I don't think I will forget my first journey on a train, which I had in 1959 when I was a small girl.0:06
I suppose people didn't travel as much then as they do now.0:13
The price of a summer holiday was far beyond most families budgets.0:17
Some lucky children might have had a day trip to the countryside not far from Glasgow.0:22
But I went by train to have a real summer holiday in Galloway House, which is situated in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland.0:29
I travelled with many other primary school children.0:38
I can still remember the excitement we felt.0:41
The journey was rather long and seemed never ending and honestly we were all feeling a bit scared.0:44
None of us had ever been away from our parents before and most of the children had never even been on a train.0:52
Indeed, many had never left Glasgow where we all lived.0:59
We finally arrived at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.1:03
Coaches were waiting for us and we were driven through the beautiful Galloway countryside until we reached Galloway House.1:07
It was, and still is to this day, a remarkable place to visit to us Glasgow children.1:15
It was the biggest house we had ever seen in our lives and we stood looking at it in admiration.1:22
When we got inside, we ran up the stairs to our rooms.1:28
These all had names and I remember that the one I occupied was called Poton.1:33
I can remember that at that time I thought that it was a very strange name.1:39
When we went to dinner in the big dining room, we met some of the pupils from other Glasgow schools who were on holiday with us.1:44
There were three pupils from each of the three schools to each table.1:52
We all got to know each other so well sitting round that table during our meals together.1:57
Here we were able to tell each other about the things we liked or disliked doing.2:03
If someone was feeling a bit homesick then this was where it was talked about and we would all try to cheer up the person who was feeling a little bit sad.2:08
Back in the 50s and early 60s, no one had telephones at home, not to mention mobiles.2:18
A few years ago my husband, our children and I stopped off at Galloway House when we were on holiday in the area.2:24
I was glad to see that they were just as impressed with the mansion house as I had been all those years before.2:32
They couldn't believe that I had once stayed in that strikingly awesome house and they wanted to hear about every detail.2:39
The house was run as a residential school for children as far on as 1976.2:47
Then for financial reasons it was sold.2:53
In 1985 the house changed hands once again, this time to be used as a private residence.2:56
The gardens are open to the public, though perhaps if you ever find the time to visit the grounds, you may be able to imagine all those little children running around in what was once our big park.3:03
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