This summer I hiked the West Highland Way with a friend. One of the bonuses of that hike was visiting Glasgow a couple of days before the hike and Edinburgh for a few days after the hike.

The West Highland Way starts out near Glasgow. I’m fortunate that I can pick up one of the reasonable Aer Lingus flights that go through Dublin and then on to various locations in Europe – including Glasgow. At the Dublin airport, you take a bus out to the smaller planes on the tarmac. I must say some of us were amused to pull up to this plane that was possibly older than many of us. But we had a smooth hour or so trip into Glasgow.

My friend and I opted to take a private room at the HI Glasgow Youth Hostel, located in a beautiful residential area with 4 -5 story row type houses at the edge of Kelvingrove Park. Directly across the park was the University of Glasgow. The hostel was also about a 30-minute walk from the city center and train stations. One thing I had lost track of in Scotland was the latitude. On the first night, after traveling all night and arriving in the morning, the plan was to stay awake until the sun went down (9-ish) and head to bed. We were there right before the summer solstice and at 10:30 pm (23:30) the sun was still up, and even when the sun set, there was still lots of light. So out came the sleep masks, but I did enjoy looking out the window late at night with plenty of light to see.

View Out Our Window

The huge park, bordering the Kelvin River, and with a number of beautiful walkways, was our gateway to the University of Glasgow campus and the wonderful museums in the west end of the city. The weekend we were there (in late June), there was a huge festival in the park with music and other live events. From our perch at the hostel on the hill at the edge of the park, we were able to enjoy the music in the evening without dealing with the crowds.

Our first stop was the University of Glasgow campus with its medieval structures up on the hill.

University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

One of the highlights of the park area is the Kelvingrove Museum. Among other features, this museum highlights the works of Charles Rennie MackIntosh, whose style is similar to Frank Lloyd Wright from the U.S. Mackintosh is both an amazing architect and artist. Born in Glasgow, he continued to call Glasgow home for most of his life. His influence is evident throughout the city, including at the famous Glasgow School of Art (which unfortunately suffered a major fire while we were there).

Kelvingrove Museum

The Kelvingrove Museum also houses the Salvador Dali painting “Christ of St. John of the Cross’, which had just returned to the museum when we were there. It’s really a remarkable painting and we were fortunate that the museum had an expert on hand the day we visited to discuss the painting and its history.

Dali – Christ of St. John of the Cross

Among the many things that Charles Rennie Mackintosh is known for is the design of the interior and furniture of the Willow Tea Rooms. Not only is this a great ‘proper’ tea experience (plus other offerings), but you are dining in what is essentially a museum. It was terrific and I highly recommend it.

Willow Tea Rooms

Mackintosh Chairs at the Willow Tea Rooms

The Lighthouse Museum in the city center was designed by Mackintosh and is a design center and exhibition space open to the public. It’s worth a visit to wander through and enjoy the views of the city from the upper floors.

View from the Lighthouse Museum

View from the Lighthouse Museum

We visited the Gothic style Glasgow Cathedral on a dark rainy day, which added to the mystique. It is the oldest building in Glasgow and in my opinion has a bit of an earie feel, with a deep sense of history. In the back are some of the graves and memorials, all surrounded by massive Gothic Architecture.

Gothic Cathedral

Grounds at Gothic Cathedral

We also visited Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), the Hunterian (University of Glasgow), Byer Lane area, and walked the city center in our three days there before we took the train to Mulgavie to begin our hike.