good memories.

[@dinkiydoo70]

Outstanding work this is superb thank you 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 o and there is giant flowers in Glenrothes from the festival

[@jameslove1363]

Thoroughly enjoyed your episode on the garden festival, My then girlfriend who became my wife had a flat in Brand Street opposite the garden festival ( now festival park ) we spent many happy day in the festival ,cheers for the memories. Jim

[@Tommybhoy-df9hk]

Great video mate

[@Kevin-j4g4h]

Thank you for the memories, born in Rutherglen in '81, i was at the festival in '88 and often think back on those days

[@georgekerr9630]

Fantastic work mate ,that Festival inspired me to become a landscaper for the last 30 year

[@traceymiller7441]

I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for your hard work!

[@DarrenCGraham]

Your doing an amazing job man. Love the videos and this one’s the cherry on top

[@Glesga_lassie]

I have lots of photos and professional videos from this. I went with my gran a couple of times, and separately my grandad (they were divorced so different occasions). My grandad was a professional videographer so took videos of every time we were out with him and his wife. I have footage of this, the carnival at the exhibition centre, Strathclyde park carnival, lots more I can't remember. We were given the tapes and I have so many of them. My mum got some transferred on to dvd years ago. Wish I'd saw your messages looking for footage as I could have sent it to you, and the photos. Love the video, I was 8/9 at the time and remember it so well.

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Oh, wow. You need to get that uploaded to you tube as there is so little footage from the festival out there a lot of people would love to see it, me included.

[@falken_gt4]

The rollercoaster was the first one I went on, remember when it went in reverse coming out of my seat and being a skinny 12 year old I thought I would fall out past the bars 😅

[@Gazzi79]

Wow that's truly amazing! Thanks. Went there twice when I was 8 with school...simply magical.

[@tygrawr]

This was a wonderful video. Love seeing that some of the festivals pieces are still able to be seen today.

[@Alistair14]

Yet another fantastic video. I was a very regular visitor and my own stories with which to bore people at the drop of the proverbial hat (I am not alone in this, I am sure). I was there on the first day and the last, and many days in between. Couple of point of order. Firstly my memory of the tunnel rotunda was not a Dome of Discovery (although there was a Dome of Discovery at the Festival of Britain in 1951), rather it was a restaurant run by Nardini's in Largs. I can vouch for the excellent ice cream! Talking of food, next to where the trams were kept when not in service was another Restaurant - called the Four Winds Restaurant. A wee story. One evening a pal and I were visiting the festival. We went into the Four Winds for a meal. On the other side of a dividing barrier between the tables were seated what turned out to be a quite elderly lady and her daughter. the mother was in a wheelchair. We made desultory conversation over the barrier. It was time for the ladies to leave. Out of the blue the daughter said, "This is not a miracle" has her mother stood up and walked about! The lady was not wheelchair bound at all, however wheelchairs were available not only to permanent users, but also for those who felt that a day walking about the festival might be just that wee bit too tiring! Talking of Exhibitions, The Glasgow School of Art, Digital Design Studio recreated the Exhibition. her is an example of their work: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3vKioqZoqiXbLc I had a tiny (literally) involvement in this Having research the International Exhibitions in Glasgow in 1888, 1901, 1911 (all in Kelvingrove Park) and the Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park. Four more potential videos, perhaps?? Also, the was an industrial exhibition in in the east end of the City in the early 1880's, but this is getting to the boring stage - sorry. Well done again for the first rate (as usual!) video. Please keep them coming..

[@janetmackinnon3411]

Oh I remember the Festival! We had season tickets, and used them often .I remember the wonderful Irish grass garden....Thank you for such pleasant memories!

[@catmac2182]

Well Done !!!! 👌👌👌....A lot of work and time has been spent making this.... Great to see where it all ended up , i was there with my daughter who was 5 at the time, got a few pics 🙂

[@FenderTele]

An absolutely amazing piece of work, it's hard to believe that the festival was so long ago . This documentary is worthy as a pilot for a T.V series ,I'd certainly watch such a series. I could see it running for multiple seasons to cover all your work.

[@ayeright]

Thanks!

[@BigPinkJohn]

Thank you so much for this video. Fond memories of visiting the festival with my mum & aunt, both sadly no longer with us, whilst on holiday in Stenhousemuir.

[@MartinFarrell1972]

I only got to the graden festival once with the school. I was desperate to go back but didn't get the chance. I love doing history walks so may looki into this. Great presentation

[@randymctavish5308]

I remember the big celtic crest made of flowers have a photo as me as a wee boy standing next to it somewhere, great wee video, cheers 👍

[@juliemoran7382]

Wow! That really was epic! Brilliant as ever:-). Missed your call for photos. I'm sure my parents have some, will have a look when I'm next back. There's defo pics of my younger sister doing some judo demonstrations there!

[@theparnells2485]

Great video. I still have my Glasgow Garden Festival key ring!

[@CB394]

I went to the Garden Festival 3 times, because we moved from Glasgow to Dalry, North Ayrshire in July of 1988. The first time I went was with my parents, the second time was with St Columnkille's primary and the 3rd was with my new school, St Palladius Primary. I turned 6 in the midst of it all.

[@riggy42]

Being a fifer we have the huge Iris sculpture from the festival sitting next to a roundabout in Glenrothes .

[@gillmull]

What a fantastic video, brought back many memories.

[@vallamb9499]

This was a fab video, thank you. If you do get round to doing anymore on the garden festival you can find the giant iris sculptures on a roundabout in Glenrothes in Fife.

[@lorrainehamilton5051]

Thoroughly enjoyed your trip back to the GGF, I was in a choir which sang there one day, sun splitting the trees...brought back Happy Memories! Enjoy a wee Coffee on me!

[@beegnutz]

I've still got a few pics from that event. So nostalgic 😁

[@cameronmccaskell5024]

Thanks for this, brought back some great memories of the festival. I volunteered then worked for the Red Cross in the welfare office (wheelchair loan). Loved the big guy on stilts (Hamish?) and the big pram that you showed one of the photies of.

[@patriot2yt]

Brilliant video this should be showing on the BBC Scotland TV channel.

[@anderson357]

Amazing. So much work in this

[@stuartmays]

Thanks for this mate,I was there aged 16 with my parents,now both passed,and vaguley remember most of it,I went for a helicopter ride with Captain George,which was amazing and remember a ride on the Coca Cola roller coaster and thats about it. Cheers mate.

[@theworldisyours5831]

Brilliant 👏 👏 👏

[@williamanderson9915]

Great video. Only thing I remember from then was the rollercoaster, great weather and my crazy fashion from them

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

It was about that time that Barrs were giving away free tshirts if you collected the tokens so my fashion statement was the festival tshirt or one of the three Irn Bru shirts. 10 year olds these days are walking about in horrible looking tshirts with designer names on them so I think we win. Better times.

[@williamanderson9915]

@@AstonishingGlasgow ah my jeans with daft patches on them disagree haha. Thought I was so cool at the time 😂

[@MT-cd7cs]

Thank you so much for this video and all that’s gone in to producing it. I was at the festival many times at the grand old age of 3/4 and have a raft of photographs in my loft from it - a lot with Mr. Boom performing there. It also confirms my memory of the big tap - I have some large photoshoot images of me dancing at and on top of the tap as part of a dance school promotion - one image at the Garden Festival, another in another location which I’ve always thought was the Dobbies (now Calders) Garden Center in Cumbernauld however I subsequently lived in that area of Cumbernauld in the mid 2000s and it wasn’t present so I thought I was mistaken! I was also a frequent visitor to the Calders in Falkirk at that time and didn’t know the buildings origins. Brilliant video - thank you for bringing back a lot of memories and filling in a lot of information. Look forward to watching more of these nuggets of info on the greatness of Glasgow now that I’m subscribed 👍

[@paulhorsburgh]

There was a Pagoda from the festival that went to the garden centre at Mortonhall in Edinburgh. It got dismantled when the centre got refurbished. Not sure what became of it.

[@Delboy219]

Lucky man getting a season ticket! I love my family to bits but they never bothered taking me. My one visit was with my school and i had the time of my life that day.

[@Diana-007]

Thanks

[@hughsteele3195]

Not a lot of people know this, but the topsoil of the garden centre was dredged from the Clyde. The resulting sludge - rich in nutrients - was dumped on Merklands (now disused) Merkland Quay to dry out, then transported by lorry over to the new garden centre. I was personally involved in this over a few months as a Clydeport employee. I thought it quite poignant as the River was giving something back to the city which nurtured it.

[@marcelwiszowaty1751]

Very interesting! As a frequent visitor to Glasgow over recent years, I have walked through this area (and indeed over the Bells Bridge) However I didn't appreciate that this was the site of the Garden Festival until this vid... so thanks. Incidentally I first travelled to the city way back in 1973 with my parents because my dad was working in Irvine. As a keen rail enthusiast, particularly underground systems, I was determined to ride on the Subway which was still in its pre-modernisation days. It absolutely fascinated me... and still does to this day.

[@solobrouk]

Great video . Came across this as was recently at the location trying to re-visit my youth when we attended the festival. Seemingly the floating head is still in storage at a scrapyard just up the Clyde a bit from the former sight . Would love to get in for a nosey 🤣

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

The head was refloated and spent a bit of time in the canting basin where it was during the festival. I believe it is now in storage at Rothesay dock further down the Clyde but I didnt get a chance to try and get access. Maybe for part 2.

[@anniemacdonald3957]

Came across this by accident. So interesting and so brilliantly done. Thank you

[@rosemcloughlin]

Fantastic....I loved the Garden festival.and its a pity the small park was not maintained...my grandsons loved to catch tadpoles in the small stream..it was a lovely area.

[@paulbennie5690]

Superb. A great video.

[@pampam112]

Love this. I worked there at Nardinis in the Rotunda & then up in the High Street. Amazing vibe. Best job ever for a 15 year old 😁

[@TW-vb9vr]

Great video, some effort. Visited with school in p2 and with family.

[@tonycassidy4112]

wow ! that was excellent, David, thanks very much ... i went on that rollercoaster about 50 times, great memories, cracking video, except for yer jokes 🤣😆

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

Oi, whats wrong with those jokes? They came straight out of the Les Dennis joke book 1989......... Wait! I see it now.

[@tonycassidy4112]

@@AstonishingGlasgow 😁😁😁👍

[@PaulEcosse]

I remember it well. I was 13 and visited 3 or 4 times. I went to the one in Liverpool which I think was a few years earlier so was buzzing when it came to Glasgow.

[@noisyshaun]

Your dedication and effort here is immense pal. Thanks to you for reminding me of memories I had a vague recollection of from my childhood, and thanks to the algorithm for randomly suggesting this to me! When I visited the garden festival as a wee boy I stood for a photo in front of a stable and the horse reached down ate my hat. My uncle has a series of three photos of it happening 😂

[@KittyO7878]

Brilliant video, I was 10 when it was on and went several times including once with my girls brigade group to do a performance. The one thing I'll always remember because it fascinated me was the little glass pyramid bio house, a home for the future, yet when I mention it to others they never remember it and If i hadn't found the one photo of it online I'd think I'd imagined it 😆

[@kildogery]

This is brilliant. I definitely remember the big tap and Wullies bucket. My main memory is greetin' because I was too wee for the roller coaster.

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

I stood in line for the roller coaster twice and both times it got stuck and closed before I got to the front so I never got to ride it either. Maybe I should go to Pleasurewood hills and have a shot on it now?

[@jameswestabz]

The steam locomotive Lady Victoria is now at the Scottish Mining Museum.

[@CoolGrandpa]

The giant irises are at a roundabout between Glenrothes and Leslie. I still have a Glasgow Garden Festival plant pot which I bought the following year at the Royal Highland Show.

[@dovesfan1]

Scottish expat living in South East Asia. I was only 9 when I went to the festival but can remember bits and pieces. Thanks for your effort in making the video. Really enjoyed it. Annoyed you mentioned caramel short cake though. Now I have a craving I can't satisfy!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@BillyBobDingo1971]

Cheers dude. Cool video.

[@jamchiell]

Brilliant video. What a lot of research and effort to make this video. Thank you so much. I feel a little sad because I moved to London at that time and missed the whole thing. All my mates went and I always feel that I missed out on something great.

[@allanrobertson2401]

Not sure if been mentioned. But the metal flowers were at a roundabout in Glenrothes around 15 to 20 years ago. Might be still there. Not been there since then.

[@Shelleyfg87]

They are still here. Very much a local landmark.

[@rgedwards3412]

Excellent episode, demonstrating an awesome amount of research. Well done!

[@garymcatear822]

Can't believe it's been 35 years since me and my mates went to the garden festival and used BT's gigantic telephone with loud speakers so everyone could hear your conversations...some laugh it was.

[@TheFrogfather1]

Great video. I wasn't living in Glasgow then (moved over in 1989) but visited from Shields Road station. There was a wooden strip painted red about knee height that you followed round to the wee train that took you to the entrance. I'd forgotten the tap, but remembered the teapot and kettle!

[@sapien82]

I always remember they had that rollercoaster and I was too wee to go on it , i was 6 and my cousins were older and taller and got on it. Glasgow got European capital of sport 2023

[@AzulinhoAzulinho]

The 'Coca Cola Roller'. Couldn't get enough of that. My school band played on a bandstand there several times over a couple of days.

[@JimL1029]

Loved this one. I've been gone from Glasgow a long time, and have wondered what the Garden Festival was like, especially since it was in my old backyard. Enjoy your videos.

[@PeteyPeteee]

Nice! I have great memories of going to the festival with the school. My neighbour still has a garden festival tote bag in the window of their outhouse. Its clearly been there over 30 years 😅

[@robertascotland7959]

I have a thimble lol!!!

[@shelaghjackson9577]

I went with my Aunt from Edinburgh for the day. I was visiting her from Canada.

[@angelatunstall9418]

Thanks for this, brings back great memories for me. I was 18 at the time and worked at the Glasgow Garden Festival for the Nardina's from Largs. I worked in one of the rotunda's as a waitress and sometimes I would get to serve the ice cream outside. I also remember riding the roller-coaster on my breaks as I got on free with my pass. It was a amazing project to be part off.

[@LynieT]

Brilliant video - thank you! Great memories 😊

[@maryrobins2016]

Great research and a fascinating episode. Like you my family had season tickets and visited at least weekly often meeting friends and family on the site. It helped that the weather was mainly good that summer. Before one visit my daughter found a frog in the garden which was carried to the festival in a margarine carton and released on the Scottish Wildlife Trust's wild garden with pond where it lived happily. We were on holiday in Bute when listening to a radio programme from the Garden Festival the frog got an honourable mention!

[@ruthmclennan1914]

Thanks for this excellent video. It brings back pleasant memories

[@HC_GUITAR]

I was in a team of yts Landscapers who built a lot of the raised flower beds and flower display's at the festival. Great memories of that long hot summer. Really enjoyed this!

[@livingston7025]

Thankyou I love learning more about my hometown 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@nobordersnoflags9905]

Fantastic video. A lot of work must have gone into this one.

[@TheDriftdog]

Fantastic video! I too was 11 years old when visiting the Glasgow Garden Festival. We went so many time and I finally went on the Coca Cola rollercoaster on the very last day, talked into it by my dad & sister both stating I’d never get another chance. My parents still have a rouges gallery up in their hall of some of their photographs from then. I have no recollection of the Motherwell tree yet pass it frequently as I live near Motherwell now, I will look at it differently now. My son is fascinated by The Vulcan so he enjoyed seeing that part of your film. I think I will now have to visit all the places you mentioned that have remnants of the festival before it’s too late! Thanks for sharing such great memories!!

[@AstonishingGlasgow]

If I am honest, I was sent the old picture of the Motherwell tree and struggled to recognise it myself. In the old picture you can see the Sky Park behind it which gives a rough idea of where it once stood on the festival site.

[@davidconnor8380]

Iv still got photos somewhere of a young me at the festival. Remember it like it was yesterday

[@eddyquigley2350]

Thanks for putting this up you've taken me back to a time I fondly remember I would have been 7 .👍