East Kilbride: New Town No.1! (A Cultural Travel Guide to the Scottish New Town Founded in 1947)

[@charlescraig2227]

Thank you for a wonderful effort, about a place I lived, most of the time, from 11 to 15, when I came to Australia. I went to High School in Glasgow, and I'll always remember how my 'place' was reserved for me on the bus every morning by my fellow travellers. I queued with everyone else for the opening of the Dolan Baths, and I could tell a wee story about the elevator at the Library. Thank you, again, for recalling some of my best years. Charles Craig

[@eyescotland]

I'm delighted that my little film could bring back great memories for you.

[@angelsv]

Nice film, I moved here in 2009, and I've seen the town go through some changes, some positive and some negatives, but our wee town has that wee charm that I can't find everywhere else (yet).

[@spookysartwork]

Nice little short film. Thanks for the little mention on my artwork, thanks. 😊

[@eyescotland]

You're welcome 😊

[@williamrussell4752]

Absolutely shocking how the town has been allowed to decline since it ended up under the control of South Lanarkshire Council.

[@user-zo2rj2zi9g]

I moved overseas years ago but it’s sadly looking more and more run down every time I go back…..mind you, so is the rest of the country.

[@Yelochre2]

I`ve lived most of my life in EK and still have great affection for the town; I must agree with another posting on here - South Lanarkshire Council have presided over the town`s decline. My father worked for the development corporation and was involved with building much of the housing and several of the public buildings.

[@phire0]

I never knew these Elephants could be found in different places in East Kilbride, but here's a fun fact: the public playground just off of Adelaide Road (also visible in the background at 1:17) is known locally as the 'Elephant Park' due to the three stone elephants that are there :)

[@yesemitesam333]

I lived in EK from 1960 until 1988. All my schooing was in the town and it was a nice, safe place to grow up. Since moving away I have only been back a handful of times and I have to say that with every visit I grow increasingly shocked at the state of the place. Under the control of EK Development Council it prospered but almost from the moment South Lanarkshire Council took over it went into a spiral of decline from which I doubt it will recover. I have lots of wonderful memories of my time there but I have to say nothing would persuade me to move back having seen the deterioration I witnessed during my most recent visit.

[@eyescotland]

Really interesting to hear your opinion. It seems that quite a few older residents of EK feel that way.

[@sir.leelibros.1905]

Nice video!!! Ive been trying to see if i can move there!! But im waiting to finish studying medicine in my country. Im really hoping i can live there soon!!

[@craigporteous6053]

Great video I was born in ek moved to Ayrshire and glasgow now live back in ek

[@kedar1973]

Beautiful city. I lived on Lindores Drive in 2011.

[@lizcampbell2354]

I lived in West mains road ,,across from John Campbells garage .My family where one of the 1st families in EK when it was a village and my grandfather and uncles looked after the town clock ..My uncles had all the pigeon lofts beside the train station on Torrance Road ..

[@G4RY1159]

It's a Town, you done well getting Out back in 2011

[@lizcampbell2354]

Every town has good and bad ,We live in a lovely area but one of the houses in our street was a drug den selling ,murder happened near the metro st .So its happening everywhere and probably going to get worse .Take care

[@TheMiniMaestroMan]

Probably one of the only new towns in Scotland that became a success story. I quite like it there, there are a good number of local amenities and attractions, very friendly people, good services. Reminded me a bit of some of the schemes here in Dundee. People wrongfully tar these towns as being soulless because they lack the history and identity long-established settlements have, but we must remember that all towns start out like this. New towns have also produced a lot of culture. To name a few, Billy Connoly was born in Cumbernuald and former captain of Rangers, Ally McCoist, was from East Kilbride. Rome wasn't built in a day. You make your own history. The Dollan Aqua Centre is my particular favourite. Japanese 'brutalist' architecture resembles more the retro futuristic utopian vision they were going for known as metabolism. The V&A in Dundee (although my feelings on it are mixed) is beautiful in it's design. The concrete panelling combined with the odd shape makes it look like a spaceship has landed on the waterfront. This is the kind of image that British brutalist architects of the '50s and '60s were going for. Most of the time, it doesn't translate from pen to paper. The SKARNE blocks in Whitfield became a crime and poverty-infested nightmare and got demolished within 30 years. A big reason why I think the Aqua Centre and the V&A look so good in comparison to other brutalist buildings is because they still resemble the artistic symmetry of traditional buildings while incorporating modern design and material. That's a big philosophy of Kengo Kuma's work. He makes concrete look as light and gentle as wood through his use of natural design. They aren't just daunting concrete boxes that penetrate the sky like multis. It needs to blend in and resemble natural shapes we see and use. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office looks stunning. That's what a lot of these new towns are missing. Everything looks dull and grey.

[@eyescotland]

Some great points. Thanks for the comment. I too love Kengo Kuma's work.

[@WilliamBell-t8k]

EK also has one of the best diesel engine repair and maintenance companies in Scotland: Argyle Diesel. There is no job they cannot do and at a very reasonable price! Bill

[@VXGaming]

It was a success but things are going down hill. hopefully they can do a 180 at the next roundabout.

[@stpeterscooksriver1873]

I could be wrong but I think you will find that the pronunciation of “Calder,” by the natives is “Cother.”

[@eyescotland]

You may well be right!

[@stpeterscooksriver1873]

@@eyescotland I’m English with a Scots mother, now deceased. In 1973 I thought I might live in Scotland. I was well prepared having learned Scots songs and verse, from my melodeon, tin whistle and mouth organ playing Uncle. All of which he played by ear and I think were tunes handed down through generations. In my home town, “Little Scotland,” I’d even gone “guising.” at Halloween, armed with a lengthy and amusing verse, we entertained briefly in peoples’ sitting rooms and were given nuts, oranges, apples sixpences and any other small pieces of cash. Arriving in East Kilbride to live with my cousin, and immediately engaged in the cultural life of the town, pints of heavy with the occasional whisky round when it was half an hour before closing. Supporting Hamilton Accies and alternately the ‘Well in the days of Ian St. John, and evenings quite shamefully, in retrospect, attending Scottish Nationalist dances, where the dancing was traditional. All this fell apart, when I went for job interviews.I was told, “you're the wrong class of person for this job," and I kid you not, “ why don’t you go back to where you come from, there are no jobs for you here.” The following year, I followed my brother to Australia, and have lived happily ever after, as all fairy stories go.

[@user-zo2rj2zi9g]

Nah, born and raise in EK and I’ve never heard it pronounced anything other than Calder as in Calderwood.

[@stpeterscooksriver1873]

@@user-zo2rj2zi9g I’m now a resident of Australia, but given that my mother was Scots, I spent almost two months of my childhood and early teenage years in Blantyre with my grandmother. The driver of a Seniors bus outing, who had lived much of his life in Blantyre, corrected me, when I spoke of Blantyre, the second syllable rhyming with fire, and also like you, speaking of the Calder. His pronunciation was “Blantur” with the second syllable rhyming with fur, and Cother with the first syllable sounded like “caw” the sound of a crow. I can understand why you should pronounce Calderwood in the way you do.

[@user-zo2rj2zi9g]

@@stpeterscooksriver1873 I’m also living in Australia, but not in Sydney as I’m guessing you are? Blantyre and Blantur were pretty interchangeable when I was growing up, heard it pronounced both ways.

[@calderglenheritage8467]

There is no reference in any original records to any pre-Christian well at the site of the church. Such a reference, appearing online originally through Wikipedia, was sourced from a completely spurious contribution by an imaginitive correspondent to a single article in a 1990s newspaper by an imaginative correspondent.

[@TravelObscurer]

If there's no truth to it then that's a shame. It's a story that pops up in a number of places. Hope you enjoyed the film despite that.

[@G4RY1159]

Try getting a house or flat now