18th June 2014 - Visit to the Govan Stones

 Cambuslang Rotarians travelled a little further afield for their meeting on Wednesday 18^th June heading into Glasgow to visit the Govan Stones.

This unique collection of early medieval stones, from the 9^th -11^th centuries is displayed in Govan Old Church, thought to be a site of a Christian church and worship from the 6^thcentury.  Virtually all the stones were found scattered around the church graveyard although it is thought that some were lost when the shipyards at Harland and Wolff were demolished. They trace their history back to the royal kings who ruled the Kingdom of Strathclyde many centuries ago.  Our tour guide Frazer Capie, from the Govan Stones Project, gave a fascinating insight into the history and stories behind the stones, which include 5 dramatic hogback stones believed to be of Viking origin and the spectacular Govan Sarcophagus carved out of solid stone.  The collection is believed to be one of the best examples of medieval sculpture in the UK and one of the hogback stones is currently on loan to the British Museum in London for their Viking exhibition.

We were all impressed by the scale of the stones, the fine detail of the cravings, and the very informative tour provided by Frazer and would recommend a visit to Govan Stones to other clubs.  We concluded our evening with a meal at La Fiorentina  before heading back home to Cambuslang.