We woke this morning refreshed and ready to go. We had breakfast included in the room so headed down to the dining room. We had a great cooked breakfast.
The hotel was clean and the staff were very friendly . The room was quite small, the bathroom tiny, even by European standards. That is all OK for an overnighter. The bathroom has had a lovely new renovation but they forgot to put hooks to hang your towel or anywhere to put anything.
We entered Buchanan Street Glasgow into the GPS, fondly known as Stella, and off we went. The drive was lovely. Everything is incredibly green and there is a lot of farming land. The cows are fat and appear remarkably long-legged. Maybe it was from the perspective of our little VW Polo! The weather was sunny, it was a little cool, but very pleasant.
We kept driving, obediently following Stella's orders and could see the distance to go getting smaller. Everyone said Glasgow is not a big city but it did seem a bit too small as we arrived at Buchanan St (the
Glasgow shopping precinct) to a village of beautiful houses and not much else. We ended up stopping in the car park of a National Park. A gorgeous green space to stop and recalibrate.
Back on the road, more roundabouts and sudden turns and we arrived in Glasgow. We drove into the city centre and found a parking spot. We walked through the the streets, quiet on a Sunday morning. The city has a nice feel to it. The buildings are old and dark but quite beautiful. Buchanan Street was busier and had many of the shops we are accustomed to seeing at home and all over the world. They are just housed in ancient buildings.
We walked into Central Station. It has fantastic woodwork and looks amazing . As we left there was a protest going on. Apparently rail workers are on strike, which could account for the huge line of people with suitcases and the fact that we didn't actually see a train going anywhere!
The weather was getting cooler as we made our way back towards the car. We stopped for a coffee and watched the rain arrive, just a light drizzle.
We had done a very quick Glasgow stop and know that we missed much, but we enjoyed what we saw and needed to get to Edinburgh. We went the wrong way down a one way street and were very politely told (and I am not being sarcastic) to go back. Disaster avoided, we drove in the rain towards the Falkirk Wheel, which is on the way.
The Falkirk Wheel controls the water level in the canals. We had heard about it and were encouraged to stop by. It is a pretty impressive structure. These big things, that are modeled on whale rib bones, move the water around. I'm not entirely sure what it was all about, but it looks pretty cool! There was a bit going on with canal ferry rides, a very large restaurant, shop, tourist info and bubble rides in the water . It continued to drizzle. Scottish people don't seem to care. Only one person had their umbrella up. Though they wore coats, most didn't worry about putting their hoods on. I saw one man sitting on the wet grass, in the rain, enjoying the view!
Back on the road we drove towards Edinburgh. More fantastic green countryside, so different to a summer rural scene back in WA! We made a couple of wrong turns on and off highways, but it meant we just drove through a couple of extra villages, which are all pretty and interesting with the houses all lined up sitting right on the edge of the road.
The Highland Summer Show was on near the airport. We had got stuck here in traffic the day before so we were ready for it again, it wasn't too bad. We're used to so many roadworks in Perth that a little delay seems normal. There is a lot of talk on the radio about the dismay around the Brexit result. Talk of another referendum to leave the UK.
We drove into the area of Stockbridge where we are staying and were impressed by what we saw . There are lots of cool looking cafes and shops and the buildings look beautiful. The houses are really pretty. We arrived at our little street and realised there was nowhere to park. It is in a little walkway. We were not really bothering anyone so we stayed put. I sent our host, Charlotte, a message and she soon came along. Ken waited with the car and I did a quick tour before we took cases up and Charlotte showed us where to park the car in a tiny garage around the corner. It really is not much bigger than the car. Charlotte told us she had a guy climb out the boot when he couldn't open the doors.
Charlotte needed to do a couple of thing in the apartment so we walked around in the rain for a while, checking out our neighbourhood. It looks great. There area lot of cheese shops! The Sunday market was on, a bit too drizzly to really enjoy. After a bit of exploring we stocked up on breakfast supplies at Sainsbury's, stopped back at the markets for bread and cheese and popped into a wine store where the young lady talked me into a bottle of South African wine . When in Scotland, right? Her first suggestion was a Margaret River one, but we thought I should be adventurous.
Charlotte was just leaving as we got back so we settled in and unpacked. The apartment is great. We have booked it through Airbnb. Our bedroom window looks over a pretty, green garden and the living room looks over the front street, with the old gateway to the Stockbridge Market. A glass of wine, an Internet connection and some writing to get started.
Ken checked out all the info in the tourist box and chose our dinner destination, literally around the corner. We walk further to get to our letterbox! It was a burger restaurant, very cosy and busy. I had a delicious chicken fillet with Roquefort butter, chips and salad. Without the bun, so not a burger at all. Ken had the Moroccan lamb special.The chatter on the table next to us was the terrible Brexit result.
Back home, getting very tired and the sun still going strong. Well, not strong because it was still drizzling, but definitely daylight. A cup of tea and some of the yummy Scottish fudge my new cousin, Claire, had given me for my birthday. We went to bed at about 10, still daylight, but exhausted enough to not mind too much.



Steps 11,153
Kms 9.86