June 10 (Wed)
Flew from Belfast to Glasgow where I took a taxi from the airport to the apartment I had rented. The apartment was located on Park Circus Place, a quiet neighborhood in the West End that sits above Kelvingrove Park. It was a lovely place with excellent amenities and a helpful host. Everything was at least a 15 minute walk, uphill on the way back. After settling in, I walked through the park along the river to Finnieston neighborhood. Dinner at an Italian restaurant and back to the apartment.
June 11 (Thu)
Thursday was a rainy day so I took a taxi to the Glasgow Cathedral. This is a must see in Glasgow. The first church was started in 1136 and took 350 years to complete. The church has been rebuilt many times since. It was originally a Catholic church with ornate decor. During the Reformation of 16th and 17th centuries, much of the elaborate decor was removed. The tradesman of Glasgow defended the church and saved it from destruction. The cathedral was dedicated to St Kentigern (or St Mungo), a Christian missionary in the area during the 6th century AD. His tomb had attracted pilgrims from all over. He is considered the founder of the city. One of the most significant areas is the Lower Church, a large 13th‑century crypt constructed to house the tomb of St Mungo, the city’s patron saint. This space is supported by multiple stone columns.
These two murals are painted on the sides of buildings near the Cathedral. The first is a modern day rendition of St. Mungo holding a bird. One of his four miracles is that he brought a bird back to life. (https://folklorescotland.com/st-mungo/)
The second painting is of Saint Teneu. She was the mother of Mungo and is a co-patron of the city of Glasgow with her son. She became pregnant with Mungo in 518 when she was assaulted by a Welsh prince. Her father had her thrown from a bridge. She survived the fall and escaped to Fife where she was taken into a monastery and looked after by Saint Serf who raised the boy and trained him to become a priest.
Next door is the Museum of Religious Art and Life, interesting exhibits but a bit too woke for me.
I wandered the city center in the rain, stopping to visit Provland’s Lordship, the oldest surviving house in Glasgow. The house was built in the 15th century with Scottish architecture style, low ceilings and doorways, stone walls. George Square was closed for construction.
After lunch at a Thai restaurant I was tired and the hop on hop off bus sounded like a good idea.
I got off at the Kelvingrove Art Museum with its interesting exhibits and more apologies for the British empire. The “heads” hanging from the ceiling are meant to depict all the different emotions or reactions visitors might have as they perused the 22 galleries.
A Greek food truck was just outside the museum and perfect for quick gyro sandwich before walking back through the park.
June 12 (Fri)
I started the day slowly doing laundry and resting as Thursday was a busy tiring day.
I had a full day seeing rest of Glasgow sights. First visit was to the The Tenement House, then a useless hike up hill to the Glasgow Art School which didn’t have anything to see except a clean bathroom.
The Tenement House is a 20th century time capsule apartment of Agnes Toward who lived there for 56 years. It was a middle class apartment building where she lived from 1911 until she becamed hospitalized in 1965. The apartment consists of five rooms – foyer, parlor with a bed closet, kitchen with another bed closet, a bathroom and a bedroom. She didn’t have electricity util 1960 because of the cost which the renter had to bear. A tenement is the traditional form of urban housing in Scotland. A stone building with multiple floors with each floor containing multiple residences. Everyone shared a single front door and staircase. Each flat in a tenement building is called a tenement flat. Agnes never married and first lived here with her mother. When she had to move out in 1965 (possibly due to dementia) all of her belongings were left as is. She continued to pay rent for ten years.
Near the Botanical Gardens is the Òran Mór pub which hosts a lunchtime live theatre show called Pub, Play and a Pint in their basement. It was funny skit about a hen party and included a meat pie and a pint of beer for 20 pounds. The room was packed ith mostly locals and mostly seniors. Afterwards, there was a four person trad band playing in the pub which was a fun way to while away the afternoon. The pub is built in a deconsecrated church – the Kelvinside Free Church built in 1862.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering down some retail streets in the south side of town – Cresswell Lane and Ashton Lane. There is an old fashioned movie theatre on Ashton Lane – the Grosvner. Each plush red seat had its own table and side lamp. The film was Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford. It was a Scottish film a dark comedy about a lonely disillusioned widower obsessed with an ancestor and narrated by the long dead man.
The walk back to Park Circus was lovely, through the University of Glasgow with its stately Victorian buildings. I am sorry I didn’t have time to visit the sights on campus such as the Hunterian Museum and Mackintosh house.
Overall Glasgow was a good experience. I could have filled up one more day. The town is full of old buildings, lots of independent book stores, pubs, turkish barbers. It is a hilly city and small retail businesses appear to be thriving. It rains a lot and there is much green spaces.