Day 4: Touring Glasgow with the Locals

A great start to today as Alan and Linda came and picked us up to join us on the Glasgow Hop On Hop Off Bus tour. We parked the car at Hilltop Station and caught the local Scotsrail train into Queens St Glasgow which is just around the corner from George Square, the start of the bus run. Of course train tragic Chris had to get the obligatory snap in front of yet another train. As we were leaving Queen St station, the station announcer warned Glaswegians that it was going to be extreme temperatures today, into the high 20s! cannot tell you how amused that the Aussie pair, but we did obey instructions and stayed well hydrated.

The round trip on the Hop On bus takes a little over an hour and a half, and so we stayed on in the sun and saw all the sights of Glasgow from upstairs. Heading east we started by seeing the University of Strathclyde where Greg had studied, followed by Glasgow Cathedral and the St Mungo Museum of religious art and history. Then we wound our way down to the Peoples Palace and Glasgow Green before going up the main street of town and seeing the shops in the Buchanan St Mall. Then it was down past central Station (memo to self this is where we need to come back to later in the day) and then it was down along the Clyde River seeing interesting sights such as the Exhibition Space and the performance space affectionately  dubbed the Armadillo by Glaswegians. Linda informs me that Sarah calls it the Croissant. Either feels appropriate. The last stop on the western run was the Transport Museum, before the bus headed up in the direction of Glasgow University seeing where Alan had worked for many years and Kelvin Grove, then back into town via the theatre district and back into the square. I was pleasantly surprised by Glasgow. Some of the nicknames we hear at home are not flattering and I was not expecting the interesting architecture of many places especially the West End, nor was I expecting the parklands and trees around Kelvin Grove or down at the People’s Green. The red Glasgow stone and the cream sandstone are in sharp contrast to each other, and while it is a bit seedy near Central, there are not to many places I have visited where it is not a bit seedy near central railway!

The loop completed, Linda and Alan headed off home and we stayed on til stop 2 where we had lunch at the St Mungo museum of religious history and art. This Studies of Religion teacher was in her element. Starting on level 3 we took in spectacular views of Glasgow cathedral and the Necropolis, the city of the dead which in itself is an art form and which has a totally inter-denominational and interfaith perspective. Very refreshing in this current world. Level 3 told the story of the development of religion in Scotland and had a particular focus on John Knox, the Scottish Reformation and the tensions with the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots. Simple clear displays told the story well. On level one the exhibit is quite eclectic. It features the five major religious traditions as we from SoR know them, but also has an extensive section on Sikhism. The artworks are eclectic and some quit stunning. I really liked the Muslim artwork featuring the names for Allah directly in front of some beautiful stained glass windows. A very old statue of Shiva was intricate and there was even a piece of aboriginal art from central Australia in the mix.

Over at the Glasgow cathedral there was amazing stained glass and intricate carving in the only cathedral in Scotland that survived the reformation with its roof in tact. Apparently the idea was that if the roofs were removed then the Catholics could not worship and the buildings fell into disrepair. It was well worth the visit.

The Queen and Prince Philip pew

Back on the bus our next stop was the Kelvin Grove area where there is an art gallery and museum. We wandered past the Lawn Bowling Greens that were used at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games before having a mooch around in the museum. They were hosting a Linda McCartney Retrospective but we were a little pressed for time and so we just viewed the exhibits on the ground level before hopping back on the bus... because we had an important date with our travel buddies Enid and Martina who were to be arriving in from Edinburgh at about 4pm.

Travel buddies collected, and then the real excitement of the afternoon began as we went to pick up our hire car. The look on our faces must have said it all as we were introduced to our Hyundai i800 mafia van, affectionately dubbed Sherman by Enid. This rapidly became Shermi for short! This was NOT what we ordered. It is enormous and takes up 1.5 parking spots. We shall have to see how we go, but it is not really satisfactory for meandering down country lanes!

No time to spare however, as dinner had been booked at a lovely local restaurant in Bearsden called Massimo. Our big group with Anne-Marie and her family got together with Enid, Martina Carina and Pat, as well as Sarah and Greg got to have dinner with Linda and Alan and to meet Greg’s brother Neil and his wife Rochelle. It was a great night and a precursor to the even bigger Wedding After Party tomorrow. A big day.