Tuesday
Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, known for its rich industrial heritage, cutting-edge art scene, and warm, down-to-earth vibe. From grand Victorian architecture and world-class museums to live music, street art, and buzzing bars, Glasgow blends old and new with real personality. Whether you’re exploring the River Clyde, shopping on Buchanan Street, or catching a gig in a hidden pub, Glasgow offers a lively, creative energy that’s hard to resist.
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Return to civilisation
It was a short hop to Glasgow from Loch Lomond and for the first time since we left Glenrothes and started our Journey up the East Coast of Scotland, it seemed we were driving back into civilisation (aka Glasgow).
Gone were the windy roads, Munros, single track roads and passing places, and the A82 quickly morphed into the M8 and then the M74 – it was a bit of a culture shock, and Nikki suggested we promptly turn around and head back to the highlands.
That said, we were heading to Jim & Lynn’s daughter’s house to park up the Beast before heading into Glasgow for 2 nights in the Malmaison, and were both really looking forward to spending some time in Glasgow.
After parking up the van, and a cuppa at Jim & Lynns, they kindly dropped us off at the hotel.
Kelvingrove
Bags dropped, out of the door, and we decided to hit the ground running and strolled down to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for the afternoon.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, opened in 1901, stands proudly in Glasgow’s West End as a stunning red sandstone landmark and one of Scotland’s most beloved free attractions, with 22 themed galleries to explore.
Housed in a grand Spanish Baroque-style building — originally designed as the “Palace of Fine Arts” for Glasgow’s International Exhibition — it blends architectural splendor with civic pride
It’s a ‘must do’ if you go to Glasgow and was a fascinating museum with a mixture of ancient cultures (Egypt) and modern art.
The most famous painting is Salvador Dali’s ‘’Christ of St. John Of the Cross’, but we also found the waxwork of Elvis to be strangely oblique.
There is so much more to see than that in this eclectic collection. A very enjoyable couple of hours
The Pot Still
Before heading back to the Malmaison, we decided on a pint and a stop at a ‘typical’ Glasgow Pub – the Grove. Loads of old boys watching Sky Racing on the multiple TV’s. Great beer too, Steve loved it for its authenticity.
At hotel, a quick change and out to dinner, our choice this evening Chinese at the Lychee in Mitchell Street. Fantastic food, followed by a night cap in the Pot Still in Hope Street.
The Pot Still is amazing, if you like Whisky. Steve doesn’t mind it, but as Nikki said when a distillery tour was suggested earlier in the tour, she would rather drink her own piss ! Nonetheless it was an amazing bar which stocked over 300 whisky’s, some very rare, with the bar staff running up and down the ladders to reach various malts. We couldn’t figure out how they were all organised, but the staff clearly knew where each and every individual malt was if requested, and it was rammed !
BTW, Glasgow is surprisingly VERY hilly; with our hotel being at the top of the hill. In other words, our walk back was up hill.
Riverside Museum
We decided to do the tourist bus today, mainly so we could ‘zip’ around Glasgow and see as much as we could in one day, it was also quite sunny (yay).
We kicked off with Scrambled Eggs on toast at the Little Tuscany in St. Vincent Street, then boarded the hop-on / hop-off red bus, heading for the Riverside Museum, the award winning transport museum.
Nikki’s highlight was the recreated street scene, very imaginatively done, but there was so much more to see here than that, including trains, trams, subway carriages, cars, bikes, a tall ship – basically every type of transport you could imagine.
Hopping back on the bus, we got off at ‘West End’ a buzzy area full of bars and (so it seemed mainly Asian) restaurants. We ended up in the Wunderbar, not at all Glaswegian. It was a massive ‘German’ themed bar, obviously catering for the many students, as Glasgow University was only ‘up the road’. but we were literally the only ones there, other than the bar staff, security and the ‘singer’ warming up for the evening crowd.
We then headed to Glasgow Cathedral, only to find out we had arrived too late (last entry 4.15pm) so after a brief look we got back on the bus and headed into the centre for a couple of beers at the Drum and Monkey, situated in an old banking hall, and yet again a lovely atmosphere.
Ardnamurcan
After returning to Malmaison, we got ready for a night out with Lynn and Jim. Their recommndation was Ardnamurchan, a modern Scottish restaurant set at the top of Hope St and, conveniently, not far from the Pot Still.
We had a cracking evening, with Moules, Haggis and Lamb Kofta, followed by a couple of Lamb Rumps (Nikki and Jim), an epic Beef Shortrib (Lynn) and Langoustines (Steve).
Lovely company and grub again, with Nikki being grateful she is on a 27 day streak with her activity goals, basically since we set off from Wimbish.
We left Lynn and Jim to get home, and took the opportinty for one last visit to the Pot Still, where Steve finally tried a whisky (note, no ‘E’, that is Irish) and was recommended a Balvenie 12yo Doubledown. Very pleasant end to the evening.
2 Responses
The Pot Still looks like heaven for Craig! We’ve never been to Glasgow but must add it to our list. Looks like you’re having an amazing holiday. Can’t wait to hear all about it when we see you next week! Xx
Fabulous
Fabulous
Fabulous
You go so much done in 2 days
That bar looks amazing