Coming from a recent trip to the cycling mad country of Germany, it was a pleasant surprise, to see the below “Wee Repair Station” outside of Gartnaval Hospital, in the west side of Glasgow.
Wee Repair Station
I’ve yet to see these elsewhere, though of course they no doubt are, but find these to be both needed and an encouraging sign that help is on the way for any struggling cyclists, in need of air.
Even instructions!
But what is strange, is that these are not by the Glasgow authorities, but, I believe, installed by Sustrans?
Following up my first part, it was actually quite nice to have a long walk around the place, and not to think only of golf!
St Andrews Cathedral
St Andrews has a wonderful beach if that’s your thing, and an old, ruined cathedral, that happened to be closed to the public on the evening of my walk. Equally, I’ve always wondered why they can’t try to restore (at least partly) some of these ancient monuments? Who knows, it could make a delightful lecture theatre!
What I also discovered, are some quads that rival Oxford and other yoonis, and considering that St Andrews is on the small side, I was surprised there’d be enough room.
There seemed to be a lively buzz about this place, with the smallness, golf, students and compact town centre.
Projection
And although this was a Sunday, January night, it was most pleasant, though if you are in town at this day and time, reservations are key for a restaurant! We literally could only find one place that would have us, with the resultant meal being both dreadful, but also “on the house, as they had run out of pizza dough in a pizza restaurant!
On the way back from St Andrews, managed to sneak in a lunch in the delightful, at the foot of the Ochils village of Dollar.
I’ve been here before, and it’s literally a one town road, at the base of some very nice hiking possibilities, and which contains a very famous and respected private school.
Have been here before and at the SAME exact restaurant – Café des Fleurs – one that is of a superior quality, with a queue outside, mainly for coffees.
Where the food was both rustic and delicious, even with proper bread, for the huge portions. It seemed to be a real hub of activity for such a small place, with the bus stop in front of it, having its very own library! 4.5 / 5.
What a lovely, self-contained city-village, a new word.
I’ve been here many times before, but not for a quick, New Year break. This place has everything; from the Cathedral ruins, to the beach, to the golf courses & museums, to the University, to a thriving craft beer / brewery scene, to a very compact city centre, ideal for walking, etc.
Room, view from room; it was Christmas season
I decided for a change, to go luxury; not really my scene, but the Old Course Hotel had everything for the discerning traveller, including excellent views of the Old Course itself.
The amazing thing, is that the Old Course is closed to golfers on the Sunday (to my knowledge) that resulted in us being allowed (along with many tourists, people with dogs, etc) to simply wander about on it – how cool! And for you who are not golfers, it’s a lovely, manicured walk.
Road Hole greenRoad Hole Bunker18th tee18th fairwaySwilken BurnSwilken Burn again
From the “Road Hole” – Number 17, to the Road Hole bunker, to the 18th
At the end of the walk, you come to the 18th green, and the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse.
Yes, we are back into the swing, though will have to be back in the operating theatre quite soon.
View from my Hotel Room
Finally have been travelling a bit and will look at my recent two day trip to St Andrews in Scotland (Ed; Again?), where I stayed at none other than the Old Course Hotel! A fine place indeed.
Where the room were spectacular and the history, even on the walls, was superb (below).
Photographs from past champions in 2019, men’s & women’s, on your hotel room’s wall
In addition, some random notes from around Glasgow, some cafe & restaurant reviews and other trivia.
The final stop of my recent visit to the Perthshire region, was a complete surprise when we decided to have a quick couple of hours in Dunkeld.
Note, I’ve been here before, but not to this section of the village, which is difficult to believe as it’s actually quite small here. The other part is Birnam, a quarter of a mile south.
We came here via the A984 from Blairgowrie – what a very pleasant surprise, as the road was dead quiet (it was a Wednesday afternoon), and we happened to go through a delightful hamlet called Spittalfield, complete with café and village green. It also seemed like an ideal area for a bicycle tour, as the Number 7 from Sustrans (and others paths) go through this area.
What was interesting to me (above), was the monied type of feel here, a Monte Carlo(!) of the Highlands; you could almost smell it, and a walk along the High Street proved this as well. We found a wine bar / shop that served me the best sandwich I’ve ever had, but have no idea what the name of the café was The Scottish Deli? – but it was near the Palmerston Cafe, and has only been around the last year. Where I washed it down with a fine, vintage Port!
Later, we walked over the bridge and then made our way back to Glasgow
Continuing on from Part 1, I decided to stay at the delightful Dalmunzie Castle hotel– a throwback to another age, though with all the mod cons, and a surprising modern ethic & friendly staff.
Equally, the restaurant was Michelin rated, and the pork with some sort of “hash brown” included, was divine.
Various, including a Bar Billiards table
The place is still part of a mammoth estate, south of the Cairngorms, and has an old school vibe and attached 9-hole golf course, where we had a walk the next day; and although it was a golf course, the views were still stunning.
After the course hike, we then travelled to the nearby village / town of Dunkeld – which will be in Part 3 (a complete surprise)
Finally got out the house to do some walking, etc., and was quite surprised by the beauty of small (very) things.
We headed to the Spittal of Glenshee, a remote area just south of the Cairngorms and the Glenshee Skiing “resort” in Central Scotland. We went from Glasgow, then Stirlingshire, and finally, the A9 (now an almost complete dual carriageway), to Pitlochry. Where there was a great deal of low fog – looked spooky.
Fog in the glen
From Pitlochry, it was then on a simply dreadful road (the A924 with black ice), that turned into the B950, that then lead us on to the A93 (running between the Spittal and Blairgowrie). From here, it was easy to see the Cairngorms, where the Glenshee Ski Resort is located.
The distant Cairngorms and snow
From here, we had the turnoff to our destination of the night, the Dalmunzie Castle hotel, which we will have more on tomorrow.
What a surprise, a look at Glasgow’s quite small Christmas Market, dinner at a new restaurant on a very busy Glasgow Friday night, and then a completely pleasant walk into a very bright George Square – superb.
It started between the Xmas market, where we noticed a well known busker, Ben Montieth, who was an opener for Emilie Sands a few years ago, drawing a large crowd:
To a walk along Buchanan Street, itself very well lit up!
To the lights in George Square themselves, where my first impression was the simple amount of them! It turned the night into day, with many photo opportunities. First were the lights on the City Hall,
Glasgow City Hall
To various shots that included the Nativity Scene and some reindeer.
To the final shot, where a good deal of people, including our party, took a shot of themselves inside a lighted, hollow sphere.
What a day! Typical West of Scotland weather; howling wind, driving rain, and water everywhere!
This was interesting, meandering down a completely dead High Street, with a variety of shops, most empty or even boarded up, with naturally, a huge Asda around the corner – and they wonder why High Streets die!? That said, there are some interesting shops here, from a veggie cafe, to an arts & crafts place, that also has workshops.
Vegan Cafe’One of the 4 stations in this area
After the High Street, we rounded about to come to the promenade, with accompanying dreadful weather! There was a somewhat, brutal bleakness, that depending on your taste, is either terrible or atmospheric.
One of three churches at the promenade
The bleakness!
It would be interesting to come back in the summer, as I was told, when the sun is out, the “vibe” is completely different!
Curious Bystander 