Scotland has been a lifelong interest for me, so it’s no surprise that Glasgow made a strong positive impression when we finally got there in 2003. What’s surprising is that this 2018 UK/EU trip had only a couple of hours there! Even so, the beautiful train ride from Edinburgh enhanced the anticipation of our arrival.
07932 Rural Scotland
Even as skies darkened and rain showers increased, fascinations were abundant.
07918 Distant Castle
Far away in time and space, castles in various states of ruin and restoration garnished the green around villages, towns, and small cities like Linlithgow. But soon we emerged from the Glasgow station feasting eyes (and cameras) on a transforming city.
133639 Up Into Glasgow
The station is below street level, with covered escalators including a set near an old clock tower.
7951 Turning Back
We walked back beyond the distant escalator arch (left side of pic) to check it out again, since we’d heard in ’03 the then empty upper level was to be refurbished.
7959 Short Tower
Sure enough, what had in the last millennium been atop the station was now a quirky cool two-story cafe. Even with all the new and refurbished buildings since our last visit, we saw construction and restoration in process everywhere in the city core. We walked a few blocks along River Clyde and enjoyed a mini “Brooklyn Bridge.” Perhaps a former carriage connection, it’s now a slightly wobbly pedestrian bridge.
140050 New Tags, Old Bridge
With so much care going into this beautiful city, ugly graffiti tags here and there stand out. Back in the core, most of the crowd still seems to be locals strolling the mix of ancient, deco, and new architecture.
7954 People & Place
There are also both new and old indoor shopping arcades, and being tourists we found the old more interesting.
7956 Old Arcade Entrance
Just a decade and a half since our longer visit here, we could barely recognize it.
7987 Old Buildings, New Faces
With so many buildings obviously old or even ancient, our lack of recognition clearly reflects a need for more time here. But alas, we were already headed back to the station for our turn to the South.
7997 Approaching Train
Along with the many “People Make Glasgow” banners, we saw quite a few admonishing us to “Think Before You Step Out.” Probably related to foreign visitors used to traffic on the “wrong” side, it could also apply to visitors about to step out of this beautiful city after only a glance. I wish we could’ve at least kept exploring until our train, but waiting in the covered station did give us some time for lunch and people watching.
7999 Sheltered Station
In a cold Winter blizzard this must be a welcome shelter for people, pigeons and all living things. This former street level is also preserved as a repurposed arcade where locals, other Scots, and tourists gather in this global city spanning rugged, refined, ancient and contemporary.
John & Anne Wiley 
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