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Tour group walks community back to happiness

Sarah Toom
BBC Scotland News
BBC A group of people walking on the new Govan-Partick bridge over the River Clyde. One woman in a hi-viz jacket is wheeling a dark coloured bike. The man on the far side is wearing a red jacket and is walking with a stick. In the centre is a woman with dark hair, wearing a red jumper, and a woman with blonde hair wearing a dark blue jacket.BBC
"Meet me in Govan" has brought together people in Glasgow from all walks of life

They come from every walk of life, but it is the act of walking itself that brings them together.

In Glasgow's Govan area, a collection of people gather every Thursday morning for banter, exercise and friendship.

The recently-opened bridge connecting the communities of Partick and Govan either side of the River Clyde is opening new social and cultural connections for them.

"Meet Me in Govan" is a free, open-to-anyone project run by the social enterprise Invisible Cities which trains people who have been affected by homelessness to be tour guides.

Angela McTague is one of them. She has been a walk leader with Meet Me in Govan since it started in 2021. She's also a tour guide with Invisible Cities in Glasgow.

"Everybody from the city can come and do a wee walk and have a chat and a wee talk about certain buildings and places that we're going to visit," she said.

"We exchange stories and Govan's got a lot of history so it's good to let people know all the history.

"Govan was here before Glasgow."

The mental and physical health benefits of the role have been life-changing for Angie. She's overcome dyslexia, depression, and in 2018 she had a heart attack.

She said: "It took me a year to remember all the information because I've got dyslexia so it goes in alright but it doesn't come out alright.

"That's why I have a great laugh on some of my tours."

Through walking she's lost almost six stone (38kg) in weight.

"I was depressed for a long time and I wasn't well and I couldn't deal with things so I just withdrew into myself and I didn't deal with anything," she said.

"So it's helped to get my confidence up because if you told me in 2018 I'd be doing this, I'd have said 'no, I don't think so'.

"But I have, I've been doing it and I really enjoy it."

Angela McTague wearing a red hoodie. She is wearing glasses. She has her two hands raised at chest height and is giving a thumbs up pose and is laughing. She is standing on a bridge with a blurred background behind her.
Angela "Angie" McTague said her role as an Invisible Cities tour guide has helped her come back from a heart attack

The walking route changes all the time, and includes activities like visiting with residents at local care homes, podcasting at a community radio station or making their own magazine.

Stephen is a support worker from Florence House care home in Govan.

He said the walks make a "huge difference" to those who take part.

It makes such a difference to residents, he said, to meet new people and also builds their confidence.

'I now know more than the Govanites'

The walks are educational too with rotational discussion themes including housing, work, culture, immigration, sports and wellbeing.

Pensioner John Karol from Corkerhill is one of the regulars.

He joked he knows more about Govan now than people that call themselves "Govanites".

He said: "It's great to speak to people. It's great to see interesting places and just basically it's great to get me out of the house."

"A lot of people aren't interested in history but I am. I've seen the Govan Stones that they reckon come from the Vikings. They're a bit of a mystery.

"And there's a tomb there for King Constantine of Scotland."

John Karol looking right at the camera. He is wearing a red jacket on top of a light-coloured top and a grey and black scarf tied round his neck. He has dark-rimmed glasses on and white hair. He is standing in front of the River Clyde, which is blurred in the background.
John Karol said he was learning a lot from the walks as a fan of local history

In the same way that the act of walking serves as a bridge uniting people from varied backgrounds: old and young, immigrants and born-and-bred Glaswegians, fit walkers and those with disabilities, a new bridge is rekindling community connections over the water.

The £29.5m Govan-Partick bridge opened in September, through the Scottish and UK governments' Glasgow City Region Deal, replicating the historic ferry link in operation for over 200 years until the 1960s.

Karyn MacDonald lived in Partick 30 years ago, and recently returned to the neighbourhood after living abroad.

As a member of Partick Community Council she sees the potential for a similar scheme there.

She said: "I think there are a lot of people who live here who don't know a lot of the historical facts about Partick and I think it would be great to let locals know more about the place that they live.

"Also if we can get a group up and running in Partick then it would be ideal to meet up with the Meet Me in Govan people and we can do things together, bringing both communities together - especially now we have the bridge."

Michaela Ditrichova looking directly at the camera. She has blonde, shoulder-length hair and is wearing a dark blue jacket. She has her hands in her pockets and is standing on a bridge in front of the Glasgow Science Museum. It is a sunny day with a few clouds on a blue sky.
Michaela Ditrichova said she hoped to expand the Invisible Cities project elsewhere in Scotland

More "Meet Me In" community walks could be starting up in locations where Invisible Cities already runs tours, including Edinburgh and Galashiels in the Borders.

Michaela Ditrichova, project manager at Invisible Cities said: "We really hope to expand this project to other parts of Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland."