Itinerary followed throughout Scotland

Stirling - Linlithgow - Edinburgh - Oban - Glencoe - Fort William - Eilean Donan - Skye Island - Plockton - Strathpeffer Highland Games - Loch Ness - Inverness - Western Ross - Fort George - Glasgow

Glasgow is the other big city of Scotland and the economic capital. Everyone expects an industrial city, grey and dirty. And this is a partial truth, we can't ignore that. But on the other side there are very interesting districts as well as an intense cultural life. For instance Glasgow was designed as the European capital of culture and the British capital of architecture and design.
During August the town celebrates the World Championship of Pipe Bands. We made our stay coincide with this event but we didn't have the time to enjoy the concerts.
It is more a modern city than Edinburgh, and you experience the deep Scotland in it. For example in the University of Glasgow all the students are Scottish, whereas in Edinburgh half of them are English. It is a workers town, marked by many fights and diverse crisis in the past. Perhaps for this reason the inhabitants are very polite and friendly, for them the most important is the people.

We arrived to the airport of Glasgow Prestwick with Ryanair. The airport is one hour far away by train from the town. The very first contact with Scotland was authentic. We were waiting for the train, covering under a roof from the incredible downpour. Through the windows we could see a golf course. There the Scottish people continued playing golf with calm despite the flood. We reached our accommodation, a bed & breakfast in Glasgow that we had booked in advance online. When somebody does the things right, it deserves an acknowledgement. Claremont House is a B&B with a nice price, carefully conserved and with elegant rooms. Angus, the owner, is very helpful and we were very satisfied. The establishment is located in a residential zone 20 min. far from the centre on foot. This district is not lively at all, but it is very calm to dream properly.
One thing that you will enjoy in this country is the Scottish breakfast. These breakfasts are colossal. In the Bed and Breakfast you eat so much that at noon you don't feel hungry: eggs, potatoes, sausages, juices, coffee, milk, cereals, fruit, toasts, marmalade, butter. My mouth waters every time I remember that.

The origins of the town date back to the David I foundation of an archbishop's see in 1115. Glasgow experienced a fast development under the British domination since 1707. It enriched trough the trade with the British colonies, especially with the tobacco. Afterwards they discovered coal and iron in the region, that, together with its condition of important harbour led to an extraordinary activity during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. In fact it became one of the main harbours around the world through massive works in the river Clyde that reached a similar size than the Suez Canal . On one side the city embellished with monuments, gardens and residences. On the other poor workers districts proliferated, full of Irish emigrants and Highland peasants. The tremendous industrialisation didn't worry about the ecological problems and Glasgow acquired this dirty grey image, without bright, that still persists nowadays.
The poor districts were shaken with the tuberculosis and the alcoholism, a black panorama that Dickens described so well. During the economic crisis many factories were closed, such as the Clyde 's shipyards, approximately 20 companies along 30 km. that had built huge ships such as the Queen Elisabeth and the Queen Mary. Today the city tries to improve this image and it is immersed in a sort of transition through a diversification of the activities. In Glasgow one third of the Scottish population lives.

At the city there are two soccer teams, and their supporters get on badly with the others, a fact that contrasts with the hospitality of the citizens. The teams are the Glasgow Celtics and the Glasgow Rangers. The Rangers are Protestants and they are in favour of North Ireland belonging to the United Kingdom . The Celtics supporters are Catholics and they think the opposite. Their religious and political differences come from the 19th century and they seem irreconcilable. In most taverns you will find the symbols of one of the two teams.

We start the visit at the cathedral district, the most ancient part of the town. The cathedral of Saint Mungo was built in the 14th century, over a crypt dating from the 12th century, in the same location than the first church erected in the 6th century by Saint Mungo, the city's patron saint. This is the only cathedral (together with another church) previous to the Reform in Scotland that still remains. The inside is magnificent, in a Gothic style. There are no religious objects since they were burned during the Reform.

When we left the cathedral we walked towards the museum of Religious Art and Life of Saint Mungo .

It is the unique museum around the world that houses the main religions of the planet together and they try to explain each one in a simple manner.
It keeps many religious treasures such as a mask of an Egyptian mummy, a Shiva's statue or the famous Dali's Christ of Saint John of the Cross, an amazing picture in a strange perspective. At the entrance of the museum there is an authentic Zen garden designed by Japanese experts.

From the museum we contemplated wonderful views of the cathedral and he nearby monumental cemetery.
Close to the museum we walked into the most ancient house in Glasgow, the Provand´s Lordship , from 1471. Mary Stuart lived here during her stays at the city, and the furniture is very old and authentic. After enjoying the surroundings of this house we went towards the city centre.

We walked until the gardens of Glasgow Green , a pleasant park along the Clyde's bank where the town's history concentrates. It is 800 years old and for the citizens of Glasgow this is a people's property. It witnessed the troop inspection that Bonnie Prince Charlie made in 1746, before the defeat at Culloden. It witnessed the industrial Revolution, when James Watt discovered in 1765 the applications of the steam engine. Many people were executed in public here from 1814 y 1865.

Every social manifestations and movilizations for the liberty were carried out here, as well as many ecological fights, the protests because of the Clyde´s shipyards shutdown in 1974 or the miners' strike in 1984. These gardens have served as tribune for every preacher (bishops, atheists, labour unionists, employers, etc.) until the Second World War. Numerous labour unionist and political leaders learnt and were trained here. Even the Glasgow Rangers (1873) and Glasgow Celtics (1888) were founded here.

Nearby the gardens we found the People's Palace , the History Museum of Glasgow and its inhabitants. It was built in 1898 in a French Renaissance style. The interior is very didactic and explains the society, the occupations and the guilds throughout the years. The tropical greenhouse linked to the palace is very odd, with an unbearable hot where you could have a coffee.

Near the palace, the Templeton's carpet factory remains, an ancient multicolour building from 1892 in a Venetian style. Its story is peculiar. Before the construction, the city hall demanded to the owner (James Templeton) an aesthetic building. Templeton asked the architect which one was the most wonderful monument around the world, and the architect chose the Ducal Palace in Venice. The owner suggested that the new building had to be inspired in the Venetian palace. A tragic happening occurred here, reflect of the brutal capitalism that dominated that period. While they were constructing the walls the workers were already producing. The walls fell down and killed 29 weavers.

Afterwards we walked around the districts near the train station. It is the commercial and Victorian Glasgow. Basically you have to follow the two arteries (mostly pedestrian) of the town, enjoying the buildings and the squares on both sides, as well as the abundant shops.
From the station we moved through Buchanan Street . We saw the Stock Exchange, built in 1875 in a Venetian Gothic style, and it keeps the Modern Art Gallery . There are many nice terraces in the square.

We passed near the Lighthouse as well, a museum of design and architecture that houses the Mackintosh' centre and the Mackintosh' tower with splendid views of the town. As we are not very interested in design, we followed our route.
We reached the other main street: Sauchiehall Street . This is the liveliest in Glasgow , full of shops, restaurants, pubs and magnificent modernist buildings. We ate in a restaurant and afterwards we had a dessert and a tea in a big cake shop. The Scottish desserts are quite delicious and sweet. We tasted the typical apple cake.

Once recovered, we went on along this street admiring the buildings designed by the architect Mackintosh : the Willow Tearoom and the School of Art. Mackintosh (1868-1928) was one of the greatest artists from Glasgow, and his constructions have a peculiar modernist style that contributed to the development of the Art Nouveau.

We walked towards the district of the University.

Once all the museums closed we could only have a walk until the university . The walk is very relaxing and it allowed us to check how they played a sort of pétanque in a wide square green as the playground. We reached the university founded in 1451. The building dates from 1870 in a Scottish Gothic style. Some outstanding teachers were the economist Adam Smith and the father of the Industrial Revolution, James Watt.

It is possible to go inside, to go up to the tower or to see the Hunterian Art Gallery (the most ancient museum in Glasgow that keeps a reconstruction of the Mackintosh' flat). Everything was closed early in the afternoon.
It is a nuisance that the museums in Scotland close so early (17 h.) We missed several that we were interested in, and that we had visited in the afternoon if open, both across Glasgow and Edinburgh. In our opinion we didn't want to prolong the stay in a city to see the museums, since the country is full of much more interesting spots.

There is another modern zone at the river Clyde: the Exhibition and Conference Centre as well as the Science Museum and Glasgow Tower . They are modern buildings representing the new face of Glasgow. Close to them there is a 100 years old ship, the Tall Ship , made in the last years of the shipyards and that can be visited.
We returned to the centre through the subway to have some beers in a typical Scottish pub. These wooden locals are authentic . You have to ask for your drink at the bar and to pay instantaneously.

Pay attention at the Scottish taxis, since they are odd, with many advertising. Of course you can see the typical two floor buses across the streets.
To enjoy the city I suggest two days, since only one could be insufficient due to the narrow timetables of the museums and buildings. If you plan a trip across the entire Scotland, you may spend one day here, as we did.

To conclude I have to emphasize the kindness and sympathy of all the Scottish, not only in Glasgow. It is a pleasure to travel when you are surrounded of so considerate people. The Scottish accent is quiet difficult to understand because in some occasions it is very far from the current English.

This was the last night in Scotland and we had to get up early to reach Glasgow Prestwick in a night bus that leaves Glasgow to take the first flight of Ryanair (the cheapest one).