Scotland: Glasgow and Calton Hill

On our first Sunday in Scotland, we took the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow for the day. Then, we returned to Edinburgh and walked to Calton Hill for gorgeous views of the city.

Train to Glasgow

We walked right across the street from our hotel (Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor) to the train station, then bought our tickets to Glasgow and back and waited to board the train. The tickets we bought did not come with any type of seat selection. When the train arrived, since we weren’t its first stop, it was already quite full. There was not any seats all together, so we found whatever free seats we could find. As people left the train at further stops, we were able to sit closer for the remainder of the ride. The Queen Street station exited right across from George Square, which was where we would pick up the hop on hop off bus tour.

Queen Victoria

Touring Glasgow

After reading different reviews, I chose for us to take one of the hop on hop off bus tours of Glasgow. I knew we wanted to tour the Transportation Museum which was a stop on the bus tour, so I thought this would be an inexpensive ride to the museum and a great way to see the city. The first bus stop was right at George Square. Employees of the bus services waited at this stop to assist with tickets. I bought our tickets ahead of time, so we had no problems boarding the bus.

Waiting on the bus tour

We took this trip on April 23 (Our first anniversary!), but it was FREEZING! I wanted to sit on the top of the bus to be able to take pictures with out the bus windows blocking the view. I don’t think anyone was warm, and we were all super happy to exit the bus at the museum stop!

The bus picked up in front of this building.

Very Cold Ride!

GoMA with the Duke of Wellington

Glasgow Cathedral

Riverside Museum of Transport and Technology

The boys Loved this museum. It covered all forms of transportation over the ages with many interactive displays. Of note, their cafeteria was the only place I came across a turkey sandwich during our entire trip.

Also, there was a coffee/snack stand outside of the entrance of the museum which opened BEFORE the museum. We arrived a little before opening time, and the coffee really helped warm my hands while we waited.

Coffee Time!

waiting on the museum to open

Leaving Glasgow

After touring the museum, we hopped back on the bus. The rest of the group was hungry for lunch, as I was the only one who ate at the museum. They chose not to get off the bus at any other stop, and we headed back into downtown Glasgow. We stopped at a Poundland which is Scotland’s equivalent of a Dollar Store for Evan’s candy stop, then Tim found a great Italian restaurant for lunch. From there, we had a short walk back to the train station. Since this was the first stop of this train, we experienced the true rush of train riding. Everyone stood cued at the entrance line to the trains, and as soon as the train stopped, it was a mad rush to hop on the train and secure a seat! I thought for sure I would lose Evan and the boys.

Kelvingrove Museum

views from the train

Calton Hill

Calton Hill is in the eastern part of New Town, Edinburgh. On top of the hill sits an unfinished replica of the Parthenon, started as a memorial to honor those lost in the Napoleonic Wars. The project ran out of money and was never completed. I am glad we decided to end our last night in Edinburgh here for great views over the city.

Getting There

We took the train from our hotel to what looked on the map like a close exit to the park area. It ended up being a longer walk across some busy streets, but we did detour through some fun department stores on the way.

Views:

Arthur’s Seat

Palace of Holyrood House

Leaving Edinburgh

This was our last full day in Edinburgh. The next day, we picked up our rental car and hit the roads! Click here for our entire itinerary. Stay tuned next week for our time at Stirling Castle and driving to Oban.

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