Grahame G.
Yelp
The Necropolis is the ancient heart of Glasgow, said to have once been called Dun Chattan, the site of a Druidic moon temple overlooking the bend of the sacred Molendinar burn.
Here many of Glasgow's mystical ley-lines converge, invisible energy lines linking this spot with distant places like Tinto Hill to the south-east and Dumgoyne to the north-west, both of which you can see on a clear day.
To the south of the hill sits the ancient Ladywell, once used by passing Roman soldiers on their way to the Antonine Wall, and one of the last public wells in Glasgow to remain in use. The Ladywell's location was once beside the main route into Glasgow from the east, but now it sits capped and forlorn in a dead-end bit of street, overshadowed by Tennent's brewery,
Consecrated as a burial place by St. Ninian in the 4th century, this hill has been a place of the dead for hundreds of years. It is here that Glasgow's patron saint, Kentigern (also called St. Mungo), arrived in the early 6th century, allegedly following the trail of a cart pulled by two oxen carrying the body of the holy man Fergus. Here he buried Fergus, and on the opposite banks of the Molendinar, Kentigern set up his chapel.
It wasn't until the early 19th century that the Glasgow Merchants House developed it into a proper City of the Dead, and it is said that the journey from the Cathedral across the Bridge of Sighs and up the hill to the top is deliberately intended to be a reflection of the Freemason's journey from darkness into light. There are certainly Masonic clues a-plenty for those with eyes to look. Many of the tombs were designed by outstanding Glasgow architects like Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, David Hamilton, and even Charles Rennie Mackintosh. It's well worth doing one of the regular walking tours organised by the Friends of Glasgow Necropolis to really appreciate the grandeur of the place.
But whether you're a fan of Victorian Gothic or not, the Necropolis can still offer you some great views over the city to the south, and the architecture of the mausoleums and tombs can provide some wonderful photographs when the light is right. If you're really lucky, you might see some of the deer that are known to live here.