Welcome to Glasgow!
Highlights to Look For
Lunch at the Willow Team Room
The Duke of Wellington without his cone!
Unicorns. Everywhere.
The true story of William Wallace
Glasgow Itinerary
Day 1: Tour Meet and Greet
Day 2: Walking tour of Glasgow
Day 3: Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond, St. Conan's Kirk
We started our day with a walking tour of Glasgow. We wandered past grand central station, the style mile, and the lighthouse. From there, we walked through George's square to see the merchant house and city chambers. We continued up toward the University, enjoying many of these murals along the way. We stopped at the Provand's Lordship and the Glasgow Cathedral before ending our tour in front of the Gallery of Modern Art and the Statue of the Duke of Wellington.
Along with its numerous street mural, Glasgow is a city full of beautiful architecture. The progressive 'art nouveau' architecture of the 1800's was distinctive enough to be named the "Glasgow Style" and is largely attributed to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret. Make sure to stop in the Willow Team room for a traditional Afternoon Tea of sandwiches, scones, cake, and of course tea, and check out some of this artistic architecture.
According to our tour guide, this next picture is a special treat. This statue of the Duke of Wellington is ALWAYS decorated with a traffic cone for a hat.
Sure enough, we wandered past the next day, and he was once again adorned with his neon orange pointy hat.
Our First Castle
Stirling Castle was a magical site, or at least the unicorns were. That's right, the Unicorn. This national animal of Scotland is displayed predominantly in and around the castle.
Built for James IV, this castle is one of its kind for many reasons:
-
The Great Hall immediately stands out with its royal Gold harling exterior, and wooden boat-like ceiling.
-
This castle was the childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots
-
Its chapel was one of the first protestant kirks in Scotland
-
The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries
-
The Stirling Heads gallery
Background: the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond
St. Conan's Kirk
Conan's Kirk was an extra spot, not originally on our tour itinerary.
This kirk is mostly built in a Romanesque style, but features a wide variety of architecture - Norman doorways, Stone circles, Celtic crosses, Gothic buttresses and a Saxon tower. You can also spot an Effigy of Robert the Bruce; and when the sun beams hit his alabaster face and hands, it brings a bit of color to the wooden effigy.
Along the way we got the REAL story behind the movie Braveheart. Check out the story of William Wallace at the link below!