Hidden Cumbernauld.

[Fossil]

"Hahah Thats sunds like a good day out. Walk the GG Movie"

That would be difficult. As with most movies, scenes are shot all over the place. When we see Gregory walk through an underpass, he's in Abronhill; when he comes out the other side , he's in a different part of town.

Le durachd,

Eddy

[floweredpig]

when you see cumbernauld in Gregorys Girl i think it looks amazing on that summers evening when hes out on his dates but when they show you the town centre it looks fairly dated even for 1980.however much design brainpower was used up with the exterior went out the window with the interior,if you ar familiar with it then use your imagination here, you hav been shopping in the old tescos and you have to gt a bus heading towards glasgow.think about it, nightmare.

[Cyclo2000]

Oh, I don't think you'll find many staunch defenders of the toonie nowadays. It's "interesting" architecturally but moot in practice as a town centre.
IF (and that's the point) the design had been carried through then the centre would have been valid...up till about 1985. It's likely it would have outlived itself by now anyway, unless developement (and therefore bastardisation) had continued over the intervening years
Personally I'm in favour of blowing it up and the two big sheds flanking it too! Then we could start again and lay out something for the NEXT 50 years...

However we must live within the constraints (and results of poor planning decisions) we find ourselves lumped with. I thought the plan presented on Grand Designs was a good one, keeping the most iconic parts of the centre and converting the two undercroft "streets" into semi pedestrianised areas. At least then a visitor would be able to find their way about!

[CitizenSmith]

Thanks for all these posts. I lived in the new houses in Cumbernauld Village from 1969 till 1977 and the photos brought back a lot of happy memories. I do a wee bit of writing and recently got a poem published that was inspired by that period of my childhood. I've been looking through this post for a photo to accompany it. Thought I'd post it here for anyone who's interested. I'm off to look out some photies at my Mums and will post them here soon if I find anything of note.

New Town

New neighbours spoke to my mother
of old, unfamiliar lives.
Tenemental Riddrie, Dennistoun, Townhead;
tubercular, crowded, tarmac-flattened.
No growing up cowed by North Sea winds -
lungs full of linoleum

Kernel of a town, newly minted -
hand-picked by some benevolent giant,
squarely placed, fully formed.
Ready to receive refugees
from grimy beginnings.
Spit on a hankie and rub them clean.

The town planner specified shiny, new materials:
Bright, white concrete
punctuated by primary-coloured doors,
modern,
Mediterranean.
The public relations officer whispered seductively
of fitted carpets;
built-in kitchens;
electric hobs;
and adjustable central heating.

The acidic scent of yellow broom
tip-toed from each pebbled planter,
wove around our wrists as we belted balls off brick.
Every tree was circled and guarded
judged too young to survive the winter.

They flourished, breaking through stone.
Budding and bursting,
while we fried eggs on the pavement,
in a scalding Scottish summer.

© Sarah Smith 2007

http://leafbooks.co.uk/New/Books/CastIron.htm

Cheers
Citizen Smith

[Synchro]

"Hahah Thats sunds like a good day out. Walk the GG Movie"

That would be difficult. As with most movies, scenes are shot all over the place. When we see Gregory walk through an underpass, he's in Abronhill; when he comes out the other side , he's in a different part of town.

Le durachd,

Eddy

And his house was in Westfield - Netherwood Place. I lived round the corner from it and a guy a year or 2 above me at Westfield Primary lived there after filming ended.

At the time the film was made, there were only a handful of houses occupied by the public as Westfield was still getting built. Eastfield wasn't even there yet.

I remember cycling around on my Raleigh Strika that day he was filmed coming out of his house to go to school (Abronhill High) and there were so many kids on the street that they decided to leave them in the shot rather than try to move them all away! At that time most of the families that moved in had young children, including mine

Interestingly, the "Clock in the Plaza" that you see in the movie (outside the old "Woolco") was originally part of St Enoch Train Station which was demolished in 1966.

[steviewilson]

Ive always wanted to to the GG trail! I come from Kirkintilloch originally but now stay in Ravenswood, and GG was the 1st video I ever saw on Betamax in 1981! If anyone wants to post location details I can get some pics up.

Stevie

[Nizzy]

It's a pity this thread came to an abrupt end as it's a fascinating read for anyone born, bred and still living in Cumbernauld. In fact, I only joined the forum tonight having stumbled across this project after a random Google search.

GK&C also did Braehead Road...

I've included a picture of the Gillespie Kidd and Coia flats at Braehead Road in their original state below.



Out of all the 'old' areas of the new town, Kildrum is probably the one that's witnessed the most change during the last 50 years. The flats at Campsie View were constructed and demolished, as were those in Kenmore and Lamerton Roads, while the Primary School no longer exists. The flats in Maclehose and Ainslie Roads are also due for demolition in the near future.

[Mori]

Another thread Here for C'nauld

if anyone is interested.

[Bonz]

It's a pity this thread came to an abrupt end as it's a fascinating read for anyone born, bred and still living in Cumbernauld. In fact, I only joined the forum tonight having stumbled across this project after a random Google search.

GK&C also did Braehead Road...

I've included a picture of the Gillespie Kidd and Coia flats at Braehead Road in their original state below.



Out of all the 'old' areas of the new town, Kildrum is probably the one that's witnessed the most change during the last 50 years. The flats at Campsie View were constructed and demolished, as were those in Kenmore and Lamerton Roads, while the Primary School no longer exists. The flats in Maclehose and Ainslie Roads are also due for demolition in the near future.

Hey I used to live in that very block!

308 to be precise!!!

And a great wee flat it was an' all. A five minute walk to, and a twenty minute stagger back from the wee villiage theatre!!!

[Cyclo2000]

Aye, the cottage is probably the only really good boozer in the town.

[Nizzy]

Hey I used to live in that very block!

308 to be precise!!!

And a great wee flat it was an' all. A five minute walk to, and a twenty minute stagger back from the wee villiage theatre!!!

I live there now, although I'm moving in a couple of weeks. Upwardly mobile, y'see! Did you grow up in Cumbernauld?

I stumbled across another picture of that block, although this one's taken at the opposite end:



The underside of the flats have been filled in. In the case of the one pictured, it's with flats and a community hall.

[Nizzy]

Aye, the cottage is probably the only really good boozer in the town.

The Craigie isn't bad either, but I rarely go for a drink in Cumbernauld these days.

[Dexter St. Clair]

A Scottish musician has penned a love song dedicated to a town described as the "most dismal" in Scotland.

Carolyn McGoldrick is releasing Cumbernauld: A Love Song to raise money for children with cancer.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7725610.stm

[Whangie]

Great stuff here - I enjoyed the photos especially because I live in the outskirts of Cumbernauld.

On the subject of walking the Gregory's Girl locations, there are loads I've been to in Cumbernauld for example:

The old YMCA in Seafar (now some kind of religious thing) which was used in the opening scene where the boys play peeping-tom on a young nurse.

The chippy at Abronhill shopping centre where Gregory visits on the night of his date with Claire Grogan.

The trees near Cumbernauld house (in the park everybody calls 'Cumbernauld fields') which feature in the scene at the end of the film where he lies on the grass with Claire Grogan,

and,
the red ash football pitch at Abronhill high school (near Abronhill shopping centre) where Gregory's school football team trains.

Also there used to be the stairs with the huge clock where he waits on Dee Hepburn which was in a part of the town centre partially demolished and now changed into an access point for the new Antonine Centre, sadly the clock has been shifted to the Antonine Centre as well so now the old location which was in the film is gone forever

[Nizzy]

The old YMCA in Seafar (now some kind of religious thing)

Seafar House was once owned by ScottishPower and housed apprentices. It now belongs to Cumbernauld Community Church. There was a Stakis Hotel on the same road at one point which looked down to the village, but it was gutted by fire. The foundations are still there, though.