Day 15 - Argyll to Glasgow

20 April 2023

Scotland turned on the weather for our last day here. We had our final breakfast at ‘our castle’ and then hit the road towards Glasgow. On the way we passed many lochs, lots of rivers and creeks, plus a handful of castles. Yet again, the scenery was spectacular, the drivers were polite and courteous, and it was a pleasure to travel on Scottish roads. We drove past Loch Lomond, taking the low road (and with that song playing in our heads). After a final fill of the car, we handed it back at Glasgow Airport without any hassles. In our tour of Scotland, we had driven about 1100 miles, and managed to see quite a large part of the country. Bliss!

 

Stunning scenery on the road between Stonefield Castle and Glasgow. 

We checked in to the Holiday Inn at Glasgow Airport, and then caught the airport bus into Glasgow to spend the afternoon exploring the city – and what a city it is. The blossoms are coming out so there is so much colour in the public gardens, lots of interesting street art, and the locals were so friendly and interested in our travels (just don’t mention Edinburgh!). First stop was Glasgow Cathedral. The cathedral is the oldest building in Glasgow, and absolutely breath-taking when you first walk in. It’s very long, and high, some parts are full of light and others parts are very dark – you can just feel the history all around you. The are multiple interesting little chapels, including some underneath the main cathedral. It would be magical to be in the cathedral when a choir was singing. It is built on the site of Glasgow’s own saint – St Mungo as he is known colloquially (but really St Kentigern) who died in 614 AD in Glasgow (yes 614 not 1614). The current cathedral dates from 1136 (and several additions/alterations since). A beautiful building.

After the cathedral we wandered back into the main part of the city, via a street called Little Dovehill. According to the Post Office Directories, my 4^th Gt Grandfather, George Bain, was a grocer and victualler in Little Dovehill between 1824 and 1844. He is in the 1841 census at 6 Little Dove Hill, as a confectioner. My 3^rd Gt Grandmother, Jessie Bain aged 12, and her older sister are also there. In 2023, Little Dovehill is a tiny little street with no original buildings from the 1840s, however it was great to get an idea of the area where the family were living. They were very close to the centre of the city, and as we walked towards Central Station, we were able to see the older buildings that they would have been familiar with.

 Exploring Glasgow was a real pleasure. The Central Station is a terminus station and was opened in 1879 and has fantastic architecture with an amazing glass and steel roof – it was just how I imagined a ‘real’ train station would look like. We found the city centre to be very vibrant with lots of music from the buskers, interesting architecture, and lots of colour. We were told multiple times by locals that it is usually raining and cold, so we obviously saw it at its best. One elderly man told us “the only difference between summer and winter in Glasgow is that the rain is warmer in summer”.

 

Left photo is an example of the amazing street art found in Glasgow. top right is part of the cathedral, middle right is of some of the colour in the blossoms, bottom right is a street sign for Little Dovehill.

Tomorrow is a day that we will be spending at airports. We will be flying from Glasgow to Istanbul, with a stopover at Heathrow. It will be a long day as we don’t arrive into Istanbul until midnight.