Holiday: Day 9: Scotland (2022) – Glasgow Revisited & the Riverside Museum

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Morning all! πŸ˜€. We’re on Day 9 of our Scottish adventure! – and surely some mistake – it’s NOT raining! πŸ€”πŸ€”. We were seriously thinking of trading-in the ‘mozzy spray’ for anti-rust treatment, based on the past few days, but maybe not! We also saw a large round orange thing in the sky, but the locals said they didn’t know what it was! 🌞

Day 9 – Friday, 27th May

On a positive note, based on this new phenomenon, after yesterday’s multiple downpours!, I’ve paused building the Ark (but I have fixed the umbrella). So, if only temporarily, all is right in this rather soggy part of Scotland, and we can continue to explore the area πŸ‘πŸ‘.

10.08am: We decided to return to Glasgow today. Not to reacquaint ourselves with Mrs McMadd of Clan McMadd (first encountered last Saturday) but to take the train from Balloch to Partick for a visit to the well-known Riverside Museum. It was a short drive to the Station, where, once again, there was no charge for parking – mainly because there was no car-park! πŸ˜•. We simply parked adjacent to the (only) platform. How quaint! Β£6.10 return for the youngster, whilst I forked-out the grand total of Β£4.05 there and back! πŸ‘πŸ˜‰. A bargain!

It was only around a 45-minute journey, but it felt longer because of what seemed like 5000 stations along the route, each just 100 metres from the previous! Clearly Doctor Beeching didn’t discover this part of Scotland!πŸš‚πŸš‚πŸš‚

The Riverside Museum

11.02am: We took the short ten-minute (brisk and blowy) walk to the Museum where the signposting was excellent (so, if I was on my own, even I wouldn’t have got lost! We didn’t need an umbrella either! It’s a miracle!!! πŸ˜€

The Museum opened in 2011 after a four-year building programme as part of the regeneration of the Clyde Dock area. It houses the city’s complete transport collection which have been curated (and lovingly restored) over the centuries. It attempts (and succeeds) in reflecting the important role Glasgow has played in the world through its heavy industries, such as shipbuilding, train manufacturing and engineering.

Opening hours are:

Monday-Thursday, Saturday: 10am-5pm/Friday and Sunday: 11am-5pm.

It’s also free admission too! πŸ‘πŸ‘

If it’s made of metal and/or wood, has wheels and has connections with the Clyde area, it’s probably here – and in great condition too! πŸ‘

It’s not a particularly large exhibition space and they have certainly packed stuff in! I reckon it might get a bit congested during school visits (thankfully, none today!)

The majority of the contents are on the ground floor and there’s a smaller upper-floor that looks at ship-building and cruise ships.

One of more useful pieces of information accompanying many of the car exhibits was the price when new. Β£497 for a Mini, Β£425 for a Ford Popular, and Β£1350 for a Ford Capri anyone? πŸ€”

And if cars and bikes aren’t your thing, there are plenty of alternative forms of transport for your viewing pleasure!

All-in-all then, a fascinating and wide-ranging display of transportation through the ages!

…and then, an unexpected bonus, that I’d somehow missed when reading about the Museum…

The Tall Ship

Across from the rear entrance to the Museum (nearest the Clyde) we saw some signage for ‘The Tall Ship’ aka ‘Glennlee‘ aka ‘Islamount’, ‘Clarastella’ and ‘Galateathe’. The vessel is now, the last remaining three-masted ship originally built on the Clyde that’s still afloat in the UK.

It now has a new life as a Museum-ship and there was plenty to see and learn about the history of this majestic construction. Again, free admission (why?) but they encourage minimum donations of a fiver – quite right too! πŸ‘

The Ship had been well restored and there was, just like the Museum, plenty to see, giving a great feel to what life must have been like, aboard during its various ‘lives’ at sea.

12.12pm: We’re done! This had been a very worthwhile trip. The Museum housed some real gems from this area’s heavy engineering period and it was well displayed and documented. The Tall Ship was a delightful unexpected EXTRA treat where it was clear to see that a lot of time, energy and love had gone into its restoration.

12.33pm: It was back to the Station where we only had a short wait for our journey back to Balloch.

1.50pm: Back at basecamp, the sun was still out but it was blowing a gale. Given it’s our final full day tomorrow, I abandoned all thoughts of finishing the Ark and thought about a constructing a windmill instead, to charge the car!! πŸ™‚

Tomorrow, we plan to visit the local area to take in the scenery (again, weather permitting!)

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