England/Scotland - Glasgow

Tuesday - 27 May – to Glasgow

Did not have to get up early. Train is at 11:24 am from Oxford Road station. All was okay. Shruti made tasty omelet for me and kept a potato sandwich for lunch. I got to the train station well in time. (took the tram from S Quay to St Peters Square and walked about 10 mins to the Oxford station). I found my seat on the train and 3 hrs later I was in Glasgow. It’s a lively town. It is just filled with people. The walk to the hotel is about 1 mile. George Square is all boarded up, they are redoing it and it will be like this for one year. It does not look pretty here but what can one do? The buildings here are made from a different kind of stone – a reddish stone. They look really sturdy. The Premier Inn hotel is really nice. There are the self-check kiosks but luckily an actual person helped me out. I had bought the breakfast for this stay (that is 10 pounds per day). 

Today’s plan is to see the cathedral and necropolis (a strange name for a graveyard). The walk is nice; it is a sunny day but still kind of cool and windy. The cathedral is not that far. I made the mistake of going to the necropolis first. The cathedral closed at 4:30 pm – little too soon for a weekday. So I missed seeing the cathedral. The necropolis was interesting. An old graveyard with elaborate headstones. it was quite big and old – some graves were dating back to 1850s. 

Wanted to walk to Chaiiwala for tea but saw the clocktower and decided to walk towards it. I decided to see inside an Aldi on the way. I needed to get shampoo (the hotel does not have shampoo). Bought some chips also. Anyway, walked towards the Clyde River. And just like that it started raining – for 2 mins! Walked back to the hotel to drop off stuff and go to Chaiiwala for chai. It is about 6 pm. I am tired today and my right knee is hurting. I had the karak chai and tikki chaat. Both were excellent. I still have to come back to eat the omelet as Shruti recommended. 

That is it. I am done for the day. All the walking and dragging the luggage has done it for me.

Wednesday - 28 May – Highlights of Scotland Tour 

It was going to be a long day today. The tour itself (booked through Get Your Guide) is 10 hrs long. I got up at 6 am. Breakfast was at 6:30 am. It was a nice spread of eggs, hashbrown, toast, pastries etc. Good stuff. I walked to the Buchanan bus station. It’s not that far but a bit uphill. I should have read better the instructions on where to find the bus. But the tour operators were very helpful on Whatsapp in finding the bus. The bus station is quite big and clean and nice. 

The tour started 10 mins early since everyone was there. I am in the front again! We are going to see so many things. The first stop is “Rest and be Thankful” Viewpoint. This is by the lake. There are many many lakes on the way today. Mountains are everywhere. The mountains change their look as we keep moving on, which is interesting. 

View Point

Then we come to Inveraray which has a castle and a small cute town by the lake. The castle is closed today, but the driver/tour guide, Clay, mentioned that the grounds are also pretty. So we all made the trek there. It is about 1 km from the road. But the grounds were closed, but I took some photos of the castle, which really looks really like a huge manor. Pretty. I walked around the town. I did get some nice bags from here and had a hot chocolate. The lake (loch) is really pretty. I think we had an hour and a half here. 

Inveraray Castle

Then comes the stop at Kilchurn Castle. By now we are driving on really narrow roads and through forests occasionally and mostly near lakes. Clay says he does not know why this is the most photographed castle. I can understand – its broken and not in good condition, but the location is so pretty. There were some Scottish cows around and water in the back with the mountains. So scenic! Took a lot of photos.

Kilchurn Castle

Time to go to Oban for lunch. This is a big touristy town on the coast. We have about an hour and half again. I am not super hungry and I also need to walk around. But I did have a cheese and tomato toastie at the Oban Inn. It was so tasty! Just hit the right spot. I did do some shopping here – some magnets, chocolate and bookmarks. I still got done in time. It was a pretty town. 

Then it is time for Castle Stalker – smallest castle ever! Clay went to a really small road to get to this castle. It is privately owned. It is too far to get a nice photo, but still was very photogenic. It could very well be a jophdi 😊

Castle Stalker

Glencoe was next. By far, this is my favorite place. The landscape changed quite nicely when we got near Glencoe. The huge mountains, with huge valleys and streams going through the valleys. The mountains were all green because it rains all the time, just like now! Such pretty places and its raining. (Apparently it was not raining for three weeks and now its back!). This is really just a magical place. So many movies were filmed here – Skyfall, Highlander, Harry Potter etc etc. I can imagine. The whole place is just mystical. We stopped at the 3 sisters spot. The people living in this region say the rivulets coming down the mountain are mountains are crying.

As we are driving out of this region, comes another interesting region – the Etive Mor. This is like a swamp with grass on the top, but anyone walking there would promptly get sucked into the earth and disappear. Another mysterious region. No wonder the people here are so different. They live in such dangerous and harsh conditions. 

After this was the Loch Lomond National Park. It was nice – not much to mention except it is pretty – the forest, the lakes. We stopped at a hotel in the park at the Loch Lomond. I did not need anything but it was nice to stretch the legs before the drive back to Glasgow. 

Loch Lamond

We got dropped off at the bus station again. That is it. I am done for the day. I have walked over 6 miles today. I need some bed time and tea!

If I could come back here, I would drive around Glencoe on my own and probably stay overnight in Oban.

Thursday - 29 May – Walking tour Glasgow and Museum

I don’t want to get up early today. I don’t even want to go for the walk, it’s going to be rainy all day. But….I cannot cancel. What else am I going to do? Got to the tour meeting point at George Square near Costa Coffee. I did not get the email about meeting there but I heard some others talking. Back up plan is to take the sightseeing tour bus for 20 pounds and go around to see the city sights. It is raining. Thank goodness for my umbrella. 

The guide Bruce came on time and took a bit of attendance and took us for the walk. It was a great walk. I am glad I did it, despite the rain. He stopped at all the spots designated in the tour list. Told us good stories and places to eat and museums to see. All in all - good! He dropped us off at the cathedral. Finally I went inside the cathedral. It is big and quite empty. Saint Mungo is what this whole city is about. He brought Christianity to this area and helped establish this town. The cathedral also has his tomb. The stained glass windows are beautiful. 

It stopped raining in the middle of the walking tour, but it is back on again. First I need to have chai and something to eat – best place to do that is Chaiiwala! I had the Bombay sandwich. It was good. 

Now it is time to go to the Kelvingrove museum.  Bruce said it was the place to visit. Well…I am not too much into the museums but there is not much I can do outside. Google maps told me to take the #2 bus from Hope and Vincent streets. I love the tap in method of payment. We cannot overpay it seems. The museum took me about 3 hours to see – there was something for everyone: photos, Egypt relics, natural museum, paintings and a bit of Glasgow history. All in all not bad, but definitely not a must see. If it had not been raining I would have gone to the Botanical gardens. But I still have Inverness and Edinburgh to visit which also have gardens. Took the same #2 bus back, this time to the Gallery of Modern Art which is not too far from my hotel. Now the sun is out and it is lovely but I feel so tired. And there is really not much to do in Glasgow.

Came back and made my reservations for London.  I have to go from 10-12 June since Gaurav can drop me off on Tuesday and Shruti is going to London also on Wed for a training. Well….London here I come! 

That is it for my day today. I think it was the rain that tired me out. Tomorrow on to Inverness.

England/Scotland - Manchester and Around

Manchester is the second largest city in England, very old and quite nice.

It is just the right size. My niece, Shruti, is working there for a few months so I decided to visit. Since she has Monday off, I reached on Friday, so I can spend the three days with her. We missed one of the tours, so we took two others and also explored Manchester city.

Friday evening I was ready to go wandering to the city. Shruti and I took the tram to Piccadilly Garden. It is quite active there - lots of people hanging around. We wandered around town. Lots of old buildings and new ones. There was a nice tulip display in a mall as part of the Manchester flower show. The ceiling was digital and they created a lovely display that changed with time. 

We went back to Corn Exchange to Mowgli, an Indian restaurant, and had a “Tiffin”. It was not that great. Time to head on home. 

Saturday - 24 May - Manchester

Today we want to go and see the Manchester Flower show and just walk around. I had a few things on my map to see. It is easy to get around from Shruti’s place as the blue line goes into the city. The flower show was nice. Some really nice displays.

We went to see the cathedral next. I had a cup of coffee and lemon cake. It was good and a nice break. Next we walked to the Manchester public library. The entrance had a really interesting sculpture on the top. 

I saw a free bus that went in a circle. There are two – a pink and a green or route 1 and 2. We happened to sit on route 2. It was nice. It was a little slow but went to all the key places around the city. I think Shruti was having a hard time with the motion so we got off near the Rosa Thai where we had the best lunch possible. The chili sauce was just great! Next to it was the John Ryland library where there was a huge line before but not now. We just made it inside in time before they stopped entry. It was an old library made by Mary Ryland for her husband. It was made by all the cotton trade they did with slaves working on their plantation. The library was beautiful and had quite a collection of books! Very impressive. 

Then I looked at my map for the things I had highlighted to see. One was Dalton entry. What the heck was it?? Just a plaque on the road. Of course it was based on John Dalton, the scientist.  The next thing I had saved was the Tower of Light. This turned out to be an interesting tower. It was a symbol of energy saving.  The area around it was nice too. Anyway, it was not quite what I was expecting but okay. 

That was the end of our day. We just went home, talked and watched some TV.

Sunday - 25 May - Tour To Dales and Bronte 

Got up early to go to the tour point near Piccadilly. It was a Rabbies tour (booked through Get Your Guide).  Richie was our tour guide. We got the second seats. Not bad. I have taken the description from the GetYourGuide website and edited it.

We started promptly at 8:30 am. Richie gave us a nice history of Manchester as it developed as an industrial town. We are heading north to visit the hillside home of the Brontë family in the town of Haworth.  The drive was pretty, with hills and sheep everywhere. The valleys were lovely. We reached Haworth around 10ish. We walked around town, went into some stores, the church and the graveyard. The museum had toilets which were needed 😊.

Richie was telling a lot of references for all the shows shot in this region, but I did not know many of those shows. It definitely is a pretty area for making TV dramas.  We drove through the lovely landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. It’s a breathtaking view to be sure. Meandering hills, craggy moorlands, and romantic valleys stretch out all around you. But what you take notice of most is the limestone. From cliffs to caves, outcrops to scars, this moody rock is found at every turn.

We arrived at the market town of Grassington, often referred to as the "beating heart of the Yorkshire Dales." Apparently, the fictional market town of Darrowby is in the series of All Creatures Great & Small. I have not seen that movie. It was cold by now.  

Just a short 5-minute walk from the car park was the Linton Falls. It was quite pathetic since there had been no rains. But it was really interesting to see the rocks which would have been under the river in case there was more water. By the time we got to Grassington village, we barely had time to eat lunch, which we had at . It was great! We did not have time to go to any shops.

Then we went on to Aysgarth Falls, a three-stepped waterfall that has drawn people to it for over 200 years, including the famous, from poet William Wordsworth to painter JMW Turner.  Also the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was filmed here. It was a beautiful waterfall.

Next stop was the Wensleydale Creamery, custodians of a 1000-year-old heritage of making cheese. From their iconic, creamy, crumbly classic Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese to the rich, buttery flavors of Fountains Gold, this is a cheese lover's dream. We tasted all their cheese. Sadly the shelf life is only one week or I would have bought some. Oh well! I had some hot chocolate and we walked the gift shop. There was way too much time here. I think maybe because people could take tour of the cheese company.

Finally, the last stop was the stunning Ribblehead Viaduct. It was great looking near the Three Peaks mountains, but I am not sure what was so great about it. Maybe it was huge and I just could not tell from the distance. 

The drive back was fast enough in about an hour. There was not much stopping anymore. Richie was a great tour guide. He had the best music playlist and he sang along with so many songs. And his sense of humor was great. Such a perfect person for this job.

I had not taken a tour like this before. It was a small van with about 16 people and the driver was also the tour guide. He would take us places, tell us the history and interesting facts and then leave us to explore, which is kind of nice. 

Good day!

Monday - 26 May – Tour Snowdonia and Chester, Wales

Got up early again today for my Wales tour (booked through Get Your Guide).  Shruti has been to this one so its just me today. I am already having separation anxiety. She made breakfast for me and I am on my way. 

Got there in good time to get the most front seat. It’s again the Rabbies tour. Today's guide is Peter. I saw Richie also taking another group. Today is North Wales with several stops at great locations: Conwy, Snowdonia National Park, the quaint town of Betws-Y-Coed, and the historic town of Chester.

We left Manchester on time and stopped first in Conwy. On the way Peter told us about a lot of Manchester stuff and also Welsh culture. I did not know a lot of this history. Welsh, Scotts and Irish seem to have the same ancestry. They have similar music, Celtic art and symbols with some differences. The town of Conwy has a castle, entry was included in the ticket and then of course the small town. I did explore the castle a bit. There is not much in it but it was still nice to walk around and see the views from the top. There were so many wildflowers! 

Time to have some tea and the Welsh cake (really good). I bought some keepsakes and sat down to have my tea when this Indian guy, also traveling solo, sat on the next table. I invited him to sit with me. Abhiraj, from Mumbai has just moved to Manchester and is exploring the country. Nice guy. I left him to finish his cakes and went off to do some more shopping. I ended up buying a dragon! Small one. 

We continued on to the winding, scenic roads of the Snowdonia National Park. The first stop was a lake near the slate mining. There was Arthur’s sword! Nice place. Would have been nicer if it had not started raining. This was just amazing park. Just wow! The mountains and streams were beautiful. Again the rain is still going on. Terrible. But it gives a mystic look to the park. So many waterfalls here and there – not huge, just small rivulets.

Then we arrived in Betws-Y-Coed for lunch. Now the downpour is consistent. Thank goodness I brought my umbrella. I just miss my other waterproof shoes. These are good too but they are starting to get a bit dirty. The waterproof spray is doing okay. The river flowing through is quite pretty and I walked to the small waterfall. The shopping was not that great, or I was just not in the mood with the rain and all.  I am sure it would have been prettier if there was no rain and of course in the sun, This place was based around a church that helped postmen rest while going from one location to the other. 

The last stop was Chester, one of Britain's most historically significant towns. This was quite an interesting town – so much shopping. I walked around taking pictures. Rain is stopped now. I walked to the cathedral. It was big and nice – lots of stained glasswork and a very pretty garden. I spent about 25 mins there so not much time to do much else. I walked back, had some coffee. Ran into Abhiraj, he saw a lot more of the town. 

That was it. It was a great day. Came back home to a wonderful meal that Shruti cooked – missal paav. Missal was a moth daal and kala chana sprout cooked in wonderful masala. 

Tomorrow is time to go to Glasgow.

England/Scotland - The Planning

I had no plans to travel to Scotland or England this year, but my niece, Shruti, is in Manchester for one year so I can meet her and of course my cousin, Gaurav, also lives in England so it will be perfect. And then I can add Scotland and make a nice trip out of it. Luckily Shruti helped in the planning and guided as to how many days to spend where and about the weather there.

So....here is how it worked out. There is flight into Manchester, so that is awesome, I don't have to go to London (too big of an airport). I can take trains and buses everywhere else. This time I want to do all the planning and booking, no more middle person. I was hoping for about a two week trip, but by the time I finished counting days and looking at tours, it turned out to be a bit more than a three week trip. I will start and end at Manchester. At the end, it all looks like below. I had book all my hotels and transportations. I took it one city at a time and planned the tours and activities. It was a lot, but in the end it all worked out beautifully. London was not on my list this time because I think it needs a lot more time, but Shruti was going to London during that week so I also decided to venture out. I was afraid of London also, too big of a city for me! 

22-May: Thur - depart PBI 23-May: Fri - Reach Manchester 24-May: Sat - Manchester 25-May: Sun – Manchester: Dales and Montes 26-May: Mon – Manchester: North Wales, Snowdonia, and Chester Tour 27-May: Tue - Glasgow-1: Train to Glasgow 28-May: Wed - Glasgow-2: Highlands tour 29-May: Thu - Glasgow-3: Self paced Glasgow city tour 30-May: Fri - Inverness-1: Bus to Inverness 31-May: Sat – Portree: tour to Isle of Skye -2 day tour 1-Jun: Sun - Inverness-1: back to Inverness 2-Jun: Mon - Inverness-2: Jacob steam train tour 3-Jun: Tue - Inverness-3: self  paced Inverness city tour 4-Jun: Wed - Edinburgh-1: Bus to Edinburgh - 1 5-Jun: Thu - Edinburgh-2: Edinburgh - 2 6-Jun: Fri - Edinburgh-3: Edinburgh - 3 7-Jun: Sat - Stockton-on-Tees: Train to Darlington/Stockton On Tees 8-Jun: Sun - Stockton-on-Tees 9-Jun: Mon - Stockton-on-Tees 10-Jun: Tue - to London: Train to London-Kings Cross 11-Jun: Wed – London 12-Jun: Thu - London to Manchester: Bus to Manchester 13-Jun: Fri - Manchester 14-Jun: Sat - Depart for PBI

Booking was through Delta and this time I decided to go Comfort plus, which is really all just BS, you do get to board first and have a overhead luggage space for sure, but, it is not much worth it. I will not be using it next time. I had Delta in USA and Virgin Atlantic to London and back. VA was a great airline, lots of leg room and good food. 

I was able to make all my transport and tour bookings online. The only one I lost money on was through Viator, they overcharged me, but GetYourGuide was okay. I booked my free walking tours in Glasgow and Edinburgh from here and for London while I was in Inverness, just a bit in advance. The good thing is all these tours can be cancelled last minute and money is refunded. The walking tours were free so no issues. I booked all the hotels directly. The only hotel I made an error in was in Edinburgh - it was not in the city center which prevented me from walking out at night.