Going back next to 1979. This was the view from the former Craighead Bing. Spilling down next to the River Clyde, the view looks south westwards back towards the Clyde Braes and Blantyre itself. The opposite bank on the right is Bothwell. The Craighead viaduct railway pillars would be just out the photo to the right. This photo was taken in September of that year.
Do you remember the Craighead Bing? Some more photos of that coming up soon.
Paul – exactly what is a bing? Thanks good buddy?
Hi Michael – a ‘bing’ is an old Scottish term for the man made mountain of shale or surplus mining material (not coal) which was extracted from the mine in order to get to the coal. There was generally nowhere to put it and when brought up it tended to be stockpiled in huge mounds immediately adjacent to the pit shaft. These bings were commonplace throughout Scotland and signified an industry now hugely in decline. After the 1960s, a move to clean up areas saw these “mountains” get levelled, a drive to turn the land back into something useful. For instance in High Blantyre the mounds now removed is home now to University, restaurant and Cemetery. Bings are in decline, not many left, but they for a hundred years they were a blight on Scottish landscapes. Much of the material was subsequently sold off for use in making bricks or forming hardcore for underneath roads. Hope this helps!