I’m so happy we made a stop in Glasgow during our road trip of Scotland. When planning, everyone told us to skip Glasgow and spend our time in Edinburgh. While I mostly followed this advice when I took a look at the map and saw it would only take us 15 minutes out of our way to make the stop I decided an afternoon in Glasgow was the perfect compromise. Our first stop was to the University of Glasgow.
Now for some fast facts….The University of Glasgow was founded in 1451 and is the fourth oldest University in the English Speaking world. To put that in perspective America wasn’t even discovered until 1491….so thats OLD! The University is quite large with around 29,000 students. It’s famous alumni include John Logie Baird whom you can thank for inventing the TV & Gerard Butler whom you can thank for making you sob throughout PS I Love You.
Now for the real reason I wanted to check out this beautiful University. It is said that JK Rowling created the design of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry based on the University of Glasgow. One step onto campus and you can instantly see why! I’m not kidding when I say, it feels like you are walking around Hogwarts! We were there on a Saturday afternoon which was perfect because we had the place all to ourselves. Although I’m sure it’s also fun to walk around when it’s full of students. Having the place empty was wonderful for Davis to run around in!
When strolling through the grounds don’t miss the famous Cloisters. They are an iconic part of the University and they may look familiar as several movies and TV shows have been filmed here including scenes from Cloud Atlas & Outlander. These beautiful archways really are a marvel. The Cloisters are also referred to as the Undercroft and they connect the East and West Quadrangles of campus. If you’re having trouble locating them look for the Hunterian Museum or Butte Hall on a campus map and you’ll find the Cloisters smack dab between them.
After walking around campus we went to grab a bite to eat at The Cup & Saucer which is a vintage tea room. It’s located just past Ashton Lane (an adorable little alley full of cute bars and restaurants) Initially I was a little taken aback to see that the tea room was essentially just a shop in a mall arcade but once we sat down and I looked at the delicious bakery items my mind was put at ease! This is a very fun little stop for a wonderful cup of tea, scone and a ham “toastie” (we had very many “toasties” while in the UK!) We stopped here based on the high TripAdvisor reviews and it did not disappoint! Loved all the retro 1950’s style décor.
After our fun filled afternoon in Glasgow it was time to get back in the car and head towards Edinburgh. On our way we made a little detour to visit Midhope Castle aka Lalybroch aka the home of the hottest scotsman around James Fraser! If you are a fan of the show Outlander a trip to Scotland wouldn’t be complete without a stop here. Midhope Castle is a 16th century tower house that’s mostly in ruins-you can’t tour the inside. Gabe chose to stay in the car with a sleeping Davis so I was the only one that ventured out for a few photos-15 minutes is about all you need at this quick stop!
I highly recommend taking a quick detour in Glasgow when traveling down from the Highlands to Edinburgh. I’m very happy that we were able to see a little bit of Scotland’s largest city. A stop at the University of Glasgow is a must and if we had more time I would have stopped at Glasgow Cathedral & Glasgow Botanic Gardens. There’s always next time!
Britt Heller 