Coatbridge, Scotland

Luke leaping his way back from the museum in Coatbridge.

For the last few days, we've been staying in Coatbridge, a city of about 40,000 in the south of Scotland, not far from Glasgow. In the 19th century, it was a major Scottish center of coal mining and ironworks. 

                        

The town has a nice museum that covers its history from prehistoric to industrial times.

                              

Coal mining and iron working was unbelievably hard and dangerous work. 

People's lives were hard and often cut short. 

It's easy to see where Charles Dickens got material for his novels.

From early times in Scotland, people had Christian faith.

Coatbridge is heavily populated by Irish Catholics, who immigrated to Scotland for work. There are TEN Catholic churches in Coatbridge, unusual for a country that is mainly Protestant.

We attended Mass at St. Augustine's Church. It was designed by Peter Pugin red sandstone. The interior featured a curvilinear Gothic style.

The altars and stained glass windows were beautiful.

On the baptism font, there was a scallop, which is one of the symbols of the Camino de Santiago