Glasgow, Scotland
Highlights
Kelvingrove Park
Kelvingrove Gallery
West End
Getting there and around
In May 2024 we drove from our home to Sheffield to Glasgow. The journey was smooth and we encountered relatively little traffic considering it was the start of a school holiday. The drive took us just under 6 hours in total, including an hour to charge our electric car over lunch; and two quick unplanned roadside stops as nature called for the children.
The kids were kept happy in the back of the car with 1. motion sickness medication before we set off 2. downloaded films on their iPads with battery packs and headphones, and 3. an array of snacks. The adults were happy in the front, with a Scottish themed playlist, the beautiful countryside, and the aforementioned snacks.
The views became more dramatic as we left Yorkshire for Cumbria and Scotland. The scenery from the A66 near God’s Bridge, with the North Pennines to the north and the Yorkshire Dales to the south, was particularly stunning. We saw occasional ruined castles, including Brough Castle, which looked worth a visit, and we enjoyed testing our eyesight with the signs for Barnard Castle.
On arrival into Glasgow we parked outside the hostel (on street parking is free on the weekends).
As we were only in Glasgow for 2 nights, we had decided to focus on exploring only the west end area of the city by foot, leaving visiting the city centre (and the subway system) for a future trip.
Accommodation
We stayed for 2 nights at the Glasgow Youth Hostel. Located on Park Terrace, this hostel occupies a wonderful Victorian building in the west of the city.
Our en suite room with four bunk beds cost £100 per night. We opted for a hostel to keep costs down, and the price reflects the simplicity of the accommodation.
The room was spacious and clean and the WiFi was free and decent. However the room was lacking in power sockets and there was only one uncomfortable hospital waiting room style chair, which meant relaxing in our room wasn’t really an option.
Luckily the communal areas in the hostel were fantastic. There were two lounge areas in large rooms with comfortable chairs in bay windows overlooking the parks; a games room with darts, snooker and a piano; and a decent clean kitchen. There was also luggage storage and laundry facilities which we didn’t use.
While our room was basic this is a case of you get what you pay for and this hostel was one of the better ones we’ve stayed in. The staff and other guests were friendly, we felt safe, and the price was reasonable. The location in the west of the city near the University was pretty and peaceful.
Our star rating: 3
Our cost rating: 3
Kelvingrove Park
We arrived in Glasgow in the mid-afternoon. After checking in to the hostel and settling into our room, we went back out to explore Kelvingrove park immediately adjacent to the hostel.
Kelvingrove is a big park, set on a hillside, with two playgrounds, football pitches, tennis courts, lawn bowls, and a fantastic skate park.
The kids had a fun time playing imaginary games in the sunshine, pretending to be explorers inspired by their recent school topic on Percy Fawcett. Perhaps fittingly this turned into a game of hide and seek; unlike Percy, all were found in the end.
After a play in the park it was time for dinner, where we had booked a table at the nearby Pakora Bar. This was a cosy and friendly restaurant with delicious curries and speciality pakoras. Our favourites were the spiced burrata with green beans, cheese pakora, and masala fries. The kids did really well with the spicy food. Full and happy, we walked back through the park to our hostel beds.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
The next day was our one full day in Glasgow. We decided not to visit the city centre and instead to explore the neighbourhood around the hostel.
We were keen to visit the Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum but as it was a Sunday, the Kelvingrove didn’t open until 11. So we had a leisurely start to the day, taking our time to recover from the long drive the day before and have breakfast.
On trips where breakfast isn’t provided by the accommodation but we have access to our own vehicle, we tend to keep things simple - cereal and milk kept in a cool bag (or the hostel fridge) so the kids can eat in the room at 7am without us all having to get up and go out somewhere for breakfast.
After our relaxing morning we drove our car 2 minutes down the hill to the gallery, not because we were really lazy but because we needed to charge it, and the Gallery car park had EV charging points. It was expensive to charge here - £13 plus the cost of parking for the day (£10). However it was very convenient.
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was utterly wonderful. We spent a solid 2 hours wandering the grand halls full of outstanding historical items and beautiful artworks.
We particularly enjoyed Roger the Indian elephant, the Egyptian collection, the Spitfire, the expressionist French paintings and works by Reniee Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald and the Glasgow modernists.
Ubiquitous Chip
After looking at the exhibits at the Gallery for a couple of hours we headed out to explore the neighbourhood. We made our way past the Scottish Central Library and up the hill to Byers Road where we found lots of cafes, vintage clothing and charity shops, and restaurants.
We ate lunch at the upstairs brasserie at the Ubiquitous Chip restaurant on Ashton Lane. Serving seasonal Scottish food, this was a treat meal for us.
The kids had macaroni cheese and steak and chips; the adults enjoyed pork belly with cornbread and charred corn, and Shetland mussels in a coconut tamarind broth.
The food was excellent, as was the service. It’s worth noting for other families reading this that there is a fairly priced kids menu even though there’s no mention of one on the website. Given the quality, we thought the cost (£20 per head including service) was very reasonable.
We had hoped to visit the Botanical Gardens after lunch but the weather had other plans. Seemingly we’d had our quota of dry and sunny and were now being treated to rain in all its heaviest forms - pouring, driving, and deluge, in rotation.
So instead of exploring more of the West End, we made our way back to the Kelvingrove Gallery via the University; stopping under trees along the way for the worst downpours, and thankful for our waterproof jackets.
Kelvingrove Organ
Back at the Gallery we sat in the central hall to listen to the organ recital at 3pm. The organ has over 2000 pipes and was originally commissioned as part of the Glasgow Exhibition in 1901 before it was moved to the Gallery.
There are daily recitals with a mix of music played. We heard Ava Maria, The March from the Marriage of Figgaro, the theme tune from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the Radetzky March to name a few.
The Gallery holds the world record for the largest number of organ recitals, and it was fabulous to hear this wonderful instrument being played in such a grand setting - and great that it’s all open to the public for free.
After the organ recital and a look around the gift shop it was time to leave. Our car had finished charging so we just needed to drive it back up the hill to the hostel.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the charging station to relinquish our cable. After each of us spent a good few minutes trying to unplug the charging wire in pouring west coast rain, we eventually gave up and phoned the helpline where they quickly sorted it out remotely. A little hiccup but resolved in the end.
Back at the hostel we relaxed with some guide books, drawing, board games, and table tennis. Later on in the evening we ventured back out to get some groceries for a simple picnic dinner as we were all still pretty full from lunch.
Final Thoughts
The kids described our time in Glasgow as a brilliant rainy day. We enjoyed the Kelvingrove - both the Park and the Gallery; the grand Victorian architecture of the West End; and the green hills and student vibes which reminded us of home in Sheffield.