Glasgow in June
My next destination was Glasgow, Scotland. I took a quick flight over the pond, and happened to sit next to a lovely Scottish woman and her son. After we chatted for a bit, she offered to drop me at my hostel on their way home from the airport. People certainly do go out of their way to help solo travelers. My faith in humanity is still holding itself together.
Once I arrived in my room, I met a new friend, Sam. An Australian, Sam was taking a few months to take a trip quite like mine. We shared good conversation and beer as we walked through Glasgow.
The next day, Sam and I tagged up with another traveler from our hostel, Raoul. The three of us went for a walk through the Necropolis, a cemetery situated on a hill near our hostel. A number of famous Scots are buried there, including William Wallace (Braveheart) and a member of the Tennant’s family, makers of Scotland’s equivalent of Budweiser. I took the opportunity to take my characteristic moody photographs of each of us. The cloudy weather made for good lighting.
After a quick fish n’ chips stop, we paid a visit to Glasgow cathedral. The city’s patron saint, St. Mungo, is buried there. The gothic design includes a variety of impressive stonework and stained glass, and has been open since the year 1136. I was particularly entertained by the echo and reverberation of the space, and proceeded to make a wide variety of noises. The halo theme song was also featured.
After the Cathedral, Sam went back to the hostel to watch Australia compete in the World Cup. Raoul and I took the afternoon to visit a park in southwest Glasgow that has highland cattle grazing there. These cattle have particularly long hair that aids them in the cold, wet conditions of the long Scottish winter. After a relaxing walk through the park, we stumbled upon the manor of the park’s original owner. We stopped at the manor’s cafe to have a drink and enjoy the weather.
Once back at the hostel, we teamed back up with Sam to grab some dinner. We went to a pizza place where some Italian friends I’d made in Dublin worked. They served us two great pizzas, alongside ice cold Peroni. I made sure to take some pictures during the walk there, always appreciating Glasgow’s beautiful homes and churches.
The next day was Sam and Raoul’s last in Glasgow. Raoul and I went lunch and a whiskey tasting before he left. We went to well known local bar The Pot Still for a dram each. I had the Lagavulin Distiller’s edition (quite smokey). The bar has just under 400 whiskeys, with highly knowledgeable bartenders to make choice pics based on your taste.
That evening, I took a suggestion from Sam and created a profile for myself on couchsurfing.com. The app has a “hangout” feature, where one can meet up with like minded travelers. I met up with another Aussie, Carlos, for a beer and a meal.
I took the next day to do a proper trip through Glasgow’s sites via open topped bus. My first stop was at the Glasgow science museum. Despite reviews to the contrary, I did find it mostly a fit for kids. However, I learned a few interesting tidbits about power plants and various types of energy production. I also loved an exhibit where one could move a magnet toward a metallic liquid, known as a ferrofluid. The liquid’s metallic properties cause it to move in a magnetic field, with the liquid properties exposing the various geometric configurations of the field itself.
Next, I went to the riverside museum. The museum is an ode to transportation, containing a wide variety of historical vehicles from Scotland’s past. It is in a beautiful building just along the river, and is free. I took some time to have a snack and a beer in the museum’s cafe as well.
My next stop was at the Kelvingrove museum in Glasgow’s trendy west end. I was sad to find that this museum was absolutely incredible and would be open only another 45 minutes. I met back up with Carlos here and did a quick swing through the exhibits before the museum closed.
After the museum, we took the bus to the Cathedral but found it closed. We took a little time to relax in the Necropolis while Carlos walked around to take photos. We then walked through town a bit to an Italian restaurant, where I got to practice my 5 words in Italian with the waiter. I am quite excited to go to a country where the regional cuisine actually includes vegetables.
The next day, I took a guided tour to Sterling Castle, Loch Lomond, and Glengoyne whisky distillery. The castle was first built in the early 12th century, but has had a wide variety of additions and renovations over the centuries. It was Scotland’s primary stronghold, positioned high up on a craggy hill and held tremendous importance militarily. It served as home to a number of royals, including the famous Mary Queen of Scots. The tour included beautiful gardens, stunning buildings (some refurbished, others not), and live actors in the royal living quarters.
We then went on a beautiful drive through the country and stopped at a pub for lunch. Afterwards, we headed to one of Scotland’s most famous Lochs (lakes), Loch Lomond. Tremendous in size, the Loch made for incredible views.
Our last stop of the day was at Glengoyne distillery. This beautiful distillery is known for having particularly smooth Scotch, largely due to the use of clean, warm air during the barley drying process. This is in contrast to many Scotch whiskys, which are dried by the smoke of a peat-based fire. The distillery was in a scenic valley (glen means valley), and had a wide variety of aged drams for sale. They even have a set of barrels that have been aging since 1974. These will be bottled in 6 years, making 50 year old whiskey. The tour guide speculated that these bottles would be worth about 20k pounds each.
After a solid few days in Glasgow, I decided to head north to the highlands. Next stop, Inverness.
