Old and New England with Scotland.The cripples on tour.

[Flashback]

So not the best HGI,nothing around it but easier to get around Glasgow from there.Not sure I would unreservedly recommend it.

Have stayed at this property before - it used to be a Mint Hotel, became HGI when they bought out the Mint Hotels Group so would explain the room size!

 

[drron]

Well Flash that would explain it.Still a bit of a shock after all the HGIs we have been in over the years.
So our second day in Glasgow and the rain is even heavier.So far only 2 fine days in the UK though on both of those there were some light showers.Also a lot colder today.Our plan was to go to Kelvingrove park and the galleries.However the road into the galleries was closed which would mean quite a walk for mrsdrron in the rain so those plans went out the window.We did make it to the Botanical gardens and went to the greenhouses before the rain chased us away again.

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We are starting to get the hang of UK weather forecasts now.It goes something like this-
Sunny-pretty sure the sun will be out for at least 4 hours.
Occasional cloud-covering our butts because it may well be showers.
Cloudy-odds on there will be showers.
Occasional light showers-light rain lasting no more than 4 hours.
heavy showers-heavy rain but lasting less than 4 hours.
Light rain-it's going to p*ss down.
Heavy rain-prepare the flood boats.

 

[drron]

So we ended up driving to Loch Lomond.Really quite close to Glasgow.It really wasn't a great day to do it but also not a day to be doing much else.So here are the Bonnie banks-

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The ducks are quite used to humans but do get annoyed if you have no food-

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Not much use for the cruise boats-

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[drron]

We then headed down the east bank of the lochs of Clyde on route B814 which ran all the way to the HGI.Once we went over the hill from Loch Lomond the weather improved.Frankly I thought this a much more scenic drive though the road is narrow and winding.

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[drron]

We continued down the lochs until it widened out into the Clyde river.However it was still cold.Topped out at 13C-

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But still enjoyable-

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Our second night in Glasgow we went to the mussel inn in the CBD.We enjoyed it.Mrsdrron started off with scallops in garlic butter and I had haggis bon bons-

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I do actually like haggis.We then shared a bowl of mussels then a platter of mussels in garlic butter-

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This one is recommended.On our last night we went to the Thai Orchid on Argyle street.Now there was no picture of the King and Queen and just a little cynical of the Thai duck-roasted skin served with pancakes,shallots,cucumber and hoi sin sauce.Passable but no more.
So tomorrow off to Edinburgh.

 

[drron]

Wednesday and transit to Edinburgh.A tour bus had blocked the pedestrian access to the car park.Very difficult to get 4 wheeler bags over cobblestones.We headed south to New Lanark.Once you leave the motorway you follow the Clyde valley.lovely with many stately homes and Garden centres.the village of Lanark was having a festival the next day so bunting up everywhere-

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New Lanark though is in fact the old part of Lanark and was a series of cotton mills which have now been redevoped into apartments,a hotel and a tourist attraction with a mill museum,gift shops and restaurant.Certainly it is now visually attractive.Situated because of a good supply of running water to powere water mills.A series of small waterfalls here so a canal was built from the top through the mills.

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The mill employed many women.It closed in 1968-the photo is of the staff in the late 40s.

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[drron]

In older times the workforce was easier to source-

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So more views of New Lanark-

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[drron]

So I would recommend a visit to New Lanark.Then it was more traditional pleasures.Drove to Livingston and another outlet mall.Some exercise out of the weather and another Starbucks.Then straight to the Sheraton Edinburgh Grande.SNAs didn't work but did get a Castle view room.So here it is-

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Received strawberry cones as a welcome gift-

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And the view-

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[drron]

We had arrived early.Our Glaswegian friends without knowing our SPG experiences had told us that high tea at the Edinburgh Sheraton was the best in Scotland.So we went.Mrsdrron had hers with champagne,I with gin.A wonderful selection of treats ensured that we didn't need any dinner though did have a couple of canapés from the lounge later.

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The little plastic tubes on the macarons contained gin which you infused into the macaron.

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[drron]

After the lounge I went out walking around Edinburgh.I found it a much more appealing city than Glasgow.So some random shots.First of the castle and St Cuthberts and its graves-

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Over the road was this hotel said to be favoured by British PMs-

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Now of course it belongs to a chain-

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Now a few other churches-

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[drron]

And some general shots of buildings-

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And we were here for the second week of the new Edinburgh trams operation.Was supposed to cost 375 million GBP but half the line is projected to cost a billion GBP.Didn't look too popular but it does go from the airport to the city centre.

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Obviously people are still not used to them-

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[drron]

So some statues and monuments-

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And the Sheraton and more of the castle-

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And notice how it may rain during the day but often after 8pm it is absolutely beautiful.So now back to bed.

 

[RooFlyer]

Now you are at one of my favourite places - Edinburgh. Have visited frequently and it always seems to be fine weather. A number of 19C rellies buried at St Cuthberts. Greyfriars is also worth a look-in if you are into quiet walks.

Gin infused macaroons! Pure genius, those Scots. The Sheraton high tea is not just penciled in but carved in granite for the next visit!

Trust you and mrsdrron will manage the Royal Mile OK.

 

[jukebox333]

*snip*
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The little plastic tubes on the macarons contained gin which you infused into the macaron.

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I know I'd like to be fitted with a plastic tube that I could infused gin with on demand! Clever buggers.

Always loved Edinburgh - such friendly people. If the weather is nice, you can sit on a park bench in Princes Street Gardens and listen to the One O'Clock cannon go off, and echo around the valley...

*envious*!

 

[QF WP]

We kept driving down the coast and came to this sign-

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How many times can I like this post. Jealous, just a wee bit

 

[Flashback]

Handy to know about the new tram line! I'm supposed to be up there for work tomorrow and was going to bus it from the office back to the airport. Might try the tram ... well, I would have if my meeting hadn't been cancelled and I didn't cancel my flight :mrgreen:

 

[drron]

So for our time in Edinburgh we decided to use the hop on/off busses.The best value for us was the 48 hour pass which included entry to the Brittania,Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh castle and these entries were fast track so didn't have to line up.48GBP for adults but for us oldies was 42GBP.Now 3 senior entries to those attractions would be 42.30GBP so a no brainer.In other words you got 30 "P's" for using the busses.And with Edinburgh road conditions that was about right!So from here a variety of pics taken from the busses or on my walks.And I agree with others opinions here-Edinburgh is a great place to visit.Though we only got 30 minutes of sunshine from 2130-2200 on our last night.

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[drron]

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Now you may wonder why I slipped in a picture of a school's sportsfields.Well part of Chariots of Fire was filmed here.Of course a marvellous story but in real life a sad end.Eric Liddell went on to be a missionary in China.Captured by the Japanese he died in a POW camp there.

 

[drron]

So it was to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

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The bridge-

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The Royal Family know where to park their yacht-

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So we did have to have lunch there,simple and not overly expensive-

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The beer was Bloodhound named for the 12 metre yacht the Queen and Prince owned in the 60s-

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Some of the Queens gifts have been left on board-

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[drron]

Now to the bedrooms.The only double bed on board-put there by Charles and Diana-

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The Queens room-

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Prince Phillips bed-looks a little small to me-

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The Officer's mess-

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You did notice the fan?Part of a ritual game-bat the wombat.You had to get it to stay on the fan.

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More precious is a button from Lord Nelson's uniform-

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They dined in style-

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And the galley and crockery room-

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