Tour Scotland Spring travel video, with Scottish music, of a 40 minute road trip drive from Dennistoun, in Glasgow, East on the M8, M9, and M90 motorways to visit and cross the Queensferry Crossing Road Bridge which spans the Firth Of Forth. Dennistoun is a mostly residential district 1 mile East of George Square in Glasgow. Alexander Dennistoun, born 1790, died 1874, was a Cotton trader. The eldest son of a successful merchant family, Dennistoun was educated at Glasgow Grammar School and the College of Glasgow before making his name in the family business. In 1820, he spent time in New Orleans, America, establishing cotton trading links. With other Scottish businessmen, Dennistoun formed The Glasgow Bank, which through merger became part of the Union Bank of Scotland. Dennistoun acted as a director of the latter institution. Dennistoun maintained a home in Golfhill, Glasgow and Lagarie, a villa on the Gare Loch. He served briefly as Liberal Member of Parliament for Dumbarton from 1834. His name is chiefly remembered as the founder, in 1861, of the Glasgow district of Dennistoun, an area of tenements and villas in the east end of the city.
James Livingstone Begg was born in Dennistoun in Glasgow in 1874 and educated at Garnethill School. He trained as an artist in Paris. France, for three years, but ultimately was employed in his father's business as a House Factor and Property Agent in Glasgow, becoming a partner in 1917. However, geology was his passion. He studied Geology as a series of extramural evening classes at Glasgow University, joining the Glasgow Geological Society in 1905. He was President of the Glasgow Geological Society from 1935 to 1938. He was also a Justice of the Peace for the County of Lanark. He died on 11 August 1958. His large fossil collection, specialising in trilobites was gifted to the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. This is known as the Begg Collection.
The M8 is the busiest motorway in Scotland and one of the busiest in the United Kingdom. It connects the country's two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and serves other large communities including Airdrie, Coatbridge, Greenock, Livingston and Paisley. The M8, more explicitly the Glasgow section, is unusual amongst UK motorways, and more similar to many US Interstates, in that it directly serves, and bisects, a large urban area, whereas most other motorways bypass such conurbations. The Queensferry Crossing, formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing, is a road bridge built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge which carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Lothian, at South Queensferry, into Fife and onwards to Perthshire, at North Queensferry. The bridge is 683 feet high above high tide, equivalent to approximately 48 London buses stacked on top of each other and 25% higher than existing Forth Road Bridge.
If you’re about to drive on the motorway for the first time, you might be feeling a little daunted. But contrary to many people’s beliefs, motorways are actually the safest roads to drive on. It’s the speed you’re travelling at which can make all the difference between safe and unsafe motorway driving. The speed limit for cars on the motorway is 70mph but motorway speed limits can change several times on one stretch of road, particularly in the event of roadworks or an accident. So be observant and look out for signs indicating speed limit changes and warning signs, used in the event of adverse weather, congestion or accidents. You should only overtake if you’re sure it’s safe to do so. It’s crucial to judge the speed of the cars around you carefully and to check that the lane you’ll be moving into is clear in front and behind you. Don’t forget to check your blind spot and to signal in plenty of time. When you leave a motorway, observe the interchange signs and ensure you’re in the correct lane in plenty of time. The countdown markers which appear before a motorway exit tell you how far away the exit is, with each bar representing 100 yards. If you hog lanes or tailgate on the motorway you could be faced with an on the spot fine of £100 and 3 points on your driving licence. On approaching a roundabout take notice and act on all the information available to you, including traffic signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane. Decide as early as possible which exit you need to take. Give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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