Glasgow, Scotland

I expected to have more time in Glasgow but sometimes things just don’t work out as planned.  My whirlwind tour of Scotland was shorter than anticipated due to flight delays and I didn’t arrive in Glasgow until late in the day.  That left one day and a quick bus tour to see everything!  That’s all you’ll get as far as disclaimers go.  Time to show you what I found so marvelous about this city.

It’s all about Architecture

It’s filled with fantastic architecture.  This may call for another disclaimer.  I live in a town that has no city center.  Our idea of going shopping is to go to the mall. My town was incorporated in 1977.  Glasgow has been around since the mid 6th century.  You can see why I was impressed.

I’m starting with the above image because it’s far from amazing.  It represents just a basic street.  I found this mix of construction and architecture fascinating.  Notice the stone.  It looks dirty, doesn’t it?  Well, it is.  That’s from all the soot spewed out during the Industrial Revolution.  The buildings in Glasgow are built using a tan colored local stone.  The red buildings are later and from a different quarry.  The sandstone is porous and the soot just gets soaked into the surface.

I didn’t spend all my time wandering the back streets.  I went on a tour of the city.  This is a great Scott Kelby tip when visiting a new place.  Take a tour and scout out those locations you want to revisit and photograph.  I didn’t have the luxury of time on my side.  This bus tour was my only chance to see Glasgow.  I made the best of it.

The Cathedral District

To miss the Glasgow Cathedral would be unforgivable. Therefore I was very happy to see that it was part of my tour.  I managed to take a few shots in spite of the ever-present construction fencing obstructing my view.  Here’s an image looking through some trees and over a fence.  I may have climbed into a rose garden as well.  Shush, don’t tell.

It was a cloudy day and threatening rain.  I loved it!  How nice to see a sky filled with clouds.

Not far from the cathedral is the Glasgow Necropolis.  This was the cemetery designed by the wealthy Merchants House.  I think the guide said there are 50,000 graves on this hill.  To get to the Necropolis one crosses the “bridge of sighs.”

Funeral processions crossed this bridge, hence the name.  It doesn’t span water, just a small valley that separates the cemetery from the cathedral.  The bridge was built in 1836.

As usual, I didn’t have much time but I did take a few quick shots; the markers are fabulous.

All too quickly my time was up and it was back to the bus.  I could have spent a lot longer at the Necropolis.  I barely made it beyond this point at the end of the bridge.

The River Clyde

Let’s see, I’ve mentioned architecture and clouds but I haven’t said anything about rivers.  The river in Glasgow is the Clyde.  Actually, Scotland has oodles of rivers!  I won’t get too excited or you’ll stop reading.  What I really liked about the bus ride was the time we drove along the river.  The bridges were all so different.

The above was just another quick shot through a window on the bus.  I would enjoy going back and simply shooting bridges!

Don’t forget Art and Culture

Our last stop was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  If you’ve read any of my earlier posts, you know I love museums.  One could spend hours in the Kelvingrove but of course, I didn’t have that kind of time.  I rushed through the Impressionists, the Rembrandt, the design work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and even the Spitfire.  The one thing that I will share is a statue of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Scotland has given the world many authors but Stevenson is one of my favorites.  Even now when I’m well out of childhood, I appreciate the “old romance” of Treasure Island.

The museum itself is a wonderful building.  Am I gushing?  I couldn’t get it all in one shot, but the following photo will give you some idea as to how it looks.

This was the end of my bus tour but not the end of my interest in Glasgow.  I certainly have to go back; I barely scratched the surface.  This is a marvelous city, one not to be missed or hurried through in just one morning.

To see more of my photos from Glasglow please click here.