The calm after the storm

A rare clear day yesterday heralded the opportunity to go for a much needed cycle. The unusually vibrant blue sky was a welcome reprieve from the endless rain and recent extreme weather. Earlier this week, Scotland was thrashed by a storm which saw widespread damage as trees were uprooted, roofs were blown off houses, roads were closed when  lorries were toppled over, the Clyde burst its banks, wheelie bins blew up the street like tumbleweed, and 160,000 households were left without power.

As we cycled through the southside, across the Clyde, and into the west end, the signs of the widespread damage in Glasgow remained. Broken tiles and smashed chimneys lay in piles on the pavements, trees were ripped from the ground and snapped in two, cars were crushed from fallen masonry, police tape flapped around mounds of debris, and handwritten signs on bus stops warned pedestrians to watch out for falling slates from above.

While cars can be replaced and houses rebuilt, the trees are lost forever. Kelvin Way is a street in the west end lined with huge trees which in the summer create a picturesque arch of leaves overhead. On one side is Kelvingrove Park, and on the other Glasgow University and Kelvingrove Art Gallery. I have many fond memories of Kelvin Way, from when I first moved to Glasgow to go to university, and also in more recent times; it's just a ideal area in which to go for a cycle.

Kelvin Way trees resplendent in the summer

It was with sadness then that we saw a number of trees destroyed by the recent gales. Beautiful old trees torn from the pavements and battered down across the railings. Other trees in Kelvingrove Park were split in two, toppled over with the inside wood exposed. 

This tree took the pavement and the kerb with it

Tree on Kelvin Way with Kelvingrove Art Gallery in the distance

Bent railings from the force of the tree crashing down

Damaged tree in Kelvingrove Park

I am fortunate to live in Glasgow, a city which has over 90 parks and gardens. So when parts of the environment are destroyed, whether by forces of nature or by avaricious developers, it reminds me not to take our Dear Green Place for granted.