Worktime

Today we walked to Hollyrood Palace, the official residence of the Queen, in Scotland. It was extremely cold and drizzling with rain.

Calton Hill provides a view of Edinburgh from within, with views over the river Forth and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

We visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the Scottish National Gallery, which contain many wonderful paintings and other works of art.

We finished the day with a walk to Greyfriars Kirk (a church) within which is buried John Gray and his beloved Skye Terrier, Bobby.

When John Gray died, his beloved Bobby is reported to have spent fourteen years guarding his grave. Greyfriar’s Bobby

Tommorrow we’re off to Edinburgh Castle.

This morning we visited Glasgow’s Cathedral, Necropolis and associated St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Art before departing by train for Edinburgh in the early afternoon.

Our flat is a few steps down an alley just off The Royal Mile so we are right in the middle of the tourist hotspot. Our kitchen window overlooks a large courtyard where tourist groups gather to hear about Edinburgh’s writers.

We set off for a “short” walk to a local lookout and several hours later returned damp and foot sore after scaling Hollyrood Park to get a view of the city from Arthur’s Seat. This trek covered about 12 Km with a greater majority of this distance either climbing up or climbing down slippery, rocky surfaces. The weather closed in and the view from the top would have been otherwise spectacular.

Today it rained. And it rained. And then it rained some more, just to make sure. I’m on the lookout for animals walking two by two.

We went to Pollok Country Park to visit the Burrell Collection and then Pollok House. The Burrell Collection of over 8,000 items was donated in 1944 by Sir William Burrell (a very wealthy shipping magnate) to the city of Glasgow. Pollok House was gifted to the National Trust of Scotland in 1966 but remains a private residence of the Maxwell family, where they live when they visit Glasgow, having owned the land for more than 700 years.

Our 2016 UK & Ireland holiday begins in Glasgow. Our first full day included a visit to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the surrounding parklands.

Our transit from Australia via Bangkok and Dubai was long and tedious. We were happy to finally arrive at Glasgow in the early afternoon. A walk downtown to stretch our legs was illadvised without umbrellas and we returned looking like drowned rats. Fortunately, the central heating in the hotel dried our jackets and shoes overnight ready for our excursion to the art gallery and museum today. Tommorow we are going on a small group tour to the Scottish Highlands, Glencoe and Loch Ness.