I bungled my planning for Glasgow. After the ferry and the drive from Islay, the road closures in Glasgow, and getting my car returned, I didn’t check in until 4 PM. And my train to York was scheduled for 6:48 the next morning. That didn’t leave much time for poor Glasgow.
I didn’t mention it in the Edinburgh post because it didn’t seem significant. Just down the street from my hotel there was some sort of filming going on. The streets of Edinburgh are already quite congested and adding all the paraphernalia of a film set wasn’t helpful. But, it is what it is. Then I got to Glasgow and instead of being on foot, I was in a car. A car with a manual transmission, hilly streets, and the gearshift on my left. And both sides of the street in front of my hotel consumed by Warner Bros. trucks and security guards. No place to stop to drop luggage or register. I ignored them, stopped, and dropped my suitcase anyway, getting yelled at the whole time. I later learned that they not only commandeered the street, but they start work, loudly, at 5 AM.
The hotel turned out to be quite nice. It is apparently a repurposed building with some beautiful stained glass in the main stairwell. This one happens to be of the Glasgow coat of arms, featuring St. Mungo.
I got upgraded to a suite with amazing 15 foot ceilings. I wish I hadn’t mangled my schedule because I didn’t get to enjoy the room.
I arrived too late to get a look inside. This is the Glasgow Cathedral. Construction started in 1136 and was completed about 350 years later.
The major draw for me was the necropolis behind the church, a part of which can be seen in the photo at the top of the page and at right. I was too late for that as well.
I was able to amble about in the cemetery abutting the cathedral. I had to smile, and acknowledge that I was in the land of Adam Smith, when the gravestone starts with “Property of…”
The Journey 