Day Three
When I am in a new place my constant desire to sleep is completely gone if not ignored. If there is something to do I will wake up at 5am or earlier because I'd much rather experience something new in a foreign place than sleep.
On the day of my Inverness trip I woke up before the sun and practically ran to the bus station. I was ready to spend the day in the Scottish Highlands although I had no idea what I was really getting myself into. The bus ride was long, but the view made it worth it. We passed field after field with cows, sheep, the odd castle and snow! The snow was the best part because I haven't seen or touched snow in more than a year. Unfortunately I could not touch it then either, but it was there and beautifully white.
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| The view from the bus. |
Once I arrived, I wove my way through the streets to get the feel of the town. Although I had looked at maps and made a list of things that I wanted to see in town I quickly realised how small this place was. It was going to be a long 8 hours.
It was a quaint little town with lots of shops paralleling the River Ness. Down that very river was Loch Ness where the infamous Nessie may or may not reside. You can decide. Unfortunately, the closest I got to Loch Ness was this river, but that was all right by me.
The problem with my plan for Inverness was that I arrived at noon and the sun was to set four hours later. I was constantly racing the sun on my trip because most things closed when the sun set as well, so I frequently packed the events of my day into the daylight hours and relaxed at night. I was still able to get a lot done in those four hours. Photos of the river and town were taken. Shops were visited. I visited the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery which took me though the history of our planet though the Scottish history of where their language originated from and who they were ruled by. The museum was very comprehensive of Highland history, but their art gallery was what surprised me the most. There were sketches and lithographs from Picasso, Matisse, and Dali along with a few of Warhol's iconic Marilyn Monroe prints. They were all connected through the lens of Modern artists despite the decades between some of them.
I was easily able to see the castle at Inverness since it was on a very low hill and currently is occupied by the Inverness police force. It hasn't lost its ties to governing even after all these years. Truthfully, it wasn't much of a sight but it was still a box to check off.
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| This was the other end of town marked by a big church. |
As the sun was setting I found my way into the largest used book store I have ever had the pleasure to visit. It was two stories and the walls were covered in books. The fact that the person who owned it was able to find so many used books to fill dozens of shelves was amazing. I spent a fair amount of time browsing but either books enjoy the cold or there wasn't heating in the building so I reluctantly had to find a warmer place to relax.
Realising that nearly everything was closed and I still had a few hours to kill, I wandered around more shops. Understandably tartan, or plaid, is very popular in Scotland because of its ties to their clans and history, but while there were many shops that sold tartan for tourists they were practically all the same throughout the country. Since I was in the land of tartan and gifts needed to be bought this was helpful.
Finally, I was able to get on my bus that took me back to me hostel in Edinburgh. I wish I could have seen all the snow and scenery on the way back, but it was too dark to see anything farther than the edge of the road. Once I arrived in Edinburgh I rested as much as possible before my next trip to Perth.
Day Four
Waking up very early once again, I got on a bus to Perth, a town about two hours north of Edinburgh. After the subdued day in Inverness I was a little wary of what Perth might offer because it is not as much of a city as somewhere like Glasgow. As the bus drove into town my worries melted away because of its quaintness. The lack of rain and clouds definitely helped my positive outlook.
I was able to quickly find somewhere nice to sit down and have a full Scottish breakfast, something I hadn't done yet. The meal consisted of a fried egg, toast, baked beans, sausage and bacon with a cup of tea along with it. The cafe was right next to St. John's Kirk, a massive church that had lots of history with the surrounding area.
Since it was a week or so before christmas, walking around the shops I found little Christmas Market booths and lots of cute wooden figures. There was even a Dalek and extra-large Blue Police Box from the British TV show "Doctor Who" since there are so often aliens depicted invading during the holiday season.
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| This was a section of what used to be a church. I found the architecture and windows extremely interesting. |
Perth was much larger than Inverness and generally cleaner and more friendly. Along the river there are plaques that provide anyone who is interested with facts about the town. Here's a little history on Perth that I learned. Perth used to be the capital of Scotland. The river that runs next to Perth used to be a major trading hub and is not used for that purpose any longer. Boats from all over used this river to get goods to other areas of Scotland. I learned about some of the jobs necessary to work a shipping boat centuries ago. The river floods in the rainy months to drastic points marked on one of the bridges. There are lots of flora and fauna native to the river and surrounding area.
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| This is the same bridge as pictured above. The heights of floods are marked on the right hand side of the bridge and would have reached my ribs at the point I was standing on the sidewalk. |
There is one very tiny, unimpressive castle in the town called The Black Watch Castle and Museum and was in a residential area next to a large park and Leisure Center. I wandered around the castle grounds before making my through the park and slick grass field towards the river. It was a beautiful day so I tried to stay outside as much as I could without freezing or becoming too bored.
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| I enjoyed this display to show everyone that this is a Scottish castle in case anyone was confused. |
As a result of my exploring I found the Perth Museum and Art Gallery that mainly focused on art but had an educational exhibit that I would have seen at a science or natural history museum. They kept their visitor pool open with the expanse of items on display. There was a large scale spray painted landscape of Perth, a competition displayed from dozens of artists based around Perth, and even items from the 1700s on loan from London. It was interesting to see a wide range of objects on display within a few feet of each other, but the collection itself was really impressive.
In an old water tower, The Fergusson Gallery pays tribute to one of Scotland's most famous Colourists and his wife. John Duncan Fergusson used gestural painting to create fantastic scenes and portraits often inspired by his wife, Margaret Morris. Margaret pioneered many theories and practices in dance and movement and published a collaborative book with Olympians to inspire a new way to connect your body and mind through physical activity and movement. Margaret could definitely not be reduced to a muse or model. Both artists were immensely talented and the gallery does a great job of displaying the range of mediums and skills each of them had.
Perth was a beautiful reprieve from the rush of cities and had much more to offer compared to Inverness. If I ever get the opportunity I believe I would love to live up there.
Day Five
With just one last early morning before I head back to London, I spent my last day in Glasgow. I felt I couldn't travel all around Scotland without experiencing Edinburgh's rival city. They are always described as polar opposites providing completely different experiences of Scotland. They are on opposite sides of the country and, despite being a tad more than 2 hours from each other, everything from the buildings to the people was different.
The weather was not camera permitting most of the time so sadly there is a major lack of photos for this day.
After getting soaked to find a coffee shop, I sat down to plan my day. As a result of the rain, I planned on hopping between different museums and galleries to stay out of the wet weather. Glasgow has a much larger city center than Edinburgh so I did a lot of walking.
On my way to my first stop, the University of Glasgow and its museums, I saw one of the incomprehensible signs of Glasgow. I passed a statue with a traffic cone on its head. It was not the Duke of Wellington, but I guess the tradition doesn't stop there. The campus reminded me a lot of Santa Cruz, minus the forest. It was on one big hill with students constantly roaming the campus, but it was the atmosphere that made me think of Santa Cruz the most. The museum and gallery on campus were impressive and grand although neither were very large. I have learned that the size and breadth of a museum or gallery do not really matter. What I value is the way things are presented and the interpretation they try to impress on their visitors.
I wove my way around the city stopping into as many museums as I could. I visited The Hunterian Museum, Hunterian Art Gallery, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Gallery of Modern Art, and possibly more. Each was very different from the next, but with the sun setting quickly I was not able to give each one the time they deserved.
My day in Glasgow was perhaps the most interesting, but even still I cannot fully explain it. It was a mess of running around in a city that I became comfortable with instantly. It was worrying that I would still get lost or worse with a dead cell phone. It was wishing for the sun so I could take photos, but loving the cold and wetness anyways.
I really enjoyed Scotland and I hope I will get the opportunity to visit again very soon.
