Glasgow: come for the haggis, stay for the rain

Ok, I didn’t come for the haggis, or the rain, though I certainly knew that we would very likely experience both. I came for Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the arts and crafts/art nouveau designer and architect. I came to see a new city, one I didn’t get to see when we spent a month in Edinburgh in 2017. Then I was hobbled by a torn tendon and a walking boot, so though it was just an hour away by train, Glasgow went on the someday list. I also came because it was time to flee the Montpellier heat. Go north, I thought, it’ll be nice to be cool.

So how is Glasgow, what’s it like? I’m having a hard time forming an opinion of it. How could I, given that every day has been so bleak, cold, drenched and windy that we’ve hardly been able to take it in?

We’ve seen the inside of more thrift stores than museums, as we try to flesh out our meager wardrobes. Silly me, I thought packing a wool shirt, fleece jacket and umbrella would suffice for a Scottish July. Oh hell no. I’d take a full Michelin Man style down jumpsuit right now if I could. It has been relentless. Even the Glaswegian’s are saying it’s a bit much and they’re a hardy bunch. At first, I was chuffed about being nonplussed by this bit of adversity. Hit a thrift store, layer up, and get back to taking on the world! But after an incessant week, I’m vanquished.

But enough grousing about the weather.

The most common adjective people use to describe Glasgow is gritty. So, rough? Unpolished? We found the downtown area to be just that: run down, seemingly unloved, and sorely in need of care. But that could just be the dreary weather talking. Every interaction we’ve had with people has been bright and cheery however. Lots of chitchat going on.

First stop on the Mackintosh tour: the Willow Tea Room. This is his last surviving tea room, which were all the rage in the day.

The thing to do would have been to have high tea, but having 4 pieces of cake for lunch was quite unappealing. We opted for the 1903 house special, minced beef curry, with fried haggis for an appetizer. The great British food tour.

Mackintosh house. The brutalist exterior is not his design, it’s the meticulously reassembled interior that makes this worth visiting.

Eventually, even native son Mackintosh got tired of Glasgow. He gave up architecture and retired to southern France not far from us, where he took up watercoloring, a life choice I wholeheartedly approve of.

In between missing buses and dodging rain, we did find some joy and amusement. The western neighborhoods and the University area are quite appealing. But I suspect I will look back more fondly on our departure than our arrival in Glasgow.

Cheers,

Maer