I've never had them suggest it -- I've always had to specifically ask for it by name . . . Last time I bought some was last December so unless rules have changed they should still offer it. I buy at least 1 box every trip (sometimes I 'cheat' and buy multiple boxes but to do that requires stopping at different chemists)

>>BTW, my review of the V&A is up on tripadvisor.<<

Just went to read it -- oh my :( Other reviews mentioned some of the same problems. (Very) early days so hopefully they'll get their act together. I had read an article in the Scottish press where the director or one of the curators talked about it being a Scots museum and not an outpost of London. Maybe they should lean a bit more on London???

Hope you are feeling better. I know what it's like to be away from home and not feeling well...frustrating and a bit overwhelming. As janisj mentioned the pharmacies are really good about making suggestions if you tell them your symptons.

Interesting notes about Bevis Marks which I'll admit I've never heard of. Perhaps I'll do the London Walk next trip. Eager to hear about the sleeper to Edinburgh. Never been intrigued about the idea but who knows.

Yes. My feeling was that insofar as there was a theme, it was "look at all this great stuff Scottish people have done". To which my response is, "OK, so what?" I mean, Vienna manages to have its own version of the V&A but still have exhibitions that don't just say "look at us". Even the (small) one in Madrid is more comprehensible, plus they have a whole separate costume museum. Here the clothes were just scattered around apparently at random. At least they should be able to fix the toilet snafu by moving a few displays.

if you want funding from the Scots Nats, you have to toe the line

You could have "all Scottish" exhibitions without just throwing a bunch of stuff together. And the ocean liner exhibition was very definitely multi-national.

Shame about the V&A being so disappointing, especially as the London mother ship has such a stellar reputation.

My rule of thumb for London is to expect to achieve no more than 50% of what you have planned so I reckon you did pretty well, especially as you were under the weather. Our pharmacies have become very funny about selling you more than one packet of anything - trying to get cold medication virtually requires you to sign away your soul so intent are they on making sure that you can't stockpile the minute quantities of whatever it contains that can be used to make crack cocaine, or whatever it is that it contains. interestingly they caught one producer because he was ordering commercial quantities of whatever it is and getting it delivered to his flat and someone at the producers smelt a rat as he was ordering a significant proportion of their production; if he'd had to get it out of Sinutab or whatever he'd have needed a whole warehouse to house all the packets. Good luck in getting your paracetamol + codeine.

This wiki entry might help with identifying what you saw at Two Temple Place; although I've never been inside I must have walked past it hundreds of times on my way from Temple Tube station to the Temple, and vice versa so I will definitely try to get the chance of looking inside it next time I go up to London. Thanks for mentioning it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Temple_Place

Looking forward to more Scotland.

September 22 - 23 - On To Scotland

The ticket check for the Caledonian Sleeper took place at the entry to the platform, and for the first time I had my senior rail card looked at - it had provided a significant discount. I knew that the rolling stock was going to be old, as new carriages, complete with en-suite showers for some cabins, would be going into service on this route in October. Still, the cabin and the linens were clean, and the lounge car, albeit small, comfortable enough. However, the cabin was so small and the bunk so low there was no good place for my bigger bag, and I stubbed a toe on it a couple of times. I still have a discolored nail on one toe as a reminder. The bunk was surprisingly narrow, which didn't help me get to sleep, but the real, serious, ongoing problem was the ride. Now, I have been on a lot of night trains, some good, some not so good, and one or two disastrous (I'm thinking of you, Hanoi to Sapa). This one, alas, tended to the disastrous. The train wasn't noisy, but it was so, so rough and jerky. I don't know that the new rolling stock can fix that.


A form left on the bunk had asked me to confirm my breakfast selection (made and paid for when I bought the ticket) and indicate whether I wanted a wake up call. I did, but fortunately I also set my alarm clock, as no wake up call occurred. I ate my scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (no toast offered) in the lounge car, but saw several packed breakfasts being delivered. Theoretically, you can stay on the train until 8:00 in Edinburgh station, but there was no encouragement to linger. I had thought about visiting the first class lounge for a shower, but instead collected my prepaid ticket, good for any train during the day, and went straight on to Dundee. (I could have ridden another version of the Caledonian Sleeper through to Dundee, but I didn't want to arrive at six in the morning.) I was sufficiently awake to enjoy the decidely northern scenery.

My Dundee hotel, the brand new Sleeperz, was built right over the station forecourt, but for some reason I had to walk out of the station and round the (windy) corner to enter the building, and then ride the lift to the second floor. However, after I finished a quite good cup of coffee, I was able to check in. I thoroughly approved of my room. While not luxurious, and with open hanging space, it had everything I needed. The water was (very) hot, the heating worked, and I slept well. Plus I approved of the breakfast buffet, which included muesli and Greek yoghurt, and unlimited coffee and orange juice.

The equally brand new Victoria and Albert Scottish museum, the reason I was visiting Dundee, was just across the road, but I was saving it for my first full day. I did get in some photography of the outside while the sun shone. Instead I walked into town to check out Dundee's city museum, the McManus. The building was rather over-the-top neo-Gothic, with a statue of Robert Burns in a cloak on one side, and Queen Victoria with even more drapery on the other, but the collections seemed well curated. Dundee merchants and missionaries had traveled the world, as had Dundee built ships, and the jute factories had imported their raw materials from far-flung places, too. Artifacts from all over the world had made their way to Dundee, and were now on display. I was particularly taken by one section that recorded a trip around the world taken by two women journalists in 1894, organized and financed by the paper for which they worked. The Durham Courier had sent three male journalists on the same trip the previous year, but the editor, D. C. Thompson, wanted a woman's perspective. Not being a fan of comics I skipped the displays on the Bash Street Kids and Beano, preferring tea in the cafe.

My time in Dundee had started less pleasantly. I had discovered the day before that my phone had become sluggish and was refusing to take photos. Now it died completely. Feeding it a new battery didn't help. I began to think that I might have to replace it, and even priced a similar phone. However, the kindly techie in an EE booth in one of the malls simply reset it for me. Phew!

I finished the day with dinner at Jute, a well-reviewed cafe in the Dundee Contemporary Arts building, a short walk from Sleeperz. The menu looked good, but the food didn't live up to the descriptions. The duck, especially, was disappointing - a little tough and a little tasteless. Still, a mostly good day. Then I woke up at four in the morning with a sore throat.

Oh dear, thursdaysd, it takes some skill to make duck tasteless, IMO. Even the ones we get from the supermarket have plenty of taste even if they do, on occasion tend towards the tough. [not often]. I confess that I have never been to Dundee though I did visit the Highlands a couple of times with my parents when I was in my early teens, before my dad got up the courage to drive us to "the continent". And a shame too about the ride on that sleeper - I've never ventured onto a sleeper, not even the one from Paddington to Penzance, though I had a colleague who used it a few times when he was going up to London to the Court of Appeal and some fine scrapes he got himself into, being arrested on one occasion for accidentally exposing himself to the cabin attendant as he had forgotten where he was and habitually slept in the nude!

A sort throat as well? - i hope that it didn't spoil your enjoyment of the next day. At least your hotel was warm and comfy.

It really is too bad that Mr. Smith of Seat61 fame is not here to read that review of the Caledonian Sleeper. He even has a video of that trip and not a word about a rough roadbed, either. Frankly, I would defer to the OP's assessment.

I admit I've never been to Dundee but have heard that it is an interesting place and after your brief description, I'd like to visit the Scottish V&A. Interesting about the lady journalists.

I have done a number of overnight train trips including the Blue Train in South Africa and the train from Sydney to Perth, Australia which takes a couple of days but will pass on the Caledonian sleeper.
These days come 9:00p.m. I want to be in bed with a good book, a cup of tea or bottle of water nearby not waiting for departure and,then, having to figure out what to do while waiting to check-in to my hotel and shops or visitor sites to open when I arrive in Edinburgh.
Hope that sore throat clears up soon.

@ann - the sore throat turned into a cold, but I have recovered. I have wanted to take the Cornish Riviera but now I'm not so sure! Your colleague must be extremely absent-minded. I sleep in the nude too, but no way would the cabin attendant get into my cabin until I was dressed!

@Dukey - I think Mark Smith's love of the Caledonian Sleeper is mostly about the views, but there are few views on the Edinburgh or Glasgow routes in late September! You really need the Highland lines for that.

@ht - both those trains are on my list.... Actually the V&A is the next post, I was writing about the McManus, Dundee's long-standing city museum.

Thursdaysd - I'm am absolutely sure that you would do no such thing, but was not surprised that my colleague did. And I believe that it was no so much the attendant opening the cabin but him exiting it! Sadly dead aged only 40 a few years ago, he was a larger than life American, rather Boris like in many of his attributes.

I don't mean to put you off the cornish Riviera but one consideration is whether you will be awake and able to see anything when the train passes along the line between Saltash [ust before Plymouth] and Exeter which I believe is one of the great train journeys. The stretch around Dawlish [where the line fell into the sea during storms a few years ago] is truly stunning. [though thinking about it, will you be going that far? possibly not].

Thursdaysd, reread my post and I apologize. I did get the two confused. Can I blame it on trying to read from my phone? Everything seems to go into minature mode. Stil looking forward to the Scottish V&A.

Have left cold, wet and windy Glasgow and arrived (over two hours late) in warm, dry and sunny Jersey.

September 24 - My Day at the V&A (Dundee)

When I decided to visit Glasgow I wanted to add a second city not too far distant, and it came down to Perth or Dundee. I picked Dundee solely because the new Scottish outpost of the V&A would open shortly before I got there. The V&A is my absolutely favorite museum, my rainy day retreat in London, and the forerunner of many other museums of arts, crafts and design. I realized some time back that I much prefer such museums over galleries filled with paintings and sculpture. (I have given up almost entirely on art after the surrealists, and if I never see another Madonna and child or St. Sebastian full of arrows I will not be sorry.)

Just as I don't care for modern art, I am not overfond of much modern architecture, but I thought the new V&A seemed quite interesting from the outside. It was perched on the edge of the river Tay, quite wide at that point, with some reflecting pools, and I thought it was meant to be a ship, to accompany the Antarctic explorer RMS Discovery, moored beside it. However, it turns out that the architect claimed inspiration from Scottish cliffs, although I couldn't see it myself.

After braving the high winds outside I entered through a cleft between two wings, to find a cavernous space given over to ticket lines, the shop, and a cafeteria. I had bought a ticket to the temporary exhibition on Ocean Liners online, and headed upstairs (using the small lift, not the long staircase that clung to one of the walls). The exhibition had moved up from London, and had no particular Scottish relevance, except that some of the liners had been built in Scottish shipyards. I spent well over an hour, maybe two, admiring the furnishings and fittings from the luxurious interiors of a lost age. Originally the ships crossing between Europe and the USA had carried immigrants, in less than ideal conditions, but after the laws were changed and immigration slowed, they were repurposed for a moneyed and leisured clientele. Videos supplemented the furniture and wall decorations, along with some clothes. At the end a separate room showed clips from famous movies, including "Titanic". I had not seen "Titanic" myself, but one clip showed the two leads attempting to cling to a piece of wood, and the wood in question, the largest salvaged from the wreck, was on display. I preferred the beautiful tiara belonging to one of the few women who survived. (Her maid, in charge of the tiara, also survived, her daughters did not.)

When I finished the temporary exhibition, the line for the permanent display, on Scottish design, was so long I went downstairs for lunch. The cafeteria line moved with glacial slowness, and my chicken sandwich had only a passing acquaintance with chicken, but the line for the exhibition had disappeared by the time I finished. So far, this supposedly Scottish museum had had little to do with Scotland - the architect was Japanese and the permanent exhibition curated in London - so I was looking forward to the one Scottish area.

Alas, while everything in the exhibition was associated in some way with Scotland, there was no other discernible theme. It seemed that the items had been thrown together at random, with a racy 21st century dress displayed next to information on early industries, and a Wellington boot near the computer games. A section of a tea room by Mackintosh had been brought out of storage and reassembled, and should have been a highlight, but it was badly lit and unfurnished.

The next day I went back to eat in the upstairs restaurant, where I was just able to get a seat at the bar (apparently booking is essential), but I can't recommend that either. The Arbroath smokies tart I ordered had little taste and a lot of rock-hard pastry. While I was not sorry to have seen the museum, I really cannot recommend visiting Dundee just to visit it.

Unfortunately, my reaction to the museum seems to be shared by quite a number of people. I posted a TripAdvisor review, along with (to date) well over a hundred others, and around 25% have given only one or two stars (I gave two). Even some of those rating it four stars have written that they expect and hope for improvement. But some people loved it. Clearly, YMMV.

I realized some time back that I much prefer such museums over galleries filled with paintings and sculpture. (I have given up almost entirely on art after the surrealists, and if I never see another Madonna and child or St. Sebastian full of arrows I will not be sorry.)

lol, Thursdaysd, I thought I was the only one. Actually I'm ok with the religious stuff, though not religious myself, but most modern art leaves me cold. Perhaps it does take a lot of skill to paint an entire canvas in the same tone of blue or to place a red dot in just the right corner of a sea of white, or indeed to arrange a group of bricks as if they have accidentally landed in the middle of the gallery floor but I can't see it myself. Whenever I see things like that I find myself having a bad attack of the emperor's new clothes and have to stop myself laughing. I wonder why the permanent displays in the V&A"s outpost are so badly organised. Surely they didn't think that just putting a load of Scottish things together was going to work? I wonder if they ever read TA.

Someone from the V&A is not only reading the reviews but answering them! But the replies aren't very responsive.

Agree about the emperor's new clothes. It's not the religion it's the repetition.

Oops, I should have written that the temporary exhibition was curated in London.

September 25 & 26 - Slow Days in Dundee

Usually when I have a sore throat it precedes a cold. It took a little longer this time, but Monday night's sore throat turned into Wednesday's cold. My suppressed immune system had coped with the flight, but apparently not with the night train. I started taking the Tylenol for Colds and Flue (severe) I had with me, stopped by Boots for a local medication (no exact equivalent was available) and eventually sent a message to my rheumatologist asking whether I needed to stop the Xeljanz. She said yes, and told me to see a doctor. Boots had told me to see a doctor. So on Thursday I checked online for an Urgent Care clinic or equivalent, and wound up taking a taxi to a chemists that had a terminal and some equipment stashed in a back room. The doctor at the other end of this telemedicine link decided I just had a cold, and the Tylenol was surprisingly effective. I had to stop the Xeljanz for two days, but didn't have any bad effects.

The cold did, however, slow me down, and from my list of sights for Dundee I just visited the Verdant works and the RRS Discovery. I had intended to spend one day visiting Glamis castle, where Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was born, but I had already been rethinking that as even the TI thought the bus links were problematic.

The Verdant works were a bit of a trek from Sleeperz, and uphill at that, but I did pass a rather nice cemetery, as full of flowers as of tombstones. The industrial area looked considerably more run down than the city center but it seems Dundee is now a center for the production of computer games, not heavy industry. The Verdant works had processed jute, not a fiber with which I was familiar. The displays were informative, and some of the machinery was still in place. I talked with one woman who had worked in the factory, and she agreed that the noise of the weaving machines had been very hard on her hearing. Other women had less hazardous jobs: the offices employed some of the early typists. Jute had replaced flax as the fiber of choice for Dundee industries, but eventually processing moved to India, where the jute was grown. It was used to make the cloth that covered the wagons moving westward across the US, and also for linoleum, once a favored floor covering.

The next day I visited RRS Discovery, moored next to the V&A. A circular building held a museum, which I found more interesting than the ship herself. She was built, in Dundee, specifically for Antarctic exploration, and for Captain Scott's first voyage there, and was the last three-masted wooden ship built in Britain, launched in 1901. She had a varied career, but went back to the Antarctic from 1929 to 1931 as the base for the British, Australian and New Zealand Antartic Research Expedition. Just as with the Norwegian vessel Fram, which I had seen a few years earlier, the videos and exhibits mostly convinced me how truly rigorous the conditions were, and how little I would have wanted to participate.

Bummer about the Dundee V&A. London v&a is one of my favorites too. Well, maybe it’s just a rocky opening. The ocean liner exhibit sounds great, though!

I’m trying to be more into modern art, and I’ve found mostly I enjoy the three dimensional stuff. But most of the paintings, nope. I always wonder if it’s me, and if everyone else in the room actually sees something “more”. I spent probably an extra hour at the Venice Guggenheim just trying to understand the attraction. The house is awesome. The art...not so much.

Religious art though—burn out is so fast on that. How many portraits of the Madonna does any religion really need. Sometimes it has interesting conservation or background stories, though. But mostly I’ve decided that they’re interesting only if they’re in their original setting.

September 27 - Starting Glasgow

With the Sleeperz hotel conveniently situated over the train station I had no trouble collecting my prepaid ticket and boarding the train to Glasgow. Glasgow has two main train stations, located quite close to each other. I arrived at Glasgow Queen Street, which was a short walk from the Park Inn by Radisson. I viewed the ten stone steps (balustrade but no handrail) and six wooden steps (handrail) at the front entrance with some dismay, and followed the sign to the so-called accessible entrance. This proved to be part-way down a noisome alley, floored with broken glass and who-knows-what- else and requiring a wheelchair user to negotiate a curb to reach the door. I later discovered that entering or leaving the hotel even by this door also required dealing with four heavy fire doors.

After I convinced someone to unlock the back door and reached the front desk I was told I could not check in until the afternoon but I could leave my case. I followed the clerk's suggestion for coffee and then found a "French" chain restaurant, Cote Brasserie, where I ate a good lunch. After lunch I visited the Lighthouse, a starting point for all things Mackintosh. On my 2004 visit to Glasgow I had neglected Mackintosh, a sad error as the School of Art had just succumbed to a second fire. The Lighthouse had a lot of display screens but not a whole lot else.

Checking in took a while. Only two clerks manned the small desks. I was initially assigned to the first floor and when I asked to be higher was sent to the fifth floor. This turned out to consist of attics and while my room was a good size the only window was small and so high up I would have had to stand on a chair to reach the cord for the blind. I was finally given a room on the second floor with huge windows and a cramped bathroom. It proved so cold, and the heating so inadequate, that after a couple of days I had to have a stand alone electric radiator installed. Aside from a comfortable bed, about the only positive thing I have to say about the Park Inn is that the location was extremely convenient.

With not much left of the afternoon I set out to visit the Tenement Museum. Back in my student days I had visited Glasgow for some reason lost in the mists of time, and wound up sleeping on the floor of a tenement flat. That flat had been rather upmarket, the Tenement Museum flat somewhat less so. The owner who had left it to the National Trust had initially moved in thee with her widowed mother when she was three, and lived there her entire life aside from the last ten years which she spent in hospital. The mother had worked as a seamstress, and an extremely old-fashioned sewing machine stood by one window, but the daughter had been a typist.

Although not in the same class as the flat I had visited in the 60s, this one was better than a lot of them, having a separate bedroom. This was initially rented out to a lodger, the two women sleeping in a cupboard bed off the kitchen, which at least would have been warm. There was another cupboard bed off the parlour. I grew up in England in the 50s, about the time Miss Agnes Townsend left the flat for hospital, and found the parlour reminded me of my paternal grandparents' house. Then the flat irons that would have heated on the kitchen range were the same as the ones we were taught to use in Home Ec., although already superseded by the electric variety.

Since I had arrived in Glasgow on a Friday I had made a dinner reservation, at the nearby Chaophraya, but not only did eating there involve far too many steps, the food was a disappointment. My neighborhood Thai place does better for a good bit less.

OH --- so sorry about the Park Inn :( -- that wasn't my experience there, but then they had upgraded me and I never saw those attic rooms where I likely would have ended up for the rate I paid. At least the location is good (lemons/lemonade ;) )

Well, at least I only spent a couple of minutes in the attic! Room 208 was fine once I got the temperature up. Had a big bay window which probably didn't help with the cold.

Location was certainly good - walking distance to both train stations, a subway station, the airport bus and several restaurants. Plus a JD Weatherspoon next door for breakfast.

So sorry about your travails at the Park Inn, Thursdaysd. I have sometimes pondered how hotels assign their rooms, and why they make the lives of their less mobile guests so difficult. Does no one ever check to see if their hotels are in fact accessible?

such a shame too about the School of Art - it seems extraordinary how many buildings burn down while they are being renovated.

Seems I got my dates wrong, sorry. I arrived in Dundee September 24, and Glasgow September 28.

September 29 - Culzean Castle

One reason I had chosen to visit Glasgow on this trip was because my friends K and J had moved to Dunoon a couple of years back. Dunoon can be reached from Glasgow by a train to Gourock and a ferry, and on this day I took the train and K and J took their car on the ferry and we met up in Gourock, before they drove me south to Culzean Castle. Designed by Robert Adams for the Earls of Cassillis in the late eighteenth century, it is one of the premier properties of the Scottish National Trust (my Royal Oak membership still got me in for free). We had a longer drive than I had expected, and we stopped both for coffee and lunch, so it was well into the afternoon when we arrived. Good thing we were no later, as we were only just in time for the last tour of the day, which was earlier than normal as the castle was being used for a wedding. Given the number of locations I have visited on this trip that doubled as event space I can only conclude that event planning is a thriving business in the UK.


The first room contained the castle's armory, with a truly mammoth collection. Although some of it was carefully arranged to form ovals or stars, I was happy to pass through to the less warlike residential rooms beyond. While the centerpiece of the castle was Adam's dramatic and beautiful oval staircase, I enjoyed the other rooms as well. Many of the ceilings had delicate plasterwork, very much of the period. Plenty of furniture was in place, some with attractive veneers, opulent carpets and pretty wallpaper, along with more domestic items such as a cradle shaped like a boat, held our attention. When we eventually arrived at the kitchen, we were impressed by the unusual amount of daylight, along with a large collection of copper pots and pans. (Note to Janis - this time I did notice a mousetrap, complete with fake mouse.)

The tour included one room dedicated to then General Eisenhower. Apparently he had been a frequent visitor, both during and after the war. In fact, the top floor of the castle now comprises the Eisenhower Hotel, with six bedrooms, one of them the one used by Eisenhower. You can book the whole hotel if you like..... Should you be thinking of doing that I should mention that it is in prime Robert Burns territory.

Once outside we appreciated the castle's dramatic, cliff top location. The extensive grounds could keep a visitor occupied for some time, but the weather was unfriendly, and we still had to drive back to Gourock. We took the tourist transport back to the entrance area and had a quick cup of coffee before setting out. While I was pleased to have seen the castle I was even more pleased to have met up with K and J.

Back in Glasgow I ate dinner just round the corner from the Park Inn at the Mussel Inn. I had eaten at the Edinburgh branch in 2004, although I found this one a bit more bare bones. The mussels were fine, although a good bit smaller than the ones I am used to.

Culzean Castle
 

So jealous.
My niece was suffering morning sickness when I visited Glasgow earlier this year, so we cancelled our planned outing to Culzean and other out of town destinations.
But I'm glad to see you were feeling up to the trip!

September 30 & October 1 - Museums and Mackintosh

(Charles Rennie Mackintosh, that is, and do look up the places I'm writing about for photos.)

Sunday and Monday I was on my own in Glasgow, and I spent my time visiting museums and getting my Mackintosh fix.


Hunterian

I started with the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian. After moving my wallet and phone into the small waist pack that otherwise holds my camera, and leaving my day pack in a locker, I was annoyed to be sent back downstairs because NO bags were allowed. Since I then put my coat back on and loaded my pockets I really cannot see how this was any improvement. There was also no step-free access to the house, even though it was built into a museum. And no photos were allowed. (There is a slide show on the Hunterian website.) Of course, I enjoyed my visit anyway, the house was light and airy and there were plenty of artifacts.

My visit to the rest of the museum was less successful. The building containing the Mackintosh House had a special display on the museum's founder, Dr. William Hunter, born two hundred years ago. Although born and educated in Scotland, he moved to London where he became a successful obstetrician and professor of anatomy. While his wide-ranging collections formed the basis of the museum, this exhibition held rather too much information on his medical work for my taste. I moved on to the Hunterian Museum proper in the Gilbert Scott building, but while I admired the mile stones from the Antonine Wall, and the architecture of the building itself, it seemed I was just not in the mood for the geological and animal exhibits.

Kelvingrove

Given that Sunday was cold, grey and intermittently rainy, it was a perfect museum day, and happily I had a much better time that afternoon at the Kelvingrove. There were plenty of exhibits from the Mackintosh period, including one of his tearooms, fully furnished, but here I found the other displays enjoyable, too. Again, the building itself was magnificent, and partway through the afternoon someone showed up to play the organ housed on the second (UK first) floor. The Kelvingrove's displays of Scottish arts, crafts and artists were a stark contrast to the jumble of disparate objects at the new V&A in Dundee. Besides the Glasgow Styles area I particularly enjoyed the section on Scottish glass.

House for an Art Lover

This was my favorite Mackintosh sight. If Hill House had been open it might have provided strong competition, but it was closed to visitors for conservation work. The House for an Art Lover was designed by Mackintosh, in collaboration with his then-new wife Margaret Macdonald for a competition in 1901, but wasn't actually built until 1990. Photos were allowed. There was an elevator. There were hardly any other visitors. I had a wonderful time admiring all the design details, and the Music Room, which would have blown me away in any case, was set up for a wedding reception and looked absolutely gorgeous.

Eating

I had not paid for the expensive breakfast buffet at the Park Inn, preferring to go next door to the JD Weatherspoon pub for a very much cheaper cooked to order breakfast (with unlimited coffee). I ate a rather bad lunch at the Kelvingrove (in the cafe, not the restaurant), and a rather better one at the House for an Art Lover. I had intended to go back to the West End Sunday night to eat at the the Bothy, only to discover that the subway system stopped around 18:00! So Sunday night I ate at a very popular branch of Nandos, and moved the Bothy to Monday. I had chosen it for a local food fix, and started with haggis, which I hadn't eaten before. Really, I can't see what the fuss is all about. It was perfectly edible, but not very interesting. However, the lamb that followed it was just excellent - both texture and taste.

My first visit to Fodors in months and how nice to find this thread. Have really enjoyed following you on your travels. And meeting old friends along the way. This is the perfect site for someone like me who is grounded for the present. Lovely to eat the meals, drink the drinks, stay in the hotels and travel on the trains! Had a look at your blog but it is still in Uzbekistan. Was that really 2016? Feels like a lifetime ago here! Look forward to more fun stories. Hope the medical stuff has got itself together and you aren't suffering too much. Take care.

I had not paid for the expensive breakfast buffet at the Park Inn, preferring to go next door to the JD Weatherspoon pub for a very much cheaper cooked to order breakfast (with unlimited coffee).>>

oh, please not Weatherspoons, thursdaysd! Its owner is a notorious Brexit supporter.

You weren't to know, i know, so I'll let you off this time! ;)

Hi gertie - so sorry you are still grounded! Maybe I should be too. I did OK for three weeks, but not so much since.

Ann - that's a pity, I really liked the Weatherspoon hotel in Worcester last trip.

"House for an Art Lover--This was my favorite Mackintosh sight. If Hill House had been open it might have provided strong competition, but it was closed to visitors for conservation work. "

I couldn't agree more. I loved my almost solitary experience of the house.

<<Ann - that's a pity, I really liked the Weatherspoon hotel in Worcester last trip.>>

There's a Weatherspoon Hotel????

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/hotels...hire/the-crown

And others. The Crown was very good, the one in Shrewsbury not so much.

Haha! Wetherspoon is an arch-Brexiteer. Us Remainers tend to keep away!!

So, aside from a brief cold, I did pretty well for the first three weeks of the trip. The second three weeks, not so much. However, I am now home, and hoping my energy level will pick up. and I can finish this report.

October 2-3: Stirling and Dunoon

Tuesday I took the train to Stirling, and K and J took the ferry and drove over to meet me there. Stirling is famous for a castle, a battle, and a monument. Actually, there were several battles, Stirling being in the borderlands, but the important one was the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, when William Wallace was victorious over an invading English army. Subsequent campaigns in the "First War of Scottish Independence" saw Stirling castle fall, and the English under Edward I take control of Scotland, while Wallace was eventually captured and executed in London as a traitor. He became a Scottish hero, and the monument, an impressive tower on a hill overlooking Stirling, was built in 1869.

My interest was in the castle, first built, on an excellent defensive site, in the twelfth century. It changed hands between the Scots and the English several times, eventually becoming a royal residence for the Stuart kings in the 16th century. But after James VI/I left for London it lost its status, being used first as a prison and later as a barracks for various regiments. The interior of the palace buildings suffered as they were repurposed. The site was, of course, still impressive, as were the outer defenses and the exteriors of the main buildings. A pleasant garden, its lawn edged with flowers and sheltered from the strong winds by the castle walls, was a reminder of the royal women, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who had spent time here. Inside, a ten year project, costing 12 million GBP, had restored the Royal Lodgings, but I found all the bright new paint too obviously a reconstruction. Still, the hammerbeam roof in the Great Hall, rebuilt in the 1990s, was a remarkable piece of timberwork.

A notable feature of the King's Presence Chamber was the Stirling Heads, carved oak portrait roundels on the ceiling. Some were lost and others dispersed after the ceiling collapsed in 1777, but 36 of the originals were on display, and newly carved replacements decorated the ceiling. I thought the heads the most interesting part of the interior.

My last day in Scotland, Wednesday, it was my turn to take the ferry, although it was not a good day for a boat trip, or a visit to seaside town, being at best grey and misty. Dunoon had been a popular destination before the advent of cheap flights sent beach-seeking Brits to the Mediterranean, but the town seemed to be in reasonable shape. I was mostly there to spend time with K and J, and would head for warmer weather myself the next day.

October 4-5: Jersey, Part One

From Glasgow, in the north, I flew to Jersey, way south. I had arranged for a wheelchair for Glasgow airport, although not for the smaller one in Jersey, and got an object lesson in the downsides. It had already occurred to me that you lost control - you moved when someone showed up to move you (and what if they didn't?), you needed to ask if you wanted to stop for the bathroom, or to buy food. This time I was delivered to the gate well ahead of time, along with a couple of others. And then we waited. And waited, as the inbound flight was delayed by bad weather, for hours. Eventually someone showed up to give us cards with money on them to buy food, but no-one showed up to move us TO the food. (Fortunately I had bought some on the way.) Finally we were moved to the new gate, and boarded the plane via a couple of lifts.

After this Jersey airport was a breeze, and I had added a shuttle transfer to my plane ticket when Easyjet offered the option. Jersey is a small island, but with a lot of traffic, and it took a while to reach St. Helier, where I was staying at a centrally located Premier Inn. My first Premier Inn, and while I had no view to speak of of, I was otherwise quite happy with the place. Aside from the duvet, which would have been welcome in Glasgow but was way too hot for St. Helier. I regret the now universal practice of providing duvets instead of sheets and blankets, I often have to take the duvet out of the cover.

After checking in I set out towards the waterfront, and Liberation Square. The Channel Islands were the only pieces of British territory occupied by the Germans in WWII. A lot of the islanders evacuated ahead of the occupying troops, but many stayed. The Germans imported slave labor and set about fortifying the islands for an expected return invasion, which never came. Although the islanders were not conscripted, towards the end of the war rations were running very low and starvation was a possibility. Liberation Square commemorates the arrival of British troops, and the unconditional surrender of the Germans, on May 9th, 1945. May 9th is now a public holiday.

Across from Liberation Square I found an elaborate steam clock called Ariadne, the Maritime Museum and Tapestry Gallery (the tapestry was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of liberation), and a harbor with a lot of yachts and a nice walkway. The next day I took a boat trip myself. Usually I get bored on boats, but I thoroughly enjoyed this trip along the south coast of the island. Unlike the vast majority of the passengers I chose to stay downstairs in the shade (the weather in Jersey was a complete and welcome contrast to Glasgow) but there was ample open space for photographs. Besides the lighthouses, and the German fortifications, I was delighted by the changing colors of the rocks. I also got a good look at the outside of Elizabeth castle, the Tudor fortress guarding the entrance to the harbor, and decided that I didn't need to trek out to visit it.

The tourist season on the islands pretty much finishes at the end of September, and there were several things I might have done if I had been there a week or two earlier that were no longer possibilities. However, the islands' restaurants mark the end of the season by putting on special, cheap, menus for the locals. It's called Tennerfest, from the prices of the menus when the practice started, although the prices are now in the fifteen to twenty GBP range, still a bargain for upmarket restaurants. I had reservations for three dinners in St. Helier, but for the first night I ate in my hotel. In the past I have stayed in B&Bs, where this is not an option, but for this trip I wanted an elevator rather than stairs, which meant hotels. I found the Premier Inn's curry surprisingly edible. The next night I ate at Aromas, small, hot and crowded, but the food was fine.

October 6-8: Jersey, Part Two

Jersey has quite a number of sights, given its small size, quite apart from the coast and beaches. While a car could be helpful, it boasts an extensive bus network. Unfortunately, the day I had planned to visit the Durrell Wildlife Park/Jersey Zoo a marathon interfered with the schedules and I chose to take a coach tour round the island instead. I also failed to make it to La Hougue Bie, a neolithic passage grave in use around 3500 BCE. The Jersey War tunnels were not on my list, as I had already seen tunnels at Dover, and the Hamptonne Country Life Museum was closed for the season.

The coach tour went counter clockwise round the island, instead of clockwise, because of the marathon, which meant the light was wrong for photos, but I got a good look at the island anyway. The coach was comfortable, and the food on offer at the lunch stop better than I expected, but I had a major issue with the driver. First off, he talked for the ENTIRE TIME. I couldn't hear all of it, but a lot of it wasn't really related to the sights. Worse, when I got off at the first stop, he established that I lived in the US. When I boarded after the stop, he stuck his phone in my face with a Trump video playing. Whether I am pro or anti Trump, and whether the video was pro or anti Trump, was entirely irrelevant. His action was rude, invasive and completely inappropriate.

Thanks to the tour, I got a look at the outside of Mont Orgeuil Castle, which was replaced by the Elizabeth Castle. I also saw a number of German defensive installations, which I confess I found uninteresting, preferring the several lighthouses. Unfortunately, the tide was out for much of the tour. The Channel Islands experience one of the largest tidal flows in the world, and I saw a lot of mud flats. Another time I will check the tide tables before planning a visit. The Jersey Museum, which included a restored merchant's house, occupied a rainy morning, and the Georgian townhouse at 16 New Street an afternoon. I also took a bus out to Samares Manor. Although especially noted for its gardens, I also paid to tour the house, and the rural Life Museum in the stables. Finally, I took a look at St. Matthew's Church. The interior was entirely redesigned by Lalique in the 1930s. While unusual, I didn't find it as beautiful as I had expected from Lalique's other work. Perhaps glass doesn't lend itself to such a large scale installation.

I continued to (mostly) eat well. The crepes at CocoRico were good enough I ate lunch there twice, and I ate from the Tennerfest menus at Green Olive and La Taverne, both of which I can recommend. Lunch at Marks and Spencer, however, was truly awful, which was a surprise. I expected it to be at least edible.

I hope you notified the company of the driver's inappropriate behavior. What a shame :(

Wonder how many other visitors he has turned off??

I really enjoyed the glass church, I didn't find it particularly 'beautiful' but the altar rail and all the other totally glass features were fascinating. The volunteers there were some of the friendliest people I met on the island.

I didn't contact the company, but I did write a TA review, to which they have not responded.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...l_Islands.html

The church was empty when I was there, I think it would have looked better with more light.

I am loving every word of this report.

We have so very many places to visit yet, even though it seems we are always planning another trip. I don't know how we'll ever get it all in, but I must, must get to Scotland.

Why thanks, St Cirq. Loads to see in Scotland! Back in 2004 I flew into Glasgow, took the train (now famous thanks to Harry Potter) to Mallaig and the ferry to Skye. Crossed back to Kyle of Lochalsh on the expensive new road bridge and took another very scenic train to Edinburgh via Inverness. I was able to see Rosslyn Chapel before that got too famous for its own good, too. But you are spoiled for choice - as you are in the rest of the UK, of course.