Feb 25 2009
Glasgow
Not everyone wants to spend go abroad for their holiday some people don’t want to sit by the beach, in a foreign country or eating foreign foods. There are actually many lovely places to visit in the UK.
I recently made my first trip to go and visit the city of Glasgow. I had always believed that as a city it would be inferior to Edinburgh. Well how incorrect I was. Glasgow has really invented itself into a city of culture and style. The cities campaign ‘Glasgow’s smiles better’ has definitely worked!
Glasgow is easily accessible from England by either road where you go straight up the M6 motorway or by rail however both are quite long journeys compared to under an hour’s flying time from selected airports in the UK. I flew from the East Midlands airport with BMI Baby a cheap budget airline who still allocate seats to its travellers. Once I had landed I took a short taxi ride took to the excellent Radisson SAS hotel which was directly opposite the Central Station. The central station of Glasgow also deserves a mention as it is an architectures dream with its ornate ironwork decoration and was opened in 1879.
It was a blustery day in Glasgow. A little bit of sun, a bit of wind, and of course a bit of rain….I took a walk around the city. I stopped for some lunch and had a very yummy scone roll! which is like a potato pancake but it’s fried and put between a roll very tasty indeed. I then made my way to Glasgow Cathedral which is the only mediaeval cathedral in the Scottish mainland to have survived the 1560 Reformation virtually undamaged.
Glasgow has a great selection of museums and galleries far to many to mention them all in detail. Here are some of the ones that I visited and the ones most worthy of seeing is the Gallery of Modern Art which is the second most visited modern art gallery outside of London. The McClellan Galleries, the Burrell Collection, the Museum of Transport and the Science Centre.
The following day I walked up a hill nearby called the Necropolis which has a massive old cemetery located on the top. Once you reach the top the views are pretty good. The cemetery has many old gravestones, tombs, markers and some beautiful celtic crosses. Once I had explored the Cemetery I then walked back down to Buchanan street. Buchanan Street is the main shopping area in Glasgow and it is a wonderful experience just wandering around. The Buchanan Galleries are also worth a visit. It may not rival Princes Street in Edinburgh for shopping but it comes in very close. If you walk up to the top of the street you can see the impressive Royal Glasgow Concert Hall and the statue of Donald Dewar which looks down at the passers walking by..
I did some shopping and then decided to make my way to Queens Park by train. So I headed back to Central Station and then took the Cathcart train which stops at Victoria Road. I then went for a walk through Queens Park which is a beautiful park.
I then decided to stop for some dinner and I ate a fried pizza with chips and then decided that I would go for the local speciality for dessert and tried a fried Mars Bar !! .It was very very sweet. I think I have learnt from being in Glasgow is that if it can be battered and fried then they will do it! For example they take the Mars bar and dip it in a batter and then chuck it into the oil which then melts the chocolate, caramel and nugget very tasty.
My overall impression of Glasgow was pretty good the city is surrounded by huge Victorian edifices which have all been cleaned and restored over the recent years creating a grand city centre. The city also had a real Italian feel to it. There is definitely some Italian influence in the architectural styles and there are lots and lots of cafes with a big cafe culture for a city that is so far north.
If you are using Glasgow as a starting point before heading to the Highlands and Islands you will be very lucky to visit this great city and you will be certain to have some great retail therapy. I would certainly recommend Glasgow for a short break without leaving our own shores of the UK.
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