Scotland
October 3-19, 2025
| Glasgow-start | Glasgow 2 | WHW-Tuesday | WHW-Wednesday | WHW-Thursday | WHW-Friday |
| WHW-Saturday | WHW-Sunday | WHW-Monday | WHW-Tuesday | Fort William | Edinburgh |
Glasgow – Sunday & Monday
Two more days in Glasgow! Well, less than that really, as we’d have to leave Monday afternoon to reach our destination for the start of our West Highland Way hike on Tuesday morning. So let’s explore some more!
Today we started with breakfast at the Spitfire Espresso, a tasty little corner cafe with a good menu. From there, we wandered through the city and took in some of the massive and beautiful murals that can be found throughout. I love a good mural!
Not a mural, but I thought it was cute
Dan for scale!
Oh look! There’s a race happening!
More Glasgow architecture details
With the day as lovely as it was, we took advantage and hopped onto the subway to visit the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. What’s that? There’s a subway in Glasgow? Yes, we were also surprised. But it turns out that it is the 3rd oldest subway in the WORLD! Who knew?
The gardens are large, over 32 acres, and were founded in 1817 but moved to the present site in 1842. We were really impressed with the greenhouses and spent a lot of time in the warmth under the glass panes. Also, October isn’t the prime season for visiting gardens, but there was still plenty to look at.
Near the entrance were use-specific gardens. I’d never seen a display like this, which included: Scottish natives, Pottager, Herbs, Culinary, and even “Chronological Order”, indicating which century a plant was introduced to British gardens. There was also a little group of people learning how to pollard some young trees – I never expected to see something like that!
The Greenhouse
Once inside the greenhouse, I went nuts with photographing some of the more unusual things I saw. Here are a few of the most interesting ones.
Very dense growth
Check out the pattern on the trunk!
Dan for scale
From the Greenhouse we walked across a small space to what looked like another greenhouse, but this one had a name: The Kibble Palace. It was amazing – full of tree ferns and forests and greenery. And it doesn’t hurt that ferns are one of my favorite types. And what is a fern? Ferns are a “group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers”. Now you know!
Looking back at the Greenhouse
Kibble Palace
The tree fern collection was planted in the 1880s
Alien plants!
We had a short break at the cafe on site, enjoying a little treat of tea and cake, before heading to another museum. This was the Kelvingrove Museum
We stumbled upon an organ recital – very cool!
A more “typical” museum display – just kidding: this was awesome!
Oooh – the elusive Haggis; would we meet one in the wild?
And the real reason we planned this hike in October: we’d rather deal with the rain than the midges
More Irish Elk!
“Kelvingrove was one of Glasgow’s first public buildings to be lit by electricity. These splendid brass light fittings in the Central Hall were designed with the elegant curves of the art nouveau style, which was popular in 1901.”
“Queen Victoria made the Highlands fashionable when she bought Balmoral Castle as a retreat in 1848 – she enjoyed the freedom of the Scottish mountains. The distortion of scale in this painting emphasises Balmoral’s isolation.”
“This powerful painting shows a family, homeless and destitute, having been forcibly evicted as part of the Highland Clearances. Standing on the quayside they say goodbye to family members seeking a new life overseas.”
Post-museum we thought that we should stop and have a drink and we found the Grunting Growler – I love that name!
Plenty of choice – including a cider for yours truly
We took a break at the hotel, and then did a nice walk along the River Clyde. The day was chilly and overcast, but still dry.
The River Clyde is not a small river
Seal!
Graffiti? Mural? Art? Whatever you call it, I love this style. Can’t go wrong with cats, either
Random church check
Oooh, a sneaky mural!
The People’s Palace
The condition of this building broke my heart
Doulton Fountain – designed in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee and is believed to be the largest terracotta fountain in existence
It had been a long day of walking and we saw a LOT. We made the return to the city center, enjoyed an OK dinner at the Weatherspoon’s next door, and then packed up for our bus journey to Milngavie tomorrow. Let the fun begin!
Monday
After a lazy morning we hopping on a bus for the 30 minute ride to Milngavie and our accommodations for the night.
We settled into our rooms and then made ourselves comfortable in the nearby restaurant / pub, the Burnbrae. It was very cozy and warm inside and we wished that we had a bigger appetite to fully enjoy the menu offerings.