Galavanting Around Glasgow
Monday 2 June
Monday 2 June
This week hopefully is going to be a reasonably quiet week. Today we are going to go to Glasgow from Perth which is 62 miles (101 Km) which should take just over an hour. To fill in a bit of time we are going to a small village, Kilmahog where there is a woollen mill.
Unfortunately the loom wasn't operating when we got there so we settled for having morning tea and looking around the gift shop. I was able to get a nice tweed cap and a very nice CD of pipe music. Deb didn't miss out, she was able to get a couple of tops which look very nice. As per usual the GPS found us some really beautiful country to go through to get from Kilmahog to Glasgow.
Deb has arranged for us to get a single bedroom flat for four nights so we will have a base to work from. We can't move in until 5.00 pm because we didn't organise it until late. The original flat that we thought was organised didn't let us know about it not being available until this morning.
To fill in time we went to a large shopping centre where there was a travel agent who should be able to arrange our travel to Ireland. We want to leave from Scotland, go to Ireland and return to Wales. The first travel agent we visited, Thomas Cook, said it wasn't possible, if we leave from Scotland we have to return here but in the next one we met a nice young man named Scott who has us leaving Cairnryan in Scotland tomorrow and returning to Hollyhead in Wales on the 11 June. We go to Belfast tomorrow and leave from Dublin. We want to go back to Wales so that we can have a look through there and then go onto the Lakes District.
Tomorrow we will go and have a look at where I worked while I was in Scotland, Greenock on the banks of the Clyde River, and Largs, also on the Clyde where I lived for nearly 2 years.
Tuesday 3 June
The motorway to Greenock is not too far away from here and reasonably easy to get to. Using the GPS it is no problem. The place has changed quite a bit, but I suppose it should be expected since the last time I was here was the end of January in 1978.
The dockyard is no longer there. The business ceased trading in 1993 and most of the buildings etc. were demolished. Some of the dry docks were filled in but unfortunately it hasn't been landscaped so it looks like an old industrial site. Where the engine shop was is a large supermarket and car park.
The main business area has followed suit with a multi floor mall and lots of shops from different chains. One shop we did find was the jewellers where Deb and I chose the engagement ring. It is still trading and the boxes the rings come in are still the same so I got Deb a box to match the one she has. Unfortunately the boxes cannot be purchased empty so the new box has a ring in it.
We went down to Largs which is a bit further west that Greenock. It is a summer resort and reasonably quiet. I lived there in a single bedroom flat for nearly 2 years. The building is still there although the windows have been replaced.
The road down to Largs is still a very pretty drive. The road from Wemyss (Weems) Bay is still close to the coast so it still will get covered in sea water when it is rough. I well remember getting covered by the waves when travelling back home in stormy weather.
We travelled back to Greenock/Port Glasgow via Loch Thom. Loch Thom is a reservoir that was built in 1827 as a water supply for Greenock. It is still used as the water supply but is also used as a fly fishery. Some people camp and fish but a lot of people use the area for walking. The scenery is still as spectacular as ever,
We spent a good while looking around and were back at the flat at about 5.00
Wednesday 4 June
Today is a Glasgow day. We are going into town do do some shopping for souvenirs etc. as we want to get some specific Scottish souvenirs and we are running out of time. We leave for Ireland in a couple of days and want to get Scottish things from Scotland not another country eg. England.
Since we have been in UK we have had a few taxi rides and there has only been one that has automatic transmission. The poor clutches and engines get a real work out as it seems that the drivers are reluctant to change down gears so the engines seen to struggle quite a bit.
We found a Lego shop in a shopping arcade and what a place. There was a Lego wall that is similar to lolly walls you get in sweet shops but instead of lollies in the containers there are Lego pieces. There are all sorts of colours, orange, pink, purple, lime green, dark grey, light grey and lots of other conventional Lego colours. You can also build your own Lego people. You can choose the hat/helmet, head with different expressions and facial hair, different bodies and legs. Three people for 4 pounds and ninety-nine pence.
We walked around town for about five hours, got most of the things we wanted. Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us as it rained for most of the day, hopefully it will be better tomorrow when we go to Bridge of Weir.
Thursday 5 June
Today was another trip down memory lane. We went to Bridge of Weir which is the location of the Quarriers Village where Deb worked for a while. Quarriers was a village that was built to give orphans a home with a family atmosphere. The houses in the village were build in the late 1880's and early 1890's. They are magnificent stone buildings. (If you want to learn more, Google William Quarrier). The reason that Quarriers was built is no longer there, but the foundation that he formed is still functioning so quite a few of the old buildings have been sold for private accommodation which ensures that the buildings will stay in good repair.
We went into Greenock to pick up Deb's ring that needed resizing. The jewellers worked wonders. We bought the ring on Tuesday and they had it resized and back to the jewellers by Thursday. Very good service.
No visit to Scotland would be complete without a visit to Loch Lomond, so after some lunch we decided to go up to see it again. The scenery around is truly beautiful and well worth the trip.
Tomorrow we are off to Ireland.
Deb and Den
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