Glasgow is Scotland’s quaint second city, and one that grows on you pretty quickly. I spent just about a day in the city recently and got the chance to visit a few places. So if you had a day in Glasgow, what could you do?
I’d recommend starting your morning at the very old Glasgow cathedral, built sometime in the 12th century and still in impeccable shape today. Though parts are currently under construction, most of it is open to the public and makes for an interesting historical tour. Depending on how long you spend at the cathedral, you might want to head on over to the acropolis, just behind the cathedral. I didn’t manage to make it there during my time but I could see it from a distance and I learned that the old cemetery has great views of parts of the city and is excellent for photography.
After the cathedral / acropolis, you might wish to head over to the botanical gardens and check out its collection of roses, palms, and plants from various parts of the world. If you’re lucky and it’s a sunny day, the best thing to do at the gardens is to find a piece of grass, lay on it and proceed to day dream. If you’re not, you might have to be satisfied with strolling through the greenhouses and Kibble and taking in the collection of plants.
Down the street from the gardens are a bunch of restaurants, so after dreaming about your future (and laying out in detail how to achieve your dreams), you might wish to grab some lunch to go and walk on over to Kelvingrove Park to find yet another piece of grass to lay on and munch away. Walking to the park involves walking through the beautiful Glasgow university grounds and taking in some of its gorgeous old buildings, including some that, according to legends, featured in Harry Potter (apparently, this is not actually true!).
But, don’t much on your laurels! The day is not yet spent so make sure you keep an eye on your watch or cell phone so that you can walk a leisurely 15minutes across the Park to catch the 2.30pm tour at the beautiful Kelvingrove Museum. Although I’ve never really been much of a tour guide person, I’ve been giving in to them of late and I’ve realized just how much I’ve been missing! Especially if you’re lucky to have a quirky, knowledgeable and witty guide, tours make for a great way to learn fun (sometimes, random!) facts very quickly not only about the object(s) of your tour but also about the city as the guides are usually hosted by locals who can give you a tip or two or direct you off the beaten path.
The tour lasts for about an hour after which you can return to your favourite parts of the Museum to further ruminate, reminisce or take pictures. Otherwise, you can relax at the café inside the museum or on the grounds outside (again, if both luck and the sun shine on you) before heading off to dinner or to catch your train, flight or bus. If Thai food is your thing, I’d recommend the gorgeous Thai restaurant Chaopraya in the centre of Glasgow for both food quality and ambience. You may also take a bit of time to walk around the centre before dinner and take in the beautiful old buildings. You might be lucky to hear a man playing the bagpipes, in a kilt!
Of course, there are more things to see in and around Glasgow e.g. taking a short drive just outside of the city to see a Loch (i.e. Loch Lomond), visiting any of the other Museums in town, or simply taking a walk on Great Western Road to get a sense of the city’s more affluent residential living. But if a day’s all you’ve got and you manage to achieve at least half of the above, it would be a day much excellently spent!
The Kola Nut 