Travel around 2 be happy: September 2021

Hadrian's Wall Path - trip accounts

Holidays in the UK are not cheap. Scrap that! Holidays in the UK are expensive. That's why Brits like to go abroad. It's cheaper and the weather is better.

No complaints with the weather on this trip though. We were so lucky as these 2 weeks holiday were bang on the British Summer. So far up to the end of August there has only been another week of sunny and hot weather. The remaining of the time has been rain, rain and more rain.

Hadrian's Wall Path is worth the money. Relatively easy to walk. Good facilities to cater for walkers. Beautiful scenery. Iconic walk with loads of history.

We did have a loss on this trip. My bicycle. On returning home we went back to Southampton Parkway train station to retrieve our bikes from the bicycle parking. Jorge's was still there, mine wasn't. Why is it that it's always my bike that gets stolen?!?

Transport:

Flight Southampton to Newcastle: £137.74
Metro in Newcastle: £24.2
Bus Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle: £13
Train Carlisle to Glasgow: £19
Subway in Glasgow: £8.40
Train Glasgow to London Euston + Tube Euston to Waterloo + Train Waterloo to Eastleigh: £166
TOTAL: £368.34

Accommodation:

Newcastle (2 nights): £37
Hadrian's Wall Path (8 nights - 1 dinner included): £612.83
Glasgow (2 nights): £60
TOTAL: £709.83

Food & drinks:

We spent £707.41 on breakfast, lunch, dinner, teas and evening drinks. Please remember we are not heavy drinkers!

Attractions:

Newcastle Castle: £18.55
Segedunum Roman Fort: £5.90
Chesters Roman Fort: £18
Housesteads Roman Fort: free as we are National Trust members
Vindolanda Roman Fort & Roman Army Museum joint ticket: £24.30
Birdoswald Roman Fort: £18
Carlisle Castle: £22.60
Carlisle Cathedral: free but we gave a £3 contribution
Glasgow Cathedral: free but we gave a £5 contribution
House for an Art Lover: £13
TOTAL: £128.35

TOTAL per person:

£957
€1130
$1324

Glasgow day 3

Thursday, 10th June 2021

Last day in Glasgow.
Breakfast was at Tinderbox in Ingram St.

Glasgow Green:

Glasgow's oldest park, established in the 15th century and situated by the river Clyde.

One third of the green was taken by the UEFA Euro 2020 Fan Zone.

McLennan Arch

People's Palace (at Glasgow Green):

Opened in 1898 as a museum, picture gallery and with reading and recreation rooms. Since the 1940's it is a museum of the social history of Glasgow. Unfortunately, currently closed.

Doulton Fountain (at Glasgow Green):

The fountain was built for the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry of 1888 by the Royal Doulton company to commemorate Queen Victoria's reign. In 1890 it was moved to the Glasgow Green. At 14m high and 21m across at its base, it's the largest terracotta fountain in the world. The life-size statues surrounding the base represent Australasia, Canada, India and South Africa.

Canada

We left Glasgow Green behind and started walking by the river Clyde westwards. The beginning of the path, which is where the oldest part of town is, had some rough areas where buildings facing the river were clearly neglected and there were some graffities. As we walked past the centre, the buildings were more modern and well kept and the walk became more pleasant.

Southportland St Suspension Bridge (1853)

Southportland St Suspension Bridge

Tradeston Bridge or 'Squiggly Bridge' (2009)

Clyde Arc or 'Squinty Bridge' (2006)

Clyde Arc or 'Squinty Bridge' (2006)

We walked all the way to Clydeside Distillery and then headed to Kelvingrove Park.

Kelvingrove Park:

The park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852 to provide relaxation and recreation for the new middle class to the west of the city. It sits around the contours of a large hill and it's situated by the river Kelvin.

Kelvin Hall

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (west entrance)

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (east entrance)

University of Glasgow:

Founded in 1451 and originally located in the High St (city centre), the main campus (Gillmorehill campus) has since 1870 been situated north of Kelvingrove Park and was built in the Gothic revival style.

Ashton Lane is a cobbled backstreet in the west End of Glasgow, north of Kelvingrove Park, that is noted for it's restaurants and bars. Probably better to visit at night!

'Running Time' sculpture (1999), known as Clyde Clock at Buchanan Bus Station. A fitting sculpture for a station I would say.

This is not the first time we have been to Scotland and I have always wanted to try one of Scotland's most unhealthy delicatessen: a deep-fried Mars bar. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds. It was invented in a Chip Bar in Aberdeen in 1992 and I finally had a go at it. It's rich, too rich, it's a bit sickening. Box ticked, not eating again.

At 15h40 we said goodbye to Scotland and boarded the train from Glasgow Central to London Euston. Four and a half hours later we were in London. We took the tube to Waterloo, boarded another train that took another hour and half to get to Eastleigh and, finally!, a 20 min walk and we were home. The return journey was bought last minute as we were not quite sure whether we could travel into Glasgow until the last moment so flying was an expensive option. Jorge was quite happy as trains are much more ecologic. However, the trip back home did took us 7 hours...

Glasgow Day 2

Wednesday, 9th June 2021

We woke up much more energetic after a very good night's sleep. Although our accommodation is in a main street, the bedroom faces the back to Ramshorn Graveyard. I like graveyards and cemeteries because they make for very quiet neighbours!

The weather has turned into the typical Glaswegian weather: cold and wet. We were going to get showers today!

We did woke up early though so we decided to go up the High Street again and visit Glasgow Cathedral.

Glasgow Cathedral:
Again, a contactless contribution like in Carlisle but in Scotland the minimum contribution is £5.

Glasgow Cathedral is the oldest building in Glasgow. The first stone cathedral was constructed over St Mungo's burial place and consecrated in 1136. St Mungo (late 6th century) is the patron saint of Glasgow.

View of the Cathedral from Church Lane (entrance of the Necropolis).

As we walked south from the cathedral, on the High Street, we came across The Pizza Machine. A vending machine for pizzas. What the hell?!? A pizza in 3 minutes probably sounds good at 3am when you are starving and no shops are open however, it sounds expensive at £9 for the crap that probably comes out of it...

Looking for somewhere to have breakfast, we came across Muffin Break at St. Enoch Shopping Centre. They have a variety of muffins and they are delicious!

One of my main reasons to come to Glasgow was to visit The Mackintosh House, an accurate reconstitution of the house of Charles Mackintosh and his wife Margaret MacDonald, two major figures of the Art Nouveau movement in Scotland. It was unfortunately closed. However, I did find a last minute replacement: House for an Art Lover.

We took the subway to Dumbreck Road, got pretty wet walking on the rain from the station to the house and finally arrived at our destination 30 min later.

House for an Art Lover:

Before we could contemplate any visits, we had to warm up and dry up a bit. So we sat at the house's café and had a tea. The café was full of people. Glaswegians were clearly making the most of the lifting of restrictions to meet family and friends.

In 1901 Mackintosh entered a German magazine competition to design a 'Art Lovers House'. Although his entry was disqualified on the grounds of a technical breach of the rules and late submission of some drawings, the design impressed the judges. In 1989 the house left the paper and was finally constructed by a Mackintosh fan. It took 7 years to built as Mackintosh didn't leave construction guidelines and engineering and construction methods had to be researched.

The outside: