Glasgow

In Glasgow, Konah and I stayed near the Kelvingrove Park in the West End. It is a nice area near Glasgow University with lots of restaurants and cafes. We stayed at The Kelvingrove located just around the corner from the Kelvingrove Museum. They offer ensuite rooms and standard British cooked breakfast for about 70 GBP. The location is ideal for visiting the museums and university, and downtown shopping is a short 20 minute walk away. After some research online, we decided to go to Two Fat Ladies at 88 Dumbarton. Two Fats (named for the Bingo call, not the cooking show) has several locations in Glasgow. The Dumbarton dining room is small and cozy and the food is fantastic. We had a few of their fish specialties. The scallops with pancetta and in a buttery cream sauce were fantastic! The highlight of our short Glasgow trip was a tour of the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Reservations for the tour are recommended, especially on the weekends, and are easily arranged with a phone call or email to the school. We finished off our Mackintosh tour of Glasgow with a trip to the Willow Tea Room for lunch before heading back south.

Hadrian's Wall

Because I had a meeting at Glasgow University, Konah and I took the opportunity to see a little more of the UK. We rented a small fuel efficient Nissan Micra from Europcar for about 100 quid and drove through western and northwestern Wales to Chester, then on the M6 north toward Glasgow. The roads in Wales are small, curvy, and lined with hedgerows. The motorway skirts the Wales-England border, only entering the country around Cardiff, increasing the relative isolation of the country from the rest of the UK.

We stopped at Hadrian’s Wall on the way to Glasgow. Hadrian’s Wall, begun in AD 122 was one of three walls used by the Romans to guard against the Scottish tribes and to establish the northern frontier of the Roman Empire in Great Britain. The wall extends 80 miles from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to Carlisle and is followed by the Hadrian’s Wall Path. Much of the wall still exists and ruins of the milecastles, forts, and other sites are preserved. We visited the west end of the wall near Gilsland. With the short winter days, we turned off the main road onto the B619 a bit late. It was getting dark as we got to Housesteads Fort. We drove back to Gilsland, but our room wouldn’t be ready until after 6:00, so we set out in search for a pub. We walked into the Bridge Inn, but they wouldn’t be open until 7:00. We were informed that the only place to get a pint before 6:00 was the Gilsland Spa Hotel. The place was completely empty, but the bartender was friendly and wanted to ask us questions about the States and our new president and the state of the economy. We heard almost polka-esque music coming from another room and were informed that the residents were having their dance time before dinner. We were a bit skeptical, but the food was as tolerable as any other pub food. After dinner and a pint we went to Tantallon House B&B, owned and operated by Ann and Alex Roe. They acquired the house two years ago and are still going through a series of upgrades, but should be finished before spring. We were the rare winter visitor; most people visit the area in summer and on holiday. Tantallon is also home to Hoot the Owl who came with the house. We learned from Alex that in Britain, B&B’s can only host 6 people at a time, if more, it is classified as a guest house or hotel/inn. Hotels are a bit more formal and there is less interaction among guests while guest houses often have some common areas. We had a great night’s sleep in a an ensuite room (has private bathroom) with fantastic new comfy beds. The sunrise was spectacular and we ate breakfast with a view overlooking the wall. We walked around the wall in the village and visited Poltross Burn Milecastle, which is accessible from a parking lot near the school, before heading on to Glasgow.