I am now in sunny Scotland. It really is!! Clear blue sky and the most glorious sunshine has been delighting the residents of Glasgow who, I suspect, think their Christmas wishes have come early. All I hear from both English and Scots is how horrible and wet the weather has been this year.
Yesterday was a hectic day because I wanted to stop in at Gretna Green on the way north. To fit in with cheap fares and get to Glasgow in decent time I left Windermere at 6:50am, but because I wanted to make sure I was at the station on time, I overcompensated and ended up there at 6:20, having dropped off the hire car and walked up to the station.
That meant I arrived at Gretna Green before the shops and Blacksmith opened. Fortunately there was shelter because it was a bleak morning.
Gretna Green was one the must-do parts of my Regency homage, and I had been warned that it really wasn't much, but I enjoyed the displays and information about the changes in the marriage act over the years. They also had a wonderful display of carriages and old bicycles, and blacksmith tools and other traditional farming equipment.
I arrived in Glasgow with enough time to go to the School of Art and do a tour of the building which was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Paul Gamble had told me it was a must-do, and I am grateful he told me about it. Originally I was just going to pass through on my way to Dundee. The Art school was designed by Rennie Mackintosh and built in two stages because it went stupendously over budget. This gave him an opportunity to revise his plans and made the library even more beautiful. The tours are run by art students, and my guide, not surprisingly I suppose, was friendly, knowledgable and obviously loved the building.
Today was an amazing change - blue sky with scarcely a cloud to be seen. It wasn't even cold; about 6 deg. Because I only had a few hours I abandoned plans of galleries and museums and instead headed to the large shopping area close to where I was staying. One arcade was full of jewellery shops. Nothing else. There were gentlemen standing there in suits and black top hats. Not your usual retail garb. Further up the road another huge centre had a number of stores specialising in whiskey. In between was the huge department store The House of Fraser, which had the most beautiful Christmas decorations hanging from four levels of balconies into a huge atrium. It looked very festive and quite beautiful. In one of the other avenues the Christmas stalls had been set up selling various crafts and lots of food. Paella, churros, Dutch pancakes, nougat, coconut macaroons freshly baked (the smell was so tempting) and various sausages, meats, curries. The international meat stall was even offering kangaroo burgers. Fortunately I went through it late morning before the various foods were fully cooked, and while I wasn't hungry.
Yesterday was a hectic day because I wanted to stop in at Gretna Green on the way north. To fit in with cheap fares and get to Glasgow in decent time I left Windermere at 6:50am, but because I wanted to make sure I was at the station on time, I overcompensated and ended up there at 6:20, having dropped off the hire car and walked up to the station.
That meant I arrived at Gretna Green before the shops and Blacksmith opened. Fortunately there was shelter because it was a bleak morning.
Gretna Green was one the must-do parts of my Regency homage, and I had been warned that it really wasn't much, but I enjoyed the displays and information about the changes in the marriage act over the years. They also had a wonderful display of carriages and old bicycles, and blacksmith tools and other traditional farming equipment.
I arrived in Glasgow with enough time to go to the School of Art and do a tour of the building which was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Paul Gamble had told me it was a must-do, and I am grateful he told me about it. Originally I was just going to pass through on my way to Dundee. The Art school was designed by Rennie Mackintosh and built in two stages because it went stupendously over budget. This gave him an opportunity to revise his plans and made the library even more beautiful. The tours are run by art students, and my guide, not surprisingly I suppose, was friendly, knowledgable and obviously loved the building.
Today was an amazing change - blue sky with scarcely a cloud to be seen. It wasn't even cold; about 6 deg. Because I only had a few hours I abandoned plans of galleries and museums and instead headed to the large shopping area close to where I was staying. One arcade was full of jewellery shops. Nothing else. There were gentlemen standing there in suits and black top hats. Not your usual retail garb. Further up the road another huge centre had a number of stores specialising in whiskey. In between was the huge department store The House of Fraser, which had the most beautiful Christmas decorations hanging from four levels of balconies into a huge atrium. It looked very festive and quite beautiful. In one of the other avenues the Christmas stalls had been set up selling various crafts and lots of food. Paella, churros, Dutch pancakes, nougat, coconut macaroons freshly baked (the smell was so tempting) and various sausages, meats, curries. The international meat stall was even offering kangaroo burgers. Fortunately I went through it late morning before the various foods were fully cooked, and while I wasn't hungry.
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