24h in Glasgow

<![CDATA[ALUSOARE - Scotland]]>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 15:53:22 +0200Weebly<![CDATA[Scotland: Roadtrip edition]]>Tue, 19 Sep 2023 22:00:00 GMThttps://www.alusoare.com/scotland/scotland-roadtrip-editionIt's hard not to fall in love with Scotland, so after my first weekend in Edinburgh & Glasgow a few years back I was very excited and eager to see more.

Our initial plan was end of May 2020 .. so yeah imagine the disappointed when we slowly got our accommodations canceled and so had to postpone the trip. In the end all was set for end of May 2022.

We stayed a total of 12 days (including the arrival & departure day) and we rented a camper van from Open Road Scotland for most of the trip. We were a bigger group so it was a mix between camper van and car and so sleep was also mixed between actual accommodation and sleep in the camper van. Below you will find info per day including info on Hotels & Camping sites.

Day 1: Arrival in Edinburgh

The first day was more a reunion day as we were arriving at different hours.

After we arrived at our accommodation Hannover 71 Suites we left our stuff and as it was Friday headed over to try one of the best rated pizza's in town: Matto Pizza. The place is tiny, more a take away place, but it does offer some chairs. The pizza was very good, so although a bit out of the center it was a good walk to try it out.

After the pizza we garbed an ice cream from the locally famous Mary's Milk Bar and took a mini walk through the city to get a feel of it.

From there we went to the supermarket as we needed supplies for the camper van and ended up with loads of beers (we are big fans of Brewdog so you can imagine :))

And after leaving all the things at the accommodation we went for some chicken wings and some beer at a Brewdog bar having an early sleep as the next day our adventure was set to begin.

Day 2: Pick up car, camper van and direction Aviemore

We first picked up the car as it was close to the accommodation and then we went for the camper van as we were picking it close to Glasgow airport. Our end destination for the day was Aviemore

Once we got the camper van we started our trip and our first visiting point was the Forth Bridge which is considered a symbol of Scotland and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

After a mini walk around to get better angles for our pictures we headed over to Loch an Eilein in Cairngorms National Park for a short circular trail you could do around.

From there we went to our accommodation Avondale House as they had a strict check in rule and the camper van went to park the car in the Dalraddy Holiday Park.

Keep in mind that Aviemore is pretty small, most restaurants (unless fast foods) are closed or do not serve food after about 18:00 or 19:00. We ended up taking some Chinese take away and ate it at the camper van.

Day 3: Beach walk, Culloden, Whiskey Distillery & Inverness

Our morning started early as we wanted to take another walk through the Cairngorms National Park this time it was a Beach Walk around Loch Morlich (close to the Glenmore Visitors Centre)

From there we went to Culloden to get more details of the history bit related to the Batlle from Culloden. If you are interested in history or you watched Outlander, then this place will provide a lot of interesting details.

From Culloden it was time for exploring another Scottish specialty namely the Whiskey. There are endless distilleries and so it was very hard to pick from them. In the end as a first one we selected was Tomatin. I enjoyed the tour and the whiskey as well was very interesting.

From here we went in search of Nessi going around Loch Ness

Our next stop was Urquhart Castle, but when we arrived at 18:00 it was already closed :( and I was not worried not to be able to go inside as I am not a big fan of castle interiors, but the castle is placed on the river and the entrance somewhere above and you can't see the castle as its surrounded by fences.

I did manage to get some shoots but unless you have a drone* I don't really recommend trying anything crazy (* please note I don't know if drones are allowed in Scotland, I don't have one so did not do such a research)

From the castle we drove into Inverness with a first stop at Mcleod's Fish & Chips and from there we took a walk to the city and ended up celebrating Claudia's birthday at Gellion's Bar where we even had the chance to dance on some live music

After the semi party we went to our accommodation at Winmare Guest House and at the Bunchrew Caravan Park.

Day 4: Duncansby Head & Stacks and all stops in between to Achmelvich Beach

It started as a rain day (not an actual surprise as we were in Scotland), but we were lucky enough with the stops as usually it stopped every time we needed to visit things on our list to see.

Our first stop on this long day was the Dornoch beach where we took a bit of time to walk around stretch our legs and take a few group photos.

From there we went to the Old Wick Castle where disregard the castle as it's nothing to see BUT the views were absolutely breathtaking

And then we parked at Duncasby Head and walked to take pictures of the Duncasby Stacks

I really enjoyed the stop here, you could even see (in the distance) puffins which are clearly my favorite birds (so cute)

After we left the Stacks behind we stopped at the Dunnet Bay (unplanned) and got to take several other photos of the beautiful coast from the caravan

As we were in a super hurry to reach the Shore Caravan Site Car Park for the night (very strict closing time policy) we had no other opportunities to stop and can only appreciate the dedication of our driver making it through the car parks door at 19:59 when we had to be there latest at 20:00.

The location was absolutely stunning just next to the Achmelvich Beach.

The other accommodation was at Captain Tom's wee House in Lochinver, which was a bit hard to find, but our friends that stayed there had only good feedback to hare with us.

Day 5: It was time to start ore "island hopping" first stop on the Harris & Lewis Island

The next morning we woke up super early heading towards Ullapool Ferry Terminal to go to the Harris Island. Keep in mind if you are with a caravan you absolutely need to book i advance and pay attention at the size of your caravan as the prices vary based on this.

The ferry we took left Ullapool at 10:30 and arrived in Stornoway at 13:00. Once we arrived in Stornoway, we left our luggage at the accommodation Sandwick Bay Guest House and the Caravan parked at Eilean Fraoich Campsite (check in by 8 PM)

And look who our neighbours were next to the camping site.

We then took the car (we were only 5 left at this stage, so we could leave the caravan parked) and went to the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village which is a sort of a village museum where you can learn ore about the use of the turf and how the sheep wool is used to make carpets.

Getting back to the Outlander topic we went to visit the Callanish Stones, keep in mind that the museum closes early, but you can still reach the stones.

As we were in a bit of a rush the next day we even stretched the day going into Gallan Head where they say you can spot whales. Now that I've been it was nice, but I would not necessarily recommend the trip unless you have loads of time.

From here back to our accommodations and too some time to relax for the evening.

Day 6: Moving to Isle Skye

We started our say early going towards Huisinis Beach where we heard you can see Coos and although we did not see any the beach and the drive (although supeeeeeeer narrow) was beautiful.

In the meantime one of our friends went to the Isle of Harris Gin Distillery which looks pretty nice. From there we also took some scones so that we can snack on them at our next stop

Talking about our next stop, I am happy to share one of my favorite places from the trip, namely Luskentyre Beach, which is stunning. Although it was not hot enough for a bath I took the opportunity to dip my feet in the sea.

From Luskentyre Beach we stopped at Seilebost beach for a mini mini walk and some pictures with a view.

It was now getting close to our Ferry from Torbert Ferry Terminal going to Uig Ferry Terminal on the Isle of Skye

From the terminal we went to leave our things at the accommodation at Seaforth Cottage and park the caravan at Skye Camping and Caravanning Club.

And we took the rest of the day to do the walk and enjoy the sunset at the Neist Point Lighthouse which is clearly one of the most recognizable pictures of Skye.

Day 7: Full day on Skye

This day was a hiking day (imagine my joy and excitement) so after breakfast we went to pick up the rest of the crew at the camping site.

The highlight of the morning was the chance to enjoy some close up time with the Coos pets from the camping site. the guys there were super nice to allow me to get close to the cuties and take some pictures while they were feeding them.

Going back to the topic of the day, our first stop was at the Fairy Glen, which is super beautiful. This is an easy walk with some mini uphill here and there so it's easy for everyone to explore.

From there we went to Quiraing this is a 6.8km circle route through gorgeous landscapes. This is a bit more medium level lets say and make sure to have good waterproof shoes as there are (were) some areas where the ground was extremely wet and easy to be pulled in.

From there we went to the Kilt Rock (Creag An Fheilidh) which is a stone formation that looks like a kilt.

And then took a walk to the Brothers Point (Rubhan Nam Braithrean)which is a 2km walk which pretty views

As it really seems complicated to find food late in the evening we decided to head to Portree for a second portion of Fish & Chips.

And to burn the calories we took a walk to Talisker Beach right at sunset which made it absolutely gorgeous. There is no real parking here so you will need to park further ahead and walk.

Day 8: Isle of Sky and Glencoe towards Glasgow

If you thought hiking finished, it did not, today we went to the Old Man of Storr in the morning which I mean, everything is beautiful here, so clearly we got to take some very pretty pictures

And from here we went to the Eilean Donan Castle which was the last stop from when it comes to our experience on the Isle of Skye. We did go into the castle, but honestly I personally don't believe it is worth it.

Getting into the Glencoe area, our first stop was at the Old Boat of Coal with a view over Ben Nevis.

Followed by stops at some viewpoints listed below:

Three Sisters Viewpoint

Buachaille Etive More Viewpoint

Loch Ba Viewpoint

Ending up the day in Glasgow. Our first stop was the Paesano Pizza which is the best rated pizza in Glasgow.

And of course went to our accommodation Cozy 2 bed flat (as a note before getting to Glasgow e dropped the camper van at the Open Road location).

Day 9: Glasgow & around

We started our morning with a mini visit in Glasgow

And then we headed to visit the Kelpies which are to massive metal horses in Helix Park.

From there, calling Outlander fans as we stopped at Midhope Castle (where you can't really go inside) so it's just outside and honestly not worth the stop

A better stop being the Blackness Castle which is a far pretties castle and is also free of charge

If you wonder why our route was so zig zagged towards this end, it was simply because we had to drop another part of our group to Edi Airport (so if you don't have such constraints, I am sure you can make this smoother)

We afterwards went to Culross village for a walk around and also grabbed a small snack & a beer at one of the local pubs.

From here we went back to our accommodation in Glasgow and went out for dinner at Ardnamurchan Restaurant & Bar where they had a very interesting (though a bit pricy) menu

Day 10: Back to Fort William area

This was an interesting start of the day with a visit to the Clydeside Distillery which offered an interesting tour.

And to replace alcohol with some healthy vibes we went in Glencoe for the Lost Vally hike. This is an intermediate 2-3h hike. This is a back and forth route (thus not circular)

From here we tried to catch the Jabobite Steam Train at the Glenfinnan Viaduct, but we missed it, still got to see a regular Scottish train passing over the viaduct.

And then it was time to go to our accommodation in Ardgour at the Ardgour Inn. This had to be a early bed as the next day was an intense one.

Day 11: Ben Nevis Hike

I am so happy I had the chance & companions to do this hike, it was great practice for other hikes that I had planned through the year.

We woke up super early and got to the ferry around 6:40 to bring us on to the main land.

From there we went to the parking site of Ben Nevis where we parked at 7:20 AM.

Just some information, the max height is 1345m making it the tallest mountain in the UK. You can reach the top via 2 routes. One is for more advanced hikers and one (the mountain path) also know as the tourist route is the easier version. We followed the Mountain Path and took us 6h 10 min hike.

You will need
- good hiking shoes, I had a pair of waterproof Columbia Sneakers. Bare in mind that we still found snow and it was early June.
- a very light backpack with snacks, enough water and layers to ensure a good temperature as you go up down
- you don't need, but trekking poles can come in handy as you have a very long descent.

We finished the hike at 14:30 and went to eat something to regain power from there back to our accommodation in Ardgour. You can imagine we were pretty tired at the end of the day

Day 12: All Good Things come to an End

It was time to go back home and so we left Ardgour in the morning to drop Claudia in Glasgow as she had a flight from Prestwick and we continued our ride to Edinburgh where we dropped the car and went for our flight.

]]><![CDATA[24h in Glasgow]]>Tue, 13 Nov 2018 23:00:00 GMThttps://www.alusoare.com/scotland/24h-in-glasgow

There was not much time and so productivity was key to see as much as possible of Glasgow...but travelling should involve no stress let's see how beer, cocktails and 20k perfectly blend together :P

Getting there

Of course there is the airport and you have bus connection from the airport to the center. The other alternative is by train from Edinburgh. One of the great advantages of the 2 cities is that they are super close located at only about 45 min. You can easily get your ticket before hoping on the train in Edi at the train station. Don't forget to have breakfast in the morning :) very important for getting full of energy for the day. Once in Glasgow you can either step down at Queen Street or change the train there to The Central station. Honestly they are super close to each other, so make sure you check the walking option to your accommodation also from Queen Street station.

Accomodation

Everyone has his/her own preferences and requirements, I am always looking to be central and clean. As I was with my sister we chose to stay at a hotel (rather than apartment or hostel) next to the Central Train Station, called Grasshopper Hotel. Really nice and well situated. The area might be a bit dogie at night but we did not feel unsafe.

Approach

â€‹Glasgow is a treasure when it comes to street art and so I made my route taking street art into account plus some extra sites here and there which I really wanted to see. I will share here the highlights on streetart and a separate post will show you the murals I found across Glasgow.

The Lighthouse

It's a free museum and the tower offers great views over the city. I certainly recommend going in and climbing all the stairs :). Plus before you start the climb look up!

In the room before you take the stairs there is an expo about the history of the city, make sure you check it out it gives an interesting view of Glasgow.

Kelvingrove Park

Walk there! .. it's a beautiful walk and the reward is one of the most beautiful universities I've seen. If It's raining of course I can understand you would chose the bus ;)

University of Glasgow

"It was founded in 1451. Along with the University of Edinburgh, the University was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century" (Source)

"The Old College has been called " One of the finest, and certainly (the) most extensive specimen of Scottish civil architecture of the seventeenth century" by the 19th century Scottish architects MacGibbon & Ross." Although the architectural tenancy in Glasgow was clearly Greek, "To select the English architect George Gilbert Scott, whose works were in the Gothic revival style, was an unpopular decision amongst Glasgow's architectural community." (Source) .. but I have to say at least for me he did an extraordinary job.

Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery

To be honest I was not aware of the museum and saw it when looking around the university, it is free and i strongly recommend to take the time to visit it. btw.. it is the oldest museum in Scotland.

So much Greek architecture

Walking back to the hotel, as I wanted to leave my backpack I started noticing that there is a lot of Greek ... architecture out there. Which came as a surprise, as Greece is not really around the corner :) .. well anyway .. it seems that it was this guy Alexander Thomson which was nicknamed Alexander "Greek" Thomson who had a big influence on the architecture in the city. "Thomson only became 'Greek' in the mid-1850s, in his late-30s, when he decided to adopt the Classical Greek style as his only mode of working. Before that he had designed many Gothic, baronial, and Italianate villas down the Firth of Clyde in places such as Cove and Kilcreggan. He adopted the Greek at a time when it had gone out of fashion, especially in England where Gothic Revival was all the rage." (Source)

St Vincent Street Church in Glasgow is the only one of Thomson's grand kirks to survive intact, Built in 1859, it is a jaw-dropping monolith. (Source)

Glagow City Chambers

"Glasgow City Council, the local government body of the city of Glasgow in Scotland, became one of the newly created single tier local authorities in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with boundaries somewhat different from those of the City of Glasgow district of the Strathclyde region: parts of the Cambuslang and Halfway and Rutherglen and Fernhill areas were transferred from the city area to the new South Lanarkshire council area." (Source)

Strathclyde University - streerart focus

On several walls of the University you can find some impressive murals, here some examples.

Barony Hall

"Barony Hall, also known as Barony Church, is a red sandstone Victorian Gothic church located on Castle Street in Glasgow. [...] it's a fine example of Gothic architecture. The Old Barony Church was built as a part of the Barony Parish in Glasgow by architect, James Adams. It opened in 1799 and served ceremonial and other congregational purposes. The replacement for the old building was designed by J.J. Burnet & J.A. Campbell and raised in 1889, and incorporated architectural artifacts from the old church and a number of other relics. The New Barony Church was acquired by the University of Strathclyde in 1986. It was restored to its former glory by 1989 and is now utilized as a ceremonial hall, as well as serving other university purposes, known as the Barony Hall" (Source)

Glasgow Cathedral

This medieval cathedral is thought to have been built on the site of St Kentigernâ€™s tomb and marks the birthplace of the city of Glasgow.[...] Glasgow Cathedral is the only one on the Scottish mainland to survive the Reformation of 1560 intact. (Source)

The Necropolis

If you don't have the time to actually go till there, you can get a good view from next to the Glasgow Cathedral. "Fifty thousand bodies are buried in the 37 acres of the Glasgow Necropolis which sits on a hill adjacent to the Glasgow Cathedral. Monuments of every architectural style are here, designed by major architects and sculptors of the time, including Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, Charles Rennie Macintosh and JT Rochead." (Source)

Tolbooth Steeple

Tollbooth Tower

Gallery of Modern Art Glasgow

Food & Drinks

Dinner

For Dinner we decided to try out "Bread meats Bread" which you can find on St Vincent Street 104. I guess there is always a queue over there, but they move fast and the burgers are worth the wait

Drinks

Chelsea Market - maybe it's not clear why I went there for a beer, but there is this street-artist from Belgium, Joachim I like a lot who painted as a special edition some of the Heverlee Glasses you can see the picture below, they look awesome. Also Dzia should have a version, but unfortunately I did not get to find one.

Las Iguanas - we wanted a cocktail and after looking a bit around on our way home we stumbled over this place. The place looks nice and the cocktails are good so if in the area give them a try

Breakfast

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so we went for the one at "The Wilson Street Pantry". The food is fresh and nice and I can for sure recommend it, maybe just not the breakfast roll which is pure bread with some 1 or 2 ingredients of your choice. I went for tomato - avocado which was perfect as i could take them out of the bread and enjoy some vegetables.

And so, I got to see quite a bit of the city and also explored the local food and drinks offer.

]]><![CDATA[2 Days in Edinburgh]]>Tue, 16 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMThttps://www.alusoare.com/scotland/2-days-in-edinburgh

"If London were an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet" - Jess Walter, Beautiful Ruins.
And yes, Edinburgh is a wonderful city so get ready to see how I packed everything in 2 days.

Getting there

Edinburgh airport is super well connected to the city. You can hop on the AirLink bus which will get you till Princess Street right in the heart of the city. It's 7.5 pounds the return ticket (4.5 pounds one way).

Accommodation

As you can expect Edi is not cheap for accommodation but I was happy with booking my stay at Motel One on Princess street. Even my sister who is quite picky liked the place. The room was about 100 Euros per night for 2 people.

Day 1

I love to walk a lot and sometimes people that join me do hate me at start a little bit as i end up walking for about 20k a day ... and that's only because I love food and coffee so much andI take a lot of breaks :P otherwise it would be much more.
Let's start with the beginning: BREAKFAST :)

they say that if in Edinburgh you have to try the cheese toasties at Cairngorm Coffee, and so i did. I have to admit it, they are the best of what I tried and honestly I had more than I would have expected in different places. And next to it, have a try to their flat white.

With so many calories in one go, we collected enough energy to conquer the city.

Direction Victoria Street

My first note is about PITT's statue who apparently was the first Prime Minister of Britain back in late 1700. You can find his statue in the roundabout between George & Frederick streets. He looks like he is keeping an eye on the whole street.

Following Frederick street you end up in Princess Street... pay attention on your right side you can find Hotel Chocolate. I was not familiar with this chocolate shop and since I live in Belgium I became a bit picky with chocolate but loved this one and they have some very nice cosmetics as well, could not leave without getting a hand cream. Arriving on Princess street in front of you are quite a few things to see. If not in a hurry take a walk through Princess Gardens, right in front of you. You can enter via the gate in front of the Royal Scots Greys Monument. "This equestrian bronze depicts a Royal Scots Dragoon Guard (Carabinier and Greys) in uniform with bearskin hat, sword and rifle, it is by William Birnie Rhind (1853 - 1933) and was unveiled by the Earl of Rosebery on the 16th November 1906." (Source)

Follow the road on the right side of The Royal Scottish Academy (free) which I did not get to visit, but here a look of the outside's architecture

walking all the way up the street leaving the Scottish National Gallery (free) on your left side you reach the New Collage Building. "The University of Edinburgh is one of the largest and most renowned centres for (post)graduate studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the UK" (Source)

Take Milne's Court and you end up in LawnMarket which is part of the Royal Mile, I come later on back here

If you sort of go straight after you get out from Millen's Court, you end up on Upper Bow Street.

Before taking the stairs down to Victoria Street, walk on Victoria Terrace, it gives you a super nice view of Victoria Street

Take the stairs, finally you made it Victoria Street is here :)

From here head towards George IV Bridge and check out The Elephant House, or "the birthplace of Harry Potter". You can go inside for a coffee if you feel like it.

Or continue your walk towards the most famous dog of Scotland, Greyfriars Bobby. He has his own statue!

"was a Skye Terrier which became known in 19th - century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of its owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872. The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films." (Source)

Deepening on the time you can stop for lunch at Cafe Andaluz. I can't say it was the best place for Spanish food out there, but it's very beautiful decorated and has a quite big variety of tapas. You can find the restaurant also in Glasgow or Aberdeen.

It's time for exploring more of the Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is the name given to a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. [...] The streets which make up the Royal Mile are (west to east) Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, the Canongate and Abbey Strand" (Source)

On High Street you have the impressive St. Gills Cathedral "also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle." (Source)

and right next to it you can find the Mercat Cross. "A mercat cross is the Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scottish cities. [...] [The current one is] an 1885 replacement of the original cross removed in 1756." (Source) I must say I find the unicorn shape ultra funny.

all around this area there are a lot of small streets called Close and some of them offer super nice views over the city, you can check them out. For one of them, Mary Close you need to pay as it is a underground tour. I did not take that, as not necessary into this type of visits. But here the ones I checked out.

my favorite one is

In the Royal Mile everything is special and loos super charming. Here some of my favorites

Deacon Boddie's Tavern

Gladstones Land or the oldest building on the Royal Mile

Boswell's Court

Mirrors outside Camera Obscura

Whiskey souvenir shops

Edinburgh Castle

I pondered between going inside or not, but in the end and considering the nice weather i decide to only look around from the outside this time. Have a look

We did enter in the Museum of the Mound which was free and it takes you 15 min to visit

Leith district

And yes, I dragged my sister till the Leigh district only to see a bit of streetart. I am sure that she complained to everyone she knows about it, but here one of the walls we found around the area

Go for a Theater Play

We caught The Little Mermaid, but I am sure there are always nice ballets performed

Dinner if you still can

We went out for a snack next to some margaritas at Wahaca

Day 2

if your feet are not yet killing you start with Breakfast this time we tried Tani Modi so that you can collect energy for the day, we are going hiking!

Arthur's Seat

if you like hiking and great views, this is the place to go in Edi. It's not a heavy hike so anyone can do it. Just go in your rhythm and breath

Scots Monument

"The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the Jose Marti monument in Havana" (Source)

"The tower is 200 feet 6 inches (61.11 m) high, and has a series of viewing platforms reached by a series of narrow spiral staircases giving panoramic views of central Edinburgh and its surroundings. The highest platform is reached by a total of 288 steps. It is built from Binny sandstone quarried near Ecclesmachan in West Lothian." (Source)

We stopped for pizza at Vappiano, maybe not the best in the world, but perfect for a short break. From here we visited the Scottish National Gallery I have no pictures to share, but it's nice to see. And at the end with our 20k we decided to go to the hotel and call it off early, next day it was time for an early train to Glasgow.

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