Unexpected Glasgow

I knew nothing about Glasgow, except that it is Scotland's largest city; population 1.2 million, and it was built on heavy industry, ship building and poor living conditions. When we stepped out of the station it was indeed a bit grungy and rough. It looked and felt and sounded like Melbourne, and it was raining.

 At our hostel, all the tourist brochures seemed to recommend day trips out of the city. How would we fill in the next two days? So, we went for a walk, and just around the corner, we found Buchanan Street. This picture does not really do justice to the very impressive Victorian and early 20th century buildings that line this pedestrianized street, but it gives you an idea of how many people were there.

In the city square, called George III square, there is no statue of King George but there is another massive monument to Walter Scott with a more life sized statue of Robert Burns, and a very impressive city hall.

The architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh is celebrated all over the city. This is inside the old water tower (in case the printing press caught on fire)  of the Glasgow newspaper building designed by Mackintosh, and now a centre of architecture and design.

Sheryl contemplating the view from the observation deck.

Glasgow has the feeling of a city undergoing regeneration and transformation, restoring many old buildings, demolishing others, building very modern new buildings and large spaces where docks, warehouse and ship building yards once stood, but now wait for redevelopment.

Sports and concert arenas on former ship building sites.

 The University of Glasgow a very elaborate gothic building.

The Kelvin Grove Art Gallery is an over-the-top Spanish baroque building in red sandstone.

Here I met The McNab, a famous painting of the 16th chief of the McNab clan, who died in 1816, was 6 foot 3 inches tall, never married but fathered over 32 children, associated with the top of society but drank away the McNab fortune. Not sure how I feel about being descended from the McNabs with a chief like that! A real larger than life character with a larger than life portrait.

The daffodils are out in the Pollok Country Park, about 20 minutes south of the city centre.

I do like the Glaswegian sense of humour. Not only do they have buildings unofficially known as as the armadillo and the cheese grater because of their appearance, and Billy Connolly was born here, but there is a running joke with the Duke of Wellington statue that started in the early 1980s. Someone decided to put a traffic cone on the Duke's head. The council removed it. The cone reappeared. Every time the council removes the cone, it reappears within a few days. Sometimes it is also on the horse's head. It is now so iconic you can buy souvenirs based on the cone headed statue.

Tomorrow we begin what started this whole trip off in the first place. We begin walking from the edge of Glasgow through the highlands to Fort William - 156 kms along the West Highland Way.

Weather forecast - 9 to 12 degrees and a shower in the morning. Pretty good for Scotland!