Blogs from Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow September 11th 2023

Today, Renata and I got to explore the Scottish Highlands with Princess Cruises “Best of the Scottish Highlands” tour. Luss Our first stop was Luss, a picturesque village on the western shore of Loch Lomond. Luss was filled with cute cottages, gardens, and shops and had an incredible view of Loch Lomond from the pier. After our stroll in Luss, we headed to Inverary stopping to get pictures of the incredible Scottish Highlands on the way. Inveraray In Inveraray, we explored the town, bought some Scottish wool souvenirs and had a tour of Inverary Castle. The Neo-Gothic Inveraray Castle is the family home of the Duke of Argyll. It was also a filming location of the 2012 Christmas episode of Downton Abbey portraying the fictional Duneagle Castle. The Castle was an interesting place to see especially ... read more
Glascow Cruise Stop
Glascow Cruise Stop
Glascow Cruise Stop

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow August 30th 2023

Guernsey The cruise ship can’t dock on this little island, so a tender pulls up to the side of the ship and up to 150 people cram into it for the short ride to shore. It was rough. Anybody with mobility issues would have trouble navigating on and off the tender. The Channel Islands are closer to France than England and were the only British territory occupied during the Second World War. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a novel about that period. It must be popular because not only was it made into a film in 2018, but they have shore excursions taking you around to many of the locations that could have been in the story. Both Dianne and I read and enjoyed the book (and must find the movie), and ... read more
TLC - The Little Chapel
Restful country scene
Fort Grey

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow May 25th 2023

Good decision making today. Caught the early (10am) ferry from Craignure to Oban. This gave us time to stop for a leisurely lunch in Luss, beside Loch Lomond, before heading onto Glasgow, arriving mid-afternoon, hence missing the heavy peak hour traffic. Time to relax and unwind.... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow April 10th 2023

Scotland’s biggest city disarmingly blends sophistication and earthiness, evolving over the last couple of decades to become one of the UK’s most intriguing metropolises. Glaswegians definitely work to live, and the city comes into its own after 5pm - that’s not to say that locals don’t pop down for a cheeky lunchtime pint too! The city’s pubs are gloriously friendly places and you’re sure to have some entertaining blethers(chats) with the locals when you dive into one. Glasgow’s live music scene is also legendary - big bands play at iconic venues, with several lower-key pubs having regular gigs that are also excellent. Clubbing is very popular, with a couple of famous dance floors and the LGBTQ-focused Pink Triangle is a notably welcoming scene. Glasgow is where Scotland shops. The city packs out on weekends when highlanders, ... read more
Looking down Buchanan Street in Glasgow
Love a Man in a Kilt.
The Clyde Arc Glasgow

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow October 8th 2022

This one is going to be short. It was a long day - more that 160 miles of driving and more that 8.5km walking - ready to call it a night. Today we started our trek back south. We made ourself a nice breakfast at our AirBnB, did a wee shop at the House of Fraser and hit the road. Our first stop was the Castle Urquart - the ruins of a 12 century castle on Loch Ness. We did a bit of a wander and learned more about the Highland’s history. From there, we kept trekking until Fort William. We had a chance to walk through the town before finding a bite for lunch. We Both tried new Scottish dishes - Don had the steak and ale pie and I had the Cullen skink. Look ... read more
More of the castle
Whiskey distillery .

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow September 14th 2022

WED, 14 SEP 2022 - Day 7: Venture to the Romantic Lake District and on to Glasgow - Rolling Lancashire pastures give way to the soul-stirring Lake District, whose beautiful scenery has inspired poets and writers for centuries. We travel along the shores of Lake Windermere, through countryside made famous by the poet William Wordsworth. Stop in Gretna Green, where many an eloping couple have tied the knot. We arrive in Glasgow later for an orientation tour, including views of the Cathedral, magnificent George Square and the Clyde River, the former heart of the shipbuilding industry. This evening, enjoy a Regional Dinner in a local restaurant.... read more
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway – Lake District, England
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway – Lake District, England
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway – Lake District, England

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow July 22nd 2022

July 22 Today was a travel day in the truest sense of the word. We left our hotel at 10:15 following a late breakfast for the short trip to the ferry. We were riding the ferry from Belfast to Carinryan, Scotland. It was to be about a 2.5 hour ferry ride. This ferry was nothing like any of the ferries we are used to. This ferry was enormous! We were traveling aboard the Stena Ferry line. The ship holds cars, trucks, buses, motor homes, and tractor trailers. There are 10 decks. We were parked on deck 5 and the first bus in with at least 5 buses behind us. Up to 1,200 passengers can be accommodated. In addition to 230 cars, the ferry can also carry 300 freight vehicles. These ferries have restaurants, a movie theater, ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow July 7th 2022

Glasgow is a great small city to spend a few days, but there isn’t much more to write other than a few observations: - I walked to Kelvingrove Park and happened upon a free concert of traditional Scottish music: https://youtu.be/ZEqCvJvlnNQ - There are a lot of pubs. The beers and whiskys are nice but the best part is simply having a Scottish bartender. But really any conversation with locals is entertaining, since they’re so friendly and inquisitive. - We’ve estimated that we understand less than 10% of what Scots are saying when talking to one another. This rises to barely over 50% when they slow it down and avoid idioms when speaking directly to us. This made me feel a little better about misunderstanding basic questions in Eastern Spain after learning Latin American Spanish. We may ... read more
Glasgow sunbathers
Glasgow University tower
Glasgow Cathedral

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow July 2nd 2022

2 July 2022, Saturday Arrived in Milngavie, the starting point for the West Highland Way. Jet-lag affects one differently on different trips. Having slept little on the flight over to Edinburgh and with a 5 hour time zone change we slept better and longer the first night than last night. Finally got to sleep about 0500 local time and woke to the alarm at 0830. Organizing and packing for the train trip took more than an hour. Have to disconnect and pack the CPAPs; get the cords and adapters for charging the cell phones, watches and computers packed in the appropriate bags or in coats to carry. Thus we only got to our breakfast at about 1000. The standard hot British breakfast consists of sausage (links and blood), ham, broiled tomato halves, hash brown potato patties, ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Lanarkshire » Glasgow July 1st 2022

This blog will be a synopsis of our walk of the West Highland Way in July of 2022. This was the trip planned in 2020 but delayed with COVID issues. Our group has changed over the course of the two years. My wife and I and our friends Jo Finestead and Norma Wiebe and Sandy Clements have walked the Coast to Coast and a few other treks together the last 10-15 years so we will see how age and the terrain treat us on this walk. We left our new home in San Antonio at Blue Skies of Texas, a CCRC, and traveled by car to Dallas-Ft Worth where we stayed with cousin Chuck who had hoped to make the trip but outrageously high airfares forced him to withdraw. Then on to cousins in Fairfield Bay, ... read more
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