There was a method to our madness when we designed this year’s trip. For Inverness, the goals were easy. Because we had never been there, and with the NC500 tour booked, the goal was to just let the city and this part of Scotland happen to us.
Glasgow was a different story. We spent a couple days here on a previous trip but not enough to get to know the city. Glasgow has the largest population of any city on Scotland and it does come off as a big, bustling, ugly urban setting.
Our goal for our visit to Glasgow this year is to dig deeper and see some of the hidden treasures of the city. And boy did he hit the jackpot! The train ride from Inverness to Glasgow was enjoyable as we again admired the beauty of the highlands from the comfort of the train.
For our second stay in Glasgow on this trip, we booked accommodations in a different part of the city, known as Glasgow Southside (very logically located south of the Clyde River). During the taxi ride to our Airbnb, we were a little concerned as we passed through neighborhoods that seemed a bit “run down.” We arrived at a nice looking older building and found that the apartment we had booked was on the 3rd floor, with a daunting set of stairs for two tired old travelers to take on. We had known it was not on the ground floor, but had forgotten that in Europe they call the second floor the 1st floor, the third floor the 2nd floor, and so on (the ground floor being called the ground floor, you see). We were glad we packed light and could manage our own luggage, even when (lots of) stairs are involved.
On the top story of this 120+ year old building and behind two doors with very impressive locks, we walked into a great flat that was a beautiful and comfortable as can be. The high ceilings, wood floors, modern fixtures, and very tasteful decor won us over immediately. We instantly fell in love with it and and knew this would be the perfect spot for our last exploration of Glasgow for this trip. Our hostess for this time who shared a room with a private bath in her home was the very definition of gracious and welcoming. We really enjoyed getting to know Aisling (pronounced Ashling).
The People’s Palace
Our first chosen destination was one of the most unique museums I have encountered. The People’s Palace is an gorgeous, elegant building housing a museum devoted to documenting the very long and often harsh history of this important Scottish city. As we approached it, we found the building and the fountain out front were as impressive as any museum I have seen.
This museum was a visual history of the city through two wars and many times when things were hard for the residents. You have to admire the city leaders going to the effort to preserve the important artifacts and images of Glasgow through the decades. It was all pretty overwhelming so I did not take photos of the exhibits as is my habit. But is was a stop worth lingering over and I am glad we did.
Glasgow Cathedral
Being Sunday, next perfect stop was Glasgow Cathedral. We had tried to give this beautiful cathedral time earlier in this trip but it didn’t work out. So after a fine lunch (fish and chips) we headed there to really explore it at our leisure as is our way.
Three years ago when we were in Glasgow as part of our trip to Scotland’s eastern coast, we were able to enjoy an evensong service here, but we had not allowed time to see the cathedral itself. This cathedral was founded in the late 6th century by a missionary monk by the name of Saint Kentigern, often also referred to as Saint Mungo (meaning: “dear one”). He was the bishop of the region who came to be well known for the miracles that surrounded his service. The cathedral building dates to the 13th century, but parts of the crypt are believed to date back to the time of Saint Mungo.
We did take a moment to pay respects at the spot in the crypt that was identified as the tomb of the Saint. We lingered on the many details of this ancient house of worship. When we felt satisfied, we asked about the evensong service. We were saddened to learn that Glasgow Cathedral no longer held evensong services.
We were saddened but intrepid. Jane used her research skills and found an evensong service across town at a St. Mary’s Cathedral. Uber served us well and off we went to be blessed by a beautiful service that ended the day perfectly. Enjoyed a fine dinner in a well known restaurant that had a wee bit of live Scottish music and that put a nice ending to a good day of exploring Glasgow.
St Mary’s Cathedral -Evensong
Malcolms in Scotland 23 