Waterloo Road

On journeys through Gourock for the past year or so, I have tended to look up the steep streets leading away from the shore, wondering which one led to the school that now appears on BBC TV as Waterloo Road. Today, suddenly, as we left the crematorium, I saw it. The main part of the building, which extends to the right of the entrance in the photo, is incredibly scabby and derelict-looking, but this was a familiar sight.

It's an absurd concept, this hybrid fictional school, full of bizarrely English voices and a few token Scots, where no-one mentions Highers or even Curriculum for Excellence and where the odd spot of teaching shown seems to have its roots in the distant, boring past - but the fascination of spotting Waverley heading down river or a view of the hills around Dunoon keeps me returning for another look.