#river clyde

[kel-ectric-avenue]

taken by me

lanark, scotland

april 2026

[thunderstruck9]

Andrew Cranston (British, 1969), The flux of the river Clyde, 2021. Oil on bleached hardback book cover, 27 × 29 cm.

[vintageeurope]

Dumbarton, Scotland 19th century

[medusas-cub]

Sunset over the Clyde.

[theresalittleyellowidol]

Sun rising up the river.

Photograph by Mark Hodgson

[galleryofart]

Bothwell Castle

Artist: Paul Sandby (English, 1731 - 1809)

Date: 1770

Medium: Gouache and watercolour on paper

Collection: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland

Description

Bothwell Castle is a large medieval castle, sited on a high, steep bank, above a bend in the River Clyde in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located between Bothwell and Uddingston, about 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Glasgow. Construction of the castle was begun in the 13th century by the ancestors of Clan Murray, to guard a strategic crossing point of the Clyde. Bothwell played a key role in Scotland's Wars of Independence, changing hands several times.

[colorsoutofearth]

Falls of Clyde in autumn, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Photo by Guy Edwardes

[scotianostra]

September 27th 1938 saw the 80,000-ton liner Queen Elizabeth, then the largest passenger ship ever built, launched at John Brown's shipyard, Clydebank.

Plans to use Queen Elizabeth as a passenger liner were put on permanent hold at the outbreak of World War II. However the ship was not safe in Scotland, and was a known target for the Luftwaffe.

As such, Queen Elizabeth was painted grey before departing Clydebank for what was expected to be a short journey to Southampton.

Instead, Queen Elizabeth’s maiden voyage was to New York, with the untested and untried liner making a ‘mad dash’ across the Atlantic.

Once in New York, Queen Elizabeth berthed alongside Queen Mary, Normandie and Mauretania, and for a brief period during March 1940 four of the world’s greatest liners,lay side by side.

Queen Elizabeth was requisitioned for wartime service on 13 November 1940 and was released from Admiralty service in 1946. Her post-war overhaul and refurbishment was carried out both on the Clyde and at Southampton. This overhaul saw the luxury passenger interiors installed aboard Queen Elizabeth, in preparation for civilan transatlantic services. The ship was finally painted in Cunard livery while the machinery was overhauled.

Queen Elizabeth was given her full sea trials, and then officially accepted by Cunard. The ship made her belated maiden passenger voyage to New York on 16 October 1946.

In the 60's as air travel became the norm for transatlantic travel Cunard gave Queen Elizabeth a major overhaul in Greenock, which involved an interior refurbishment and the creation of an outdoor swimming pool on Queen Elizabeth’s aft deck, as well as the building of a lido area.

Cunard announced on 8 May 1967 Queen Elizabeth would be withdrawn in Autumn 1968. Despite every effort to keep the Queen Elizabeth sailing, she was too costly for her owners and had to go. The liner was sold to a group of Philadelphia businessmen with the intention of turning her into a floating hotel in Florida. The ship made her final transatlantic crossing on 5 November 1968 before she was withdrawn from Cunard service.

Once in Florida, the ship was opened to the public in February 1969, however this venture didn’t last and the ship was closed that same year. In late 1970 the ship was auctioned and bought by C.Y.Tung, Hong Kong. The intention was to turn the ship into a floating university and she sailed for Hong Kong for conversion.

Re-named Seawise University, the ship’s transformation was almost complete when a series of fires broke out aboard the ship causing her to burn out and sink in the harbour. The ship is now under "reclaimed land" there.