Once off the ferry we easily found the NCR 75 signs pointing toward Glasgow so off we set with the wind at our tail. All went well as we wove our way along the waterfront passed renovated public spaces & through those awaiting upgrade. We then began climbing up hill to avoid the main roads taking cars & many trucks toward Scotland's biggest city. And, then we came upon the diversion we heard about - a large slip had taken out the track so the diversion sent down into a hill suburb. The diversion signs were great to begin with but at one intersection there was nothing to indicate which way to go - needless to say we took the wrong one as it turned out! That meant we later had to push up a VERY steep incline Great ride though with lovely views and interesting buildings to look at. We really enjoyed our lunch break in the town of Kilmacolm - yet another soup lunch followed by cake & tea.
On the route we came across a side route which took us to a village called Quarriers, which was founded as an orphanage in 1876 by William Quarrier. He had several beautiful homes built to house groups of children in family homes; they are now mainly privately owned. A series of interpretation panels along the route tell the story of the village but if they're not careful they will soon be lost in the vegetation.
We continued along the route, now changed to NCR 7, toward Pollock Park which would take us into central Glasgow. On the outskirts of Paisley, about 5km from the Park it started to pour - totally soaked we walked into the cafe within the grand Edwardian Pollock House (National Trust of Scotland) not noticing the "wait to be seated" signs (tsk, tsk!!) and finally got served a warming tea & average scone. Somewhat drier we visited the house, which is really beautiful inside with interesting interpretation signs about all the levels of people living & working in the House.
By 5pm the rain had died down a little so we continued our cycle into central Glasgow, over a bridge from which we could see the huge BBC Scotland building.
Passed the Scottish Events Centre, reminsicent of Sydney'sOpe3ra House, took phots of Finnieston Crane before wending our way through the shopping streets of Finnieston to find our Warmshowers hosts for two days.
W recieved a warm welcome by Anna with her partner, Adam returned about 2 hours later. We were well fed with the two of them whipping up a great curry followed by the fruit & yoghurt we had contributed. They leave on their year of cycle touring in North & South America in September - a true cycling expedition!
They provided a blow up bed in the spare room for us - perfectly comfortable - with our bikes being stored in the entrance hallway in their 2nd floor apartment (they are used to carrying their bikes up the stairs each day).
For our full day in Glasgow we decided that we would take in a couple of galleries & also take a bit of a walk around the trendy Finneston area and the inner city. We had missed the Smartie Tube walkway the previous day so went back to find that - it is due a major retrofit as is looking a bit worse for wear. Anyway, while over that way we revisited the walkway bridge & looked over the river to the science centre & BBC buildings .... HUGE!
The two galleries/museum we visited were the Hunterian at University of Glasgow (in itself a series of impressive buildings, founded in 1451 & is 4th oldest uni in the English speaking world) and the Kelvingrove Museum & Gallery.
The Hunterian is quite a different museum, dedicated as it is to the collection, developed over time, by Dr William Hunter during the Age of Enlightenment. He, and many of his peers, were so curious about things, exploring new territories be they physical, geographical, anthropological, technological etc - really pushing out the frontiers of knowledge. I marvel at the thought processes, tenacity and dedication of these people ..... I would have given up when my first experiment went wrong!! Anyway, I took far too many photos as I wanted to share my sense of wonderment with you all but soon realised it all would only make sense if you were to visit the exhibition yourself!
Exhausted we retreated to a cafe we'd seen the day before - a vegan one - and ate a very healthy & tasty burger but decided against the cakes as they were dispalyed in the window in the sun & open to flies. Not nice .... 👎👎
On we went to the Kelvingrove Museum weaving through the back streets & through a park to get to the front door. It was packed .... school holiday time & lots of activities on offer for the kids. Many of the museums & galleries we went into really go out of their way to offer interactive tasks for the children (& even adults) so that they get more out of their visit. It is no longer about going round the exhibits, reading the display signs reverentially & shuffling onto the next; one almost gets to experience the time period & how people may have been or why the artist painted in a particular way. I was particularly interested the development of Scottish clans and tartans, and in the poets like Robbie Burns and Sir Walter Scott. We then explored some of the art galleries - I was quite taken with the Scottish Colourists; I'd never heard of any of them but liked a number of the pieces exhibited. The French gallery was also a hit with both of us - love the work by Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir etc.
The rest of the building we just wandered around, staring wide-eyed at many of the exhibits, old & new, before feeling completely over-whelmed by all that could be seen & the sheer number of people around!
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| Grayson Perry 2003 |
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| 1923 Stained glass by Harry Clarke |
But what do we find outside!? Another downpour! So instead of walking into the city we took the bus [must have the right change as drivers are not allowed to handle money .... but how much is it? Depended on which company & the route they take into town i.e. GBP1.90 or GBP2.20!! **#@!%**$#!! Makes one appreciate the standard fare on Chch Metro] Anyway, once in there we found a patisserie in which to enjoy cuppa & cake while the rain passed (at least it wasn't cold), then we wandered about the inner city for a bit looking at the lovely old architecture & poking inside some of them.
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| Glasgow street art celebrating nature & hiking |
All too soon it was time to find the correct stop (easier said than done) from where could catch a bus back to our Warmshowers hosts where we enjoyed a quiet evening in after lovely stir fry meal with A&A before they went to their weekly pub quiz.
The next morning we were off & away by 8.30am so that Anna could farewell us & lock up before leaving for work. We did a bit of a circle of park before finding the right route through the Botanic Gardens & then we were away toward Falkirk. And it wasn't raining. 👍😃
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