Advertisement
Published: August 17th 2021
Dear All
Greetings from Sheffield! I have returned after a really wonderful month travelling around Scotland, England’s northern neighbour. Whilst recent travel restrictions have not been easy to deal with for a travelling soul like myself, I would like to thank Scotland for offering me the opportunity to get out there, explore, and scratch that travelling itch I’ve been unable to scratch for quite some time now. It has shown me its glorious nature, stunning landscapes, wonderful wildlife and welcoming people, and I feel now I have gotten to know Scotland just that little bit better than I had done before.
Before I ended my journey, however, I had one final port-of-call to make, and that was to wonderful Glasgow. While I still think Inverness is my favourite Scottish city, I just loved Glasgow as soon as I stepped off the train from Fort William. Within minutes, two friendly locals had already started up conversations with me, probably noticing that with my big backpack I wasn’t from around these parts. They both told me pretty much straight away about the Glasgow Rangers football match taking place that evening. One of them harked about the glories of Scottish weather as
it began to rain after a sunny spell, and the other asked me whether Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday had the same rivalry as Rangers and Celtic (Glasgow’s top two football teams) – I said I believe they do, but we both agreed they really shouldn’t as it’s just a game of football! Wonderful people, and a wonderful city. Whilst Edinburgh seems to have that regal charm, a bit like London, Glasgow has the friendly down-to-earthness which coming from Sheffield, a similar city I think, I have appreciated. Edinburgh is probably a little snobby if I’m honest, Glasgow is real. I like real.
So last time I wrote, I was ready to leave Fort William. I took a train following the absolutely stunning West Highland Line, one of the country’s most beautiful rail lines, which I had recently learned about in a “World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys” episode – a great series if one is into rail travel. The train was busy, with lots of tourists clad in hikers gear and toting backpacks like my own, but I managed to grab a window seat on the left side of the train, which I think was the better viewing side.
The journey was an absolute wonder.
Shortly after leaving Fort William, we climbed into high Scottish wilderness, surrounded by moors, heathland, and lots of streams rushing down the mountainsides. It was a wet, lush and green landscape. Every now and then, the line followed the side of a loch, until we began to pass through Scotland’s second National Park, in addition to the Cairngorms: the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Here there was further wilderness, although I noticed the trees stopped being pine and coniferous, and became more leafy and deciduous. We then passed along the north-western shore of the famous Loch Lomond, a place I visited on Sunday and will write more about shortly, before skirting the seafaring edges of Loch Long and Gare Loch to the west. The train then entered its final approach towards the mighty city of Glasgow, along the banks of its famous river, the River Clyde. Wow, what a journey! And I’m going to try to watch that episode of “World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys” again when I can.
Getting off the train at Glasgow Queen Street station, I stood mesmerised by the beauty of George Square just outside, and
Me
Loch Lomondthe Glasgow City Chambers building on its eastern side. I headed westwards towards Hope Street, through Glasgow’s very fine central grid-patterned streets and grandiose buildings, to take my bus to the north-west of the centre, to a suburb called Kelvinbridge. I had booked a further four nights at my second Air BnB accommodation, a room in the absolutely delightful top-floor flat of a very friendly arty lady, whose flat itself is a work of art. There are also two lovely cats here, all fluffy and cuddly. After stocking up on my self-catering supplies for my time here at a nearby Tesco, I settled in for the evening, and felt that I was really going to enjoy my time here in Glasgow.
Saturday was my first full day in the city, and I spent eight hours of it simply walking around. I think I must have covered about ten miles or so, and despite this, I don’t feel awfully tired – I must have improved my walking fitness during all these walks in Scotland these last four weeks! It was a wonderful exploration of this vibrant, energetic, down-to-earth and gritty city. I struck up some good conversations with a few
Loch Treig
West Highland Line people, and I have to say, out of a very friendly country so far, Glaswegians just have to be the friendliest I’ve encountered. I did wonder whether there may be some anti-English sentiments in the country, and I have felt a little self-conscious at times with my English accent, but I don’t think I’ve encountered any of this and the people have been simply lovely.
I had an amazing first night’s sleep in the artsy house - my room is split into a sitting area below, with a mezzanine above where the bed is. It is set out so that when you lie in bed and look down out of the window below, you are pretty much looking straight down to the street level three storeys down. I am sure this wouldn’t be too nice for those afraid of heights, but along with the comfortable bed, it felt like I was sleeping on a cloud! My alarm went off at 7.20am, but I drifted off back to sleep again and was so surprised to wake up again at 9am – it is so comfortable! The unanticipated late start to the day didn’t have an effect on my enjoyment of
it, nor what I got to see. I think in my eight hours of walking, I saw pretty much all that I wanted to see in Glasgow.
I started off by heading through this lovely area of Glasgow called Kelvinbridge, filled with wonderful old-fashioned blocks of flats called "tenements", much like the one I’m staying in now, with huge windows and high ceilings, towards the River Kelvin. I followed the lovely riverside path towards Kelvingrove Park and the beautiful building of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, just as an organised march was gathering to walk through the streets of Glasgow demonstrating for Scottish independence. This is not something I myself would wish, it would be a real shame I think to break up this United Kingdom of ours, but it is always interesting I find to see a demonstration. While the Scottish Independence Referendum of 2014 voted 55% “No”, to remain in the United Kingdom, and 45% “Yes”, for independence, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has been calling for a second referendum since Brexit. This is because although the UK as a whole voted to leave the European Union, Scotland voted more to remain – this to
Nicola’s mind warrants a second referendum, but to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s mind, it doesn’t. A touchy subject is politics at the moment, so I shall simply say it was interesting to see the march in its initial stages.
From Kelvinbridge, I headed along trendy Argyle Street, with its eclectic bars and cafes catering to the student and arty population of this area of West Glasgow, over the M8 motorway, and into Central Glasgow. As with my day of arrival, I was struck with the grandeur of the streets there, set out in their grid-iron pattern, imagining what the city must have been like in its Victorian heyday, and the great wealth that must have been made there as a centre of textile manufacturing, shipbuilding, and the coal and steel industries. Whilst there was plenty of industrial money to be made, there was also notoriously great poverty and inequality in the city, with slums and dire working conditions among the poorer classes. The divide still seems to exist today, probably not so noticeably – there are seemingly many well-to-do Glaswegians enjoying the fine-dining and café culture of the West End, while the council estates and high-rise tower blocks
seem to be also found in every direction. I wonder how the two different types of people interact with each other, and what they think of each other - they are to my mind noticeably very different.
In Central Glasgow I took in both Central and Queen Street Stations, the shopping street of Buchanan Street, and Buchanan Bus Station, where I made my coach connections those twenty years ago on my journey from Sheffield to Inverness and back again. From here I headed towards George Square, the place which struck me instantly upon arriving in Glasgow the previous day, with its beauty and grandeur. This time I encountered the previously-mentioned Scottish independence march in all its glory – there were in fact only around two hundred marchers or so, but it was an interesting spectacle to see. From here, I headed eastwards, and happened upon a Tim Horton’s!!! This is a Canadian genius of a fast-food place, which I have loved during my two visits to Canada, and to find it on British shores I was elated – despite having enough food for the day, I just had to order my favourite Tim Horton’s sausage and egg muffin from
there, and enjoy it in quiet contemplative Canadian bliss on the streets of Glasgow. After filling myself up, I headed further eastwards, through an area with some interesting wall murals, and onto Glasgow Cathedral. I was told the Cathedral was “fully booked” for the day, with “online booking” only, which although I have encountered and accepted on my journey so far, it actually quite bothered me that a religious building should not be open to the general public. I asked if it was possible to go in to simply pray, and this was actually acceptable – I’m very glad that this was the case, and I very much enjoyed my time of peaceful prayer in the Cathedral.
Next to the Cathedral lies Glasgow’s oldest building, the 1471-built Provand’s Lordship. Although the building was closed at the time, it was amazing to see such an old building in such a comparatively modern city. Much of Glasgow Cathedral also dates back to the 15
th century, so there really was quite a bit of history in this small part of town. From here, I headed eastwards to the amazing Glasgow Necropolis, a real highlight of my time exploring Glasgow. This was the
Loch Lomond
West Highland Line cemetery for the city’s wealthy 19
th century industrialists, filled with elaborate Victorian tombs, and also harbouring some lovely views over the Cathedral and city to the west.
From here I headed south through a couple of council estates, passing Glasgow’s famous Tennent’s Beer Brewery, and on to Glasgow Green and its beautiful People’s Palace building. This parkland area is on the northern bank of the River Clyde, which runs through Glasgow, and on the opposite southern bank lies the notoriously dodgy council estate of The Gorbals, particularly hardened by the industrial decline and economic recession of the 1970s period. I took a few pictures of the tower blocks from the riverside, and then followed the riverside path westwards past some interesting bridges, and then onto the south bank along the attractive pedestrian Squiggly Bridge. From here I continued heading westwards towards the Squinty Bridge, noting that there are some really interesting names for bridges in Glasgow! This bridge is quite famous and modern, so I took a photo of it, as well as the equally famous Finnieston Crane just to its north. I was beginning to tire now after such a walk, so headed towards a nearby Subway station,
My Accommodation in Glasgow
My room is the top floor middle window. to enjoy a bit of a sit down and a ride on Glasgow’s Subway.
This was brilliant, I loved it! Glasgow’s underground system is amazingly the third oldest in the world, being built in 1896 after London’s and Budapest’s. Whilst London’s tube network is massive, Glasgow’s has remained tiny ever since it was built. There is only one line, which runs in a circle around the city centre – the two directions are called the “Outer Line” and the “Inner Line”, the former going clockwise and the latter anti-clockwise. I got on the train at Shields Road, and was heading to a station called St George’s Cross – but first I just wanted to do a single circle on the route, so I stayed on the Outer Line all the way round, before then getting off at St George’s Cross on my second circle. It took only 25 minutes to go round a full circle of the 15 stations. It was just so cute and mini, like a London tube network “mini-me”! The train was also in the style of a London tube train, tiny, and pretty much shaped like a tube. I really enjoy travelling on various city’s
Many Spires
Kelvinbridge, Glasgow underground networks around the world, and Glasgow’s just has to be one of my favourites!
So getting off on my second call at St George’s Cross station, my walk headed along the Great Western Road, through the West End district of Glasgow, with more trendy cafes and arty boutiques, and back to the River Kelvin where I had begun my walk earlier in the day. From here I headed back to my artsy digs, and settled in for a peaceful evening in my cool mezzanine room once more, contemplating what a wonderful day I had had exploring the lovely city of Glasgow.
On Sunday, I headed northwards out of Glasgow, to explore nearby and beautiful Loch Lomond, Scotland’s second most famous lake after Loch Ness. Although there is no beast to be intrigued about, and the atmosphere isn’t quite so dark and mysterious, Loch Lomond is still a beautiful lake, and in line with the Western Highlands of Scotland, is attractive for its verdant, lush scenery. In the morning I took a bus to Glasgow Queen Street station, and finding myself with a bit of time to kill before my train, I headed to Tim Horton’s again for
another lovely breakfast muffin! My plan for the day involved a train ride north to a town called Balloch, gateway to Loch Lomond, a boat cruise on the lake itself, then a bus ride to nearby Helensburgh, and a train back to Glasgow again. Unfortunately the latter part of the day didn’t end up materialising, which I’ll go into detail about shortly.
Arriving in Balloch, I had an hour to walk around before a two-hour Loch Lomond Island cruise I had booked was due to set sail. I spent it walking around nearby Balloch Castle and Country Park, a 19
th century castle with expansive grounds on the southern shores of Loch Lomond, with lovely views over the waters towards its islands to the north. Loch Lomond is actually Britain’s largest lake. Although Loch Ness holds the most water, at 27 square miles Loch Lomond has a greater surface area. It starts out broad in the south, reaching five miles at its widest point, but narrows into a ribbon lake as it goes further north. It is a popular weekend getaway for Glaswegians, and being a Sunday, it was rather busy during my time there. The lake also forms part
of Scotland’s other national park along with the Caingorms, with the rather unwieldy name of “Loch Lomond and the Trossachs”, both parks only being created as recently as 2002. While Loch Lomond in the west of the National Park is flatter and greener, the Trossachs part in the east is apparently more reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. I did not visit the Trossachs, just Loch Lomond.
At 12.30pm, my cruise set off, and it actually wasn’t too busy. I booked the two-hour “Island Discovery” cruise rather than the one-hour “Experience Cruise”, and it was enjoyable and gentle, my fifth and final boat tour in Scotland – there is a lot of water in this country! With on-board narration by legendary Scotsman Neil Oliver, of TV series “Coast” fame, the boat headed northwards towards the numerous islands in the middle of the lake. Of particular interest were Inchmurrin, owned by the Scott family who run a farm and holiday accommodation on the island, Inchconnachan, home to a colony of around 50 wallabies who were introduced to the island by local Lady Colquhoun in the 1940s, Wallace’s Isle, where legend has it William “Braveheart” Wallace once took refuge, and Fraoch Eilean,
which was used by the village of Luss on the mainland to the west as a prison island, where those who had committed modest crimes were sent overnight to cool off. The cruise was a lovely way to get to know this beautiful lake more intimately.
Returning to Balloch, I headed to the bus station, as I had planned next to take a bus to nearby Helensburgh. I was interested in seeing this seaside town as it marks the end of the John Muir Way, and would have been the place where John Muir set off to the New World as he left Scotland at eleven years old. Since I had visited the man’s birthplace in Dunbar at the beginning of my trip, it would have been nice to have visited his departure place from Scotland. I was also interested to see the end of the John Muir Way, having walked the first mile of it in the east. Unfortunately there was a crash on the nearby main road of the A82, which closed the whole of the road, and led to really bad congestion in Balloch and around. This led to my 3.24pm bus being cancelled, and with
the next bus being at 11.10pm, I had to abandon this plan to visit Helensburgh. In actual fact though, a representative from the bus company did come to the bus station to try to get stranded passengers to their destination, and offered me and two other people a lift in his own car to Helensburgh, which was absolutely lovely of him, and something you’d never find happening in London. But with the chances of the traffic being bad, I didn’t want to miss my train back to Glasgow leaving from Helensburgh at 4.55pm, and so I very graciously declined his very kind offer. I instead took the next train back to Glasgow leaving Balloch at 4.27pm. I must admit I felt a bit disappointed about not visiting Helensburgh, but not to worry, I had a lovely time in Balloch and on Loch Lomond. On the way back, I got off a stop early at Glasgow’s Charing Cross station (interesting to find a Charing Cross station also up here as well as in London!), and walked the mile or so back to my accommodation from there. I settled in for a quiet evening upon my return.
Monday was my last
full day of my summer travels 2021, and I must admit I was tired by then. Four weeks of highly enjoyable but rather intensive travelling somewhat takes it out of you, and I usually find that as I near the end of a trip, however long it is, my body starts to slow down a bit and I feel more tired and less eager to fill the day with explorations and sightseeing. I found this to some extent on the Monday, but I still had pretty much a full day of exploration and sightseeing.
After another second breakfast in town at Tim Horton’s, I took a train eastwards, to a place called Motherwell, famous to those in the Scottish football league know-how. However, I was heading to an RSPB reserve called Baron’s Haugh, located in a lovely marsh and wetland area on the banks of the River Clyde, around 15 miles upstream from Central Glasgow. The train journey there was nice and relaxing, and it was lovely to be away from the tourist crowds of Loch Lomond. The wetland area is home to a number of small birds, ducks and waders, although as I believe I have mentioned a
few times, I don’t generally visit RSPB reserves to look for birds, but rather to enjoy their peace and tranquility. This place was no different, and it offered a lovely three-mile walk around the main body of water and also along the banks of the Clyde, with four hides to relax in along the way. It wasn’t a busy place, and I felt rejuvenated after rather a while on the beaten tourist track of Western Scotland.
For the afternoon, I decided to give Helensburgh another go, and I am so very glad that I did! I feel the spirit of John Muir’s life has been with me on this journey since I visited his birthplace in Dunbar on my second full day in Scotland, and it felt very fitting to have as my final destination the place where he said goodbye to Scotland when he was a wee laddie. I also began my journey doing the first mile of the John Muir Way, beginning with an unusually-shaped bench at the start of the clifftop walk back in Dunbar. I ended my journey at the same kind of bench on the seashore at Helensburgh. They must have designed it that
way. It felt fitting to think about John Muir’s words on the importance of natural places to rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit during my four weeks in Scotland. It is certainly a different place to the busy-ness of my life in London, and I feel it is what I have needed, particularly after this last year that we have all had. I am happy that I was able to visit Helensburgh on my final day of travelling.
So, after the RSPB reserve, I took the train from Motherwell back into Glasgow, and changed at a station called Hyndland just to the west of the city centre, to a train heading to Helensburgh Central. I only had an hour to spend in Helensburgh, but it was just enough to get a feel for the place and enjoy it. Helensburgh developed as a seaside destination and commuter town for Glasgow with the arrival of the railway in 1858, and it seems to still fulfil these same two functions today. It would also have been one of the last Scottish settlements that the 19
th century Scottish emigrant would have seen as they departed their homeland for pastures new in North America.
In the distance over the sea, you could see the gap between the two land promontories of Greenock and Rosneath, and I imagined what it would have been like to sail through that gap and on towards the Atlantic Ocean, awaiting an exciting new life ahead.
After first heading towards the John Muir bench at the end of the John Muir Way on the seafront, I walked along the town’s pier for some nice views back towards the beach and town. I then had a nice walk along the promenade, taking in two monuments to two of the town’s notable people: firstly Henry Bell, famous Scottish engineer, and secondly John Logie Baird, inventor of the television. In fact, as I was taking a photo of the latter, a passer-by mentioned “he’s a lot to answer for he does”, and with the ills of today’s modern media, I couldn’t agree with him more. I then walked back again past the lovely little seaside-resort type of shops, including fish ‘n’ chip, souvenir and charity shops. There was a sea-salt smell in the air, and with the seagulls crying, I enjoyed the town’s seaside resort atmosphere. Finally I headed back to the
train station, to take the train again back to Glasgow, for my final Air BnB night at the artsy flat in Kelvinbridge.
On Tuesday morning I took a train back to Edinburgh, to complete the full circle of my journey around Scotland, and then took another train back to Doncaster. The journey went well, with the highlight being Joanna Lumley got on my train at York - I waved at her and smiled, and she waved back with a lovely smile! Gosh, my heart melted, and I think I blushed!! That really made my day! :D
I am currently resting up a bit in Sheffield, before I head back to London at the weekend in my new car! Yes, after a month of travelling by public transport, and for the first time in about 15 years, I have a car, most gratefully received from my lovely parents after their buying a new one. I imagine I will still travel a bit by public transport, as I do enjoy relaxing and looking out of the window, but I also imagine my new wheels may in fact open up some new domestic travel destinations for me as the year unfolds.
We shall see.
So, it is with a fond farewell that I say goodbye to Scotland! Thank you for having me! I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring your mountains, forests, castles, cities and wilderness areas. I have also thoroughly enjoyed meeting your wonderfully welcoming people, and delightful wildlife! You are a wonderful country, and I’m so glad to be your neighbour! I have very much appreciated exploring somewhere exotic this year when international travel has been a bit tricky. I do hope for my next travels, next summer, and perhaps a few short trips in the meantime, I may explore somewhere abroad, with a flight. But we shall also see with that one.
Thanks very much for reading, I’ve enjoyed writing my blog entries as I go, and wish all the very best to all 😊
Alex
PS I have now arrived back home in London again. I spent a wonderful, restful few days in Sheffield, and then drove in my new car back to London! I was really quite nervous at first, not having driven for so long, but the journey went well, and perhaps this may now open new travel adventures and doorways to me
in the future.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.135s; Tpl: 0.033s; cc: 16; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0654s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Glasgow...
You have convinced me to spend more time in Glasgow. I was going to spend the night in Paisley. I was going to visit the Cathedral in the morning, but now will spend the night near George Square and walk around the town in the evening and early morning. I've enjoyed following you through Scotland!