Did anyone notice the football park at the beginning of the video was the broadwood stadium in Cumbernauld instead of the almondvale stadium in Livingston After checking the comments a few people did 😂 😂 😂

It's my goal in life to casually walk between John and the camera whilst he's half way through a sentence.

Is that a single seater racing car on the slip road at around 7:45 🤔 Great film as always 👍

Those pyramids along the M8, after driving past numerous times I convinced my family that this is where the UK stored all its nuclear weapons 😂

You can see how confusing the M8 is, there’s a racing car lost in Glasgow after taking a wrong turn at the hill climb circuit 😂

I love the honesty and slight sarcasm...." the junction was by all accounts shite"😂😂😂 Engineers will love that😅

The Forrestburn hillclimb is where the opening shots of the Volvo rolling in "Deadwater Fell" were shot. The Volvo actually rolled clean over and landed safely back on it's wheels, and had to be put back on it's roof to match the script!

The highlight of my Sundays. Before the long dark teatime of the soul before work on monday.

Will there be a part 2? The abandoned Glasgow Ring Road, abandoned Marhyill motorway, ghost junctions and bridges to nowhere. These are all worth a mention.

We have similar pyramid-shaped "art" near our highways. We call them "landfills."

When the project of Motoway art was being discussed on the BBC, West Lothian to Lanarkshire was described as MAMBA country: miles and miles of bugger all

Been waiting for this one. Travel it daily and it's nice to see it done. Also, noticed there appears to be a randon F1 car on the junction 15 part.

We need to find someone on the inside of Auto Shenanigans that we can bribe to find Jon’s timetable / Plans. That way, we can share it between us all to be “that person” who walks past during filming 🤣🤣🤣 Brilliant as always.thank you.

I'm not gonna lie, it feels like I've been waiting my whole life for the M8 one

Hello Jon, the Heart of Scotland services, you mentioned the park and ride. What you didn't mention is, Scottish Citylink route 900, Glasgow to Edinburgh, which during the day runs every 15 minutes, calls into Heart of Scotland both ways, for passengers in Harthill. A rare example in Scotland of a coach route calling in at a motorway services. rare, because two bus routes call in at Kinross on the M90, Stagecoach East Scotland routes 201 and 202. The construction of the M8 motorway, and the plan by what was then the Scottish Bus Group express division (now Citylink), for an express coach service linking Edinburgh and Glasgow using the M8, was what led to the Scottish Region of British Rail upgrading their Edinburgh - Glasgow Queen Street express service, upgrading from 60mph DMUs to 2x class 27 locomotives, one each end of a rake of six Mk2 coaches, running at a top speed of 90mph, reducing the journey time by 27 minutes, from 75 minutes to 48 minutes. I wrote about this in 2013 for Traction magazine, looking at the 1971-1979 push pull trains.

The Forrestburn circuit failed because of a lack of money, and also there was significant local opposition, leading to some people refusing to sell their land to accommodate the circuit. This was also the reason for the extensive re-drafting of the layouts as the circuit was trying to route around land that it could not obtain. The hillclimb was also used in the remake of The 39 Steps. It was run in the reverse direction, and you can see the giant aerial towers at Kirk o'Shotts, which would definitely not have been visible at the time.

I love the fact you left the chap casually walking past you. Just added to the whole experience 😂

7:44 Why is there what seems to be a yellow F1 car coming up the slip road???? 😂😂

The plans for a Motorsport Centre were to include Hotels, entertainment , restaurants, etc. Jackie Stewart was also involved it in. They were also considering building a new National Football stadium to replace Hampden in Glasgow. Glasgow District Council took fright at the loss of this from Glasgow and refused to even talk about in. This caused others to withdraw and the whole thing fell apart

I vaguely remember a programme on BBC1 in the 1970s hosted by James Burke who was explaining the situation with a large model of Glasgow and it explaines how the absolute knightmare transpired. I have no idea I'd any of the programme survived.

Jon's channel is doing so well, he is now hiring extras to walk into shot. 😉

Interesting fact, J7: coming off the A725 onto the A8 eastbound was wicked, about 100 yards of slip road on a bend and you had to go from a few mph up to motorway speed... it was always a heart-pumping moment trying to get onto the A8 in such a short piece of road!

Harthill services (no one calls it Heart of Scotland) is the only services I have come across where there is no charge for staying longer than 2 or 3 hours. The Pyramids have poppies painted on them in November - the grazing sheep (cheaper than grasscutters) don't seem to mind

That old chap was strolling on down to The Clansman to catch up with his pals

Another fab video - thanks Jon! The image at 0:54 might be from the "Abercrombie Plan" which was drawn up as long ago as 1948. The plan included demolishing all the buildings on Princes Street and making the street itself into a double-deck roadway. The whole of the rest of the city centre would be turned into the roadway hellscape shown on the 1967 map. That plan blighted big areas of the city well into the late 1980s. Flats in Tollcross, where the huge roundabout is in the bottom Centre of the map, were worth about 500 quid in the 1970s because there was still the possibility that they would be demolished.

Thanks John, didn't know about our local hill climb track💛🍻

The other thing about the art pieces is that at the time the Infrastructure for the town was being done by the Livingston Development Corporation, which was set up by the government to build the town up. Giving the Council (Which was West Lothian since Livingston never had its own council because of said corporation) the money was always kind of pointless so the little roundabout decorations came instead.

The first Krispy Kreme in Scotland was at the Edinburgh end of the M8 and when it opened it caused havoc with traffic.

Great summary, Jon. As someone who has lived within the traffic noise between J4a and J5 for most of my life, it's good to see it like this. I remember the night Harthill's new bridge was lifted into place. They shut the M8 for an hour roughly to do it.

They used to graze sheep on the Pyramids, the animals wool was dyed in novelty colours. Also, just past Harthill the Kirk o' Shotts transmitter towers are a landmark along the M8

The Monkland Canal fascinates me. It’s still piped along the embankment between Easterhouse and Fort Dundas as it’s supply of water is vital to the operation of the Forth and Clyde Canal. It has open sections between Calderbank (where it is fed from the North Calder Water) and Carnbroe, before being piped, then again between Coatbridge and Bargeddie, but at Bargeddie it vanishes into a pipe for the last time and under the motorway embankment until Port Dundas, where it spews out at a watersports centre. In the centre of Coatbridge, there is an interesting art piece where the canal formerly passed under the railway (now in pipe at a slightly deeper level), a big plug hole, complete with removed plug. And, if you have images of a vast underwater canal tunnel, like those found in Paris, think again, it’s just a big iron pipe.

You missed the Horn installation just after junction 4a on the Westbound carriageway, it actually looks like something from the set of the Telly Tubbies.

Oh no you forgot the teletubby horn along from the heartlands

Excellent credit sequence- Loch Lomond is an absolute belter of a tune

I have no idea why I'm watching this but it's great. Especially when he said 'shite'. Nearly spat out my beans on toast.

Sometimes in the USA, public work projects have a set aside of 10% of the budget for art. A guy I know got a contract to make decorative concrete pillars for the decorative fencing on overpasses on a highway in Kansas City. On Streetview, you can see some where The Paseo crosses over US 71. The neighborhoods along there are blighted, so it helps by not adding the usual ugly freeway design.

Anyone else spot the yellow car that looks like an f2 race car 😂😂😂 at 7:46

As I again observe the sheer mess of Junction 15, it reminds me how you've occasionally mentioned the tightening of motorway regulations over the years. After filming the majority of motorways across GB, would there be enough material to make another video, telling the story of how and why the rules have changed?

You missed the massive horn sculpture Near Heartlands services, it used to play music until the locals complained

1:00 "We'd've found the M8 extending further to the west, right into the middle of Edinburgh." I'm glad I'm not the only person who can't tell the difference between east and west when looking at a map. I don't know why I always get it wrong...

There are lots of artworks along the M8 now, not just the pyramids. There's the big horse, the brick heads, the teletubbies...

Hopefully there’s a a part 2 for this since you’ve missed out some of the most interesting bits of motorway design in the UK going through Glasgow. The next junction after you stopped has 2 slip roads from a junction merging onto the motorway from the centre of the carriageway and then M74, M77 and M8 all running parallel after the Kingston bridge.

Junction 15 gives me major anxiety even when I'm not the one driving

Forrestburn's a brilliant wee venue but it almost seems to be a secret. You'd think it's just for races but they do trackdays too and it works great even though it's not a full lap, you can loop back round and get out again pretty fast. Cheap day out and if you keep going all day you get a lot of track time on a lovely technical circuit and never need to worry about other cars on track. Brilliant place for a first time on track.

This is the episode I've been waiting for.

7:44 is that a formula one racing car on that slip road? 0.o

Missed opportunities there at Junction 15. The west bound exit takes you to the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow Cathedral and the old Blind Asylum. All amazing buildings and great landmarks.

Always enjoy passing the pyramids on the M8 especially around rememberance day as i am sure they have a poppy on them as well.

I tell you one thing absolutely no-one calls it Heart of Scotland services, It's Harthill and will always be.

I take it there’s a part two coming? Glasgow to Langbank? There’s some landmarks or history worth mentioning along this stretch. For instance the site of the former Pinkston Power Station a little ways past Jnc 15 that powered the city’s tram network in the early to mid 20th century and dominated the Glasgow skyline with its tall cooling tower, for a time the tallest in Europe. It ended up outliving the trams it powered by 16 years and was demolished in 1978. Later on when the motorway crosses the Clyde one can see the iconic Finnieston Crane. After that you’ve got Glasgow Airport (scene of the world’s pettiest terrorist attack in 2007 infamously made fun of by Billy Connolly). Aways further on close to Jncs 29A and 30 is Bishopton and the former site of a Royal Ordnance Depot. Just a few things I figured worth mentioning in a part 2 should you make it. 😊

You can imagine in 2000 years time the equivalent of Time Team pondering over what purpose those pyramids were build for. "Sacrifices" or whatever - like Stone Henge 😁

Might be worth a revisit to do a video about middle lane drivers. No matter what time of night, no matter how empty the road, you can guarantee someone is there driving on the middle lane (M8 west, Junction 8, 7).

Those sawtooth ramps are next to Pyramid studios (which is visible in the satellite image you use). Fun fact: that’s where they filmed Good Omens. They built a huge set on the soundstage that basically was full size streets.

Prior to upgrade the junctions from A725 at Coatbridge were a nightmare.

jon, your full of 😮😮 information , humour and brutal honesty, your presentation style is what keeps us clicking for more 😀😀

Really hoping for a part two to this . Most notably, the section on the M8 between J26 and J27. Used to be a runway

Good stuff, thanks M8 🙂

As someone who has spent many years driving the whole length of the M8 (and most of the other motorways in Scotland), it’s a shame there were no sheep on the pyramids the day you were there. They’re usually dyed bright pink, red or even rainbow coloured. Also you missed some of the motorway art, like the Teletubby horn in Polkemmet Country Park, near J4. Apparently it plays sounds (poetry?) for the passing traffic, but I’ve stood at the base of it and couldn’t hear anything. Maybe it’s broken. Or the heavy horse at Baillieston. Or the joy of some of the junctions in Glasgow, where you either drive alongside the motorway for ages, almost in touching distance, before you’re allowed to merge, or exits that come off on the right hand lane and then cross flyovers, or the remains of many mysterious looking slip roads, bridges and stretches of tarmac that are blocked off and go nowhere. Or is there going to be a part 2 covering Glasgow to Greenock?

The M8 has my favourite motorway name. I call it "the mate." 👍

Yet again visiting close to my ‘gaff’ but you never call or let me know you are in the area.. YOU DON’T LOVE ME ANYMORE! Anyhoo after my emotional outburst yet another interesting haunt around the local area.. keep these coming and ONE day I will video bomb a video..

Hello Jon, how the devil are you, have you had a good week?

101,000 subscribers and rising! go John go!

Never heard them being called Sawtooth’s before,everyone calls it The Pyramids

There are also pyramids when you come off the M8 at the Crowood roundabout between Stepps and Muirhead.

Brilliant as always. Suspected this might need to be a multi-parter, due to the Central Glasgow section having more junctions per mile than is in any way sane...

The pyramids sometimes have sheep grazing - on occasion, they have been dyed pink

Intentionally humorous and interesting

this man will look at any section of motorway but the last section of the m6

Great video as always M8! 👍

Fantastic video once again John. Wish I could thank you more for your dedication and how much effort you put into making these videos. Hope you are well and I look forward to another episode. 😊

I like those art pieces. It's a difficult thing to get right, but make anything out of stone and you can't really go wrong. It's very expensive though, but it lasts forever

What a great idea to put a piece of art in the center of a roundabout, and distract drivers, like the humps at the side of a motorway. No advertising allowed along motorways for fear of distracting drivers, clever farmers found a good side earner by parking artic trailers, sign written of course.

Brilliant as always John always full of humour and facts. I bet a lot of your followers are truckers like me. 👍

Thanks Jon. That explains the eastern end which I always though as a bit of a gulux connecting to the Edinburgh by-pass at right angles and usually causing queues in all directions. Glasgow end I knew something of as it had featured on a TV program about urban motorways and how only a few bits had ever got built (not only in this country!) leaving us with bits of disjointed roads and continuations to nowhere. Talking Heads where are you now? 😀

Until this series I had no idea there were this many motorways in Scotland, particularly around Glasgow!

My mother’s postcode is one of three addresses and Harthill service station is one of them my dad was born on the other side of forrestburn reservoir

Is that a lost yellow F1 car joining the motorway at 7:44 😂

7:46 - the F1 car is a commomly seen on the streets of Glasgow

Wonderful! Sunday Lunchtime viewing sorted!!

I like the recurring theme: there were plans, there were more plans, none of which of course were built :-)

I can confirm they made a complete horses arse of the Bellshill bypass. I have used this stretch for many years and thebold system worked way better. The road they built adjoining the north road is a death trap, looking forward to part 2 Jon!!

A hillclimb track with a concrete barrier halfway up. Quite the challenge!

Totally fascinating to see the original plans for both ends of the M8. I was unaware the original plan for the Edinburgh section was to run right through to Haymarket, the phantom "Glasgow Ring Road' being a bit more famous and was even physically signposted until the late 1990s.. Is interesting to consider both what Edinburgh would be like had they ploughed a motorway through it Glasgow style, and also what Glasgow would have looked like had the M8 terminated outside the city like in Edinburgh. Is probable the M8 was the biggest thing in both 20c Glasgow AND Edinburgh planning, but for the differing reasons of acceptance and refusal. A tale of two cities..and the traffic's awful in both.

Love the racing car on slip road @ 7:48

Jon why didn't you talk about the horn on the left side of the M8. Also we have part 2 coming up next week!

@7:44 there's a yellow car that looks like some kind of open wheeled race car driving up the on ramp, not something you see everyday

Hawicked sweet awesome as usual! 👍

Brilliant Jon, thank you very much. Professional and just awesome. Congratulations on the 100K plus subscribers and eager for more videos by Auto Shenanigans 👍

I use the M8 (and M77) every week day for work. It’s a f**king nightmare

Tbh, you've covered so many roads that link with the M8 I thought you'd already done it! Harthill services used to be a bit more substantial on the north side, which was another use for the footbridge, however, I recall it being a bit of a greasy spoon and in decline for some years. Cheers

Awesome Video

Thanks for the entertaining uploads, and congratulations on your recent 100k!

Errm, Is that a yellow F1 style car driving about the slip road at time stamp 7:43 ?

Sawtooth? Never heard it called that in thousands of passes over daily commute. Always the toblerone to us. And what the heck is that yellow thingy at 7:42?

He missed the Teletubby horn just after junction 4a on the south side in polkemet park.

Brilliant - so true!

M6 North of Warrington yet?

Hi Jon, will you be covering the A167(M) central motorway in Newcastle at any point?

Car transporter in the first few seconds, as always Jon keeping me reminded of days trundling cars around Scotland before heart problems meant I had to hang up the keys.

This was the video I’ve been watching for!