2024-11-15 55 -4

Fri 15 Nov 2024 in 55,-4: 55.9094571, -4.3207064 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

Opposite a BP garage in Bearsden.

Participants

• KerrMcF

Plans

KerrMcF

I have no plans after 1pm, which is when my lecture ends. I'll get the bus back from university to the other end of the Garscube Campus before walking a short distance to the geohash. I should reach it around 1:30pm and aim to do so under the No Batteries conditions. Afterwards, I'll walk home. Later, I'll walk to the geohash from my house and back in a Tron style, similar to my 2024-09-18 55 -4 expedition. This shouldn't take long. I believe this expedition will also qualify for the Déjà Vu achievement. I may bring someone with me on one of my expeditions, and I may go more than the two times I have planned; it depends on how I feel on the day.

Expedition

KerrMcF, Expedition 1

My university lecture finished a little later than it should have, so I had to rush slightly to make it to the shop to buy lunch and back in time for the bus. I was able to do so, just, and got onto the bus back to Bearsden. I got off of the bus at the stop near to the Garscube campus and began my walk to the geohash. This was done without using GPS, as I know the area very well, and I was able to reach the point successfully, confirming this by checking my location once I had reached it. From there, I walked to my grandparents' flat. I had originally planned to walk home, but I messaged my grandad earlier in the day to check if he would want to go for a walk, and he said yes! This meant that the journey from my university to my grandparents' flat was the entirety of my first expedition, and it took 36 minutes total, earning the Speedrun achievement.

KerrMcF, Expedition 2

Once I reached my grandparents' flat and said hello, my grandad and I began our walk to the university campus. I told him about 8 minutes into our walk that we were actually geohashing, which was an activity I had told him about before but that he had not yet been able to do. We reached the geohash after roughly 10 minutes - at just after 2pm - and continued our walk. This was, again, without GPS. Our total walk was 37 minutes long, matching my first expedition almost exactly. There wasn't much of note during this expedition, and after spending more time at my grandparents' flat, I got the bus for the short distance home.

Photos

Expedition 1

• 

  Public transport!

• 

  Reached the geohash

• 

  Wider view

• 

  Me at the geohash

• 

  Panorama from the geohash

• 

  The geohash itself

• 

  Walking portion

Expedition 2

• 

  Reached the geohash, again

• 

  Drag-along!

• 

  Walking route taken

• 

  Proof for Speedrun (-1.5mins at the end, forgot to end tracking)

Achievements

KerrMcF earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15.

KerrMcF earned the Public transport geohash achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15 using public transit.

KerrMcF earned the No Batteries Geohash Achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15.

KerrMcF earned the Déjà Vu Geohash Achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15, and previously on 2024-09-18.

KerrMcF earned the Speedrun achievement by completing their entire expedition to and from the 2024-11-15 geohash in 36 minutes.

KerrMcF and KerrMcF's grandad earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15.

KerrMcF earned the Drag-along achievement by dragging KerrMcF's grandad to the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15.

KerrMcF and KerrMcF's grandad earned the Walk geohash Achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15 on foot.

KerrMcF and KerrMcF's grandad earned the No Batteries Geohash Achievement by reaching the (55, -4) geohash on 2024-11-15.

KerrMcF and KerrMcF's grandad earned the Speedrun achievement by completing their entire expedition to and from the 2024-11-15 geohash in 37 minutes.

History of the Location

I've decided to start doing this section on reports, consisting of a review into the history of the geohash location. This will involve researching old maps of the area, looking at what the geohash used to be like, and potentially asking locals if they have any other information on the area itself. Conveniently, although I decided to do this prior to the coordinates being announced, this first expedition could not have been a better one to start on.

Bearsden as an area has a long history, dating back at least to the time of the Romans. Nobody is really certain where the name "Bearsden" comes from. In relation to the town, the name is derived from Bearsden railway station, built in 1863, but the origin of the name itself is unknown. Some sources claim it relates to barley (bear) that grew in the glen (dene), others discuss potential relations to Gaelic, or potentially a literal pet bear kept in a den. There is also a belief that the name comes from a Roman burial site. On a map dated to the 1860s, Bearsden is listed only as the name of the nearby railway station, with the town itself under the name "New Kilpatrick", still referenced in the Gaelic name "Cille Phàdraig Ùr".

On this same map, next to the site of the geohash, an area labelled as "West End" can be found. This is now the name and location of a private road, upon which there are several 'B' listed cottages. These cottages also date back to the 1800s, according to Wrights of Campsie. A later map of the area, dated to the 1890s, shows the area now being referred to as "Bearsden", rather than "New Kilpatrick". In the mid 1900s, we can then see a large development to the area, with the nearby Canniesburn Toll now having taken the form of a roundabout.

With reference to Google Maps, the exact area of the geohash has not changed much since 2008, with the BP garage still being the same as today. Aerial photography seemingly indicates that a building of the same shape and size was present at the location from at least 1979, but the nature of this building is unclear from this alone. What is clear, is that the building was not present in 1947, neither was the residential area I walked through on my expedition. From researching newspaper articles, I can find mention of the BP garage in this location in September 2000, amid a shortage of petrol due to protest blockades.

I decided to ask my mother what she remembered of the area, as she grew up nearby. If her memory is correct, she believes the BP garage opened in the 1990s, with the site potentially being the former Rio cinema. This could very well be the case, as Cat Cook, daughter of the cinema manager, mentions a similar timeline. Seemingly, the cinema was built in 1934, and demolished in 1985. However, Cat refers to the cinema now being a block of flats, currently located to the left of the BP. This contradicts the aerial photography we previously looked at with the BP site being empty until 1947 at the earliest. Whilst it is possible that the cinema building did not originally include a portion where the current BP garage is, with this instead being built later on, it seems unlikely to me, as the distance between the buildings is fairly notable.

Based on the collection of information I have found, I assume that the BP garage was opened sometime in the 1980s or 90s. Prior to this, I don't believe the land had any significant usage. The rest of the area of the geohash itself was relatively unremarkable. Originally, this area would have been serviced by the Glasgow Corporation Tramways, but the routes were withdrawn in 1956 in favour of a bus service. The geohash location was next to a bus stop, which is presumably a feature present since this time.

Progress

Council Area	Postcode	NUTS	Centicule
East Dunbartonshire	G(61)	UKM81	93

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