Glasgow and a train ride

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Geo: 55.9874, -4.83928

On Friday we reconnoitred the train station for our ride tomorrow, and the car washing options. Then we drove to Dad's home town of Coatbridge, just outside Glasgow and visited his primary school (now closed) and family 'lair' (grave site).

We spent some quality time in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum then crossed the Clyde to meet up with our Brissie friends Geoff and Susanne Hughes. The four of us ended up having dinner at the Argyle House Restaurant in the Ranger's football stadium.

On Saturday we caught the train from Garelochhead to the Falls of Cruachan, a 90min scenic journey to a hydro-electric power station. The train continued on to the coastal village of Mallaig (near the Isle of Skye) and the route includes a long curving viaduct that was featured in a Harry Potter movie. As it's a bank holiday weekend the train was quite full, and disappointingly dirty. Nearby, there was a good-natured but noisy group of guys who had a lot of empty beer cans in front of them at 0915.

In the evening we had a fine dinner with Ray and Loren at the Kilcreggan Hotel.

We leave tomorrow afternoon for Heathrow, overnight there then fly to Bangkok on Monday. We have a full day connection in Bangkok - 0600 to 2345. Royal Thai have booked us a room at the airport Novotel, and we may train in to the MBK Centre.

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Photos

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum
Purpose-built in 1901, it was well worth a look. I particularly liked the way each painting had a paragraph of interpretation/ commentary to enrich the viewer's appreciation. It was a little eclectic, with a WWII Spitfire suspended above various stuffed animals.

Salvador Dali
His iconic 1951 painting (though I'd never heard of it), "Christ of St John of the Cross". Apparently it was a controversial £8,200 purchase but is now accepted as "Scotland's favourite painting"

Ibrox Stadium
Dinner with Geoff and Sue at the home of Rangers F.C. (seating capacity a little more than 50,000). Note the sprinkler on the manicured grass.

Garelochhead Station
Remarkably poor access by road, it must be little used or used mainly by pedestrians. The line goes from Glasgow to Mallaig.

Cruachan Power Station
Conceived in the 1930s and built in the 1960s, this is the world's first pumped-storage hydroelectric plant. At night the electricity grid provides free (surplus) power to Cruachan to pump water from Loch Awe up 1,300 ft to the reservoir. Then during the day the turbines reverse and Cruachan can provide power back to the grid at 28 seconds notice, to manage demand spikes. The power station actually uses more electricity than it generates, but the economic key is in the timing. Rainfall provides only about 10-15% of the reservoir's water.
There are three more power stations like this in the UK, and hundreds more around the world.
As an aside, we learned that any Scottish hill over 3,000ft high is called a "Munro". Ben Cruachan is 3,600ft; the highest Munro in Argyll and Bute.

Comments

[KerrieLonn]

Thanks Sel for the photos and comments throughout the trip - I just about feel as though I have been to these places via your travel blog. I have been fighting the flu for the last fortnight - so its been a welcome relief reading your entri
es. I hope to recover from the lingering cough before Japan on 2/9/15.

[robselclark]

Thanks Kerrie, your interest and support are much appreciated,