itinerary help for Glasgow, Scotland and area

Hi, Lauri,

If you'll be staying in Glasgow for a couple of days, the best possibilities for live traditional music would be the Scotia Bar on Stockwell Street, as well as the Ben Nevis and the Park Bar on Argyll Street. All of them are within walking distance of one another, if you want to try the Glasgow equivalent of pub crawling.

You could also try calling the National Piping Centre on McPhater Street (off the Cowcaddens) to find out if they know of any trad music going on while you're in town. Most of the folk clubs shut down during the summer, but there are often sessions going on at the above mentioned pub venues. If you find yourself in Edinburgh at any point during your holiday, there are usually sessions going on at Sandy bell's on Forrest Hill.

Best wishes for your holiday!

Mike (Auchterless)

The museums may not be open on Monday’s but there are murals in Glasgow that you can walk around to see. Check online for Glasgow Mural Trail. The hop on-hop off bus tour was pretty nice to kill over an hour. It goes to some interesting areas and gives a nice overview of the City. And then check out The Pot Still for a whisky tasting, if you’re interested. They set up private ones and can base it in what you drink even if you’re not a whisky drinker- I wasn’t but they found some interesting things. Or if you haven’t had enough of lakes by then, you could take a train up to Balloch and do a boat tour if Loch Lomand ( if they run Monday’s), and walk around there.

Have you thought about taking the train to either Stirling or Edinburgh for the day on the 24th?

The Loch Lomond cruises run every day of the week. There is no cruise which runs the whole length of the loch- you either do the south end from Balloch on Sweeney's-
https://www.sweeneyscruiseco.com/
or various cruises at the north end on Cruise Loch Lomond.
https://www.cruiselochlomond.co.uk/
Their departure points of Luss and Tarbet are accessed from Glasgow by Citylink coaches for Campbeltown, Oban and Fort William/Skye.
Some of these boat trips allow you to do a few miles of the West Highland Way long distance trail.
Or why not do a CalMac ferry trip on the Firth of Clyde- across to Dunoon (from Gourock, train connections), Rothesay on the Isle of Bute (from Wemyss Bay, train connections), Cumbrae (from Largs- train connections), or Brodick (Isle of Arran, from Ardrossan, train connections.). The published timetable for Arran says they are sailing from Ardrossan for the whole season. But if the new ship actually arrives (years late) they are talking about moving to Troon for major harbour works at Ardrossan. I don't believe the Glen Sannox will arrive before the winter timetable but you never know. Troon harbour is ready now so they could move over quickly if needed- a case of watch this space. Cumbrae you can walk round in about 90 minutes. All are Glasgow holiday destinations. On Bute there are direct bus connections to the stunning Gothic Revival Mount Stuart House, which leave from the top of Rothesay ferry pier.

Thank you to everyone for great ideas that I had not thought of. I am learning how little I knew about travel possibilities in Scotland. I was able to change my return flight to the evening of the 27th giving me three additional days in Scotland. My return flight won't be until 6 p.m. so I can travel to Heathrow in the morning/midday and not have to spend my last night in a hotel near Heathrow. Of course, now that I have so many tantalizing ideas, it's still going to be hard to choose which activities to include. I am so touched by the thoughtfulness of all the people who responded. Flying back to the U.S. from Glasgow would be ideal but I have a really good deal with the ticket returning from Heathrow.

I'm risk-averse where trans-Atlantic flights are concerned. I would not want to be in Scotland the morning of my flight home from London unless I was flying on a single ticket from one of the Scottish cities through London to the US. A replacement one-way ticket from London to the US could be very costly if you don't get to Heathrow on time.

I assume you'll be due at the Heathrow check-in counter no later than 3 PM. The train from Glasgow takes a minimum of 5 hr. 30 min. The train might run late.

Most of the trains go to Kings Cross; some go to Euston. You'll need additional transportation to get from Kings Cross or Euston to the airport. The Heathrow Express would probably be fastest, but it departs from Paddington Station, which is about 0.7 miles from Euston and 2.6 miles from Kings Cross. So first you have to get to Paddington Station, then you need to get the next Heathrow Express; I think those run every 15 minutes. But what if yours is late?

By the time you start building in buffers to allow for train delays, won't you have to leave Glasgow at a very, very early hour? And you couldn't leave early enough to protect yourself against a severe rail delay.

I'd take a late train from Glasgow to London on the 26th.

The only train I would be comfortable on for a 6pm departure from LHR would be the 0428 from Glasgow, knowing that the next two would also get me there in time. But I would not travel on the 0640 from Glasgow (the 3rd train of the day, 0746 for me from Carlisle) as that gives me little or no back up time in case of problems.
Would I want such an early start with a long haul flight ahead of me? No.
What I would consider is, drop your bags at Glasgow Central when you check out, then have the day in Glasgow. Then take the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston arriving at 7am. You can board at around 2200 and there is a First Class/Sleeper Lounge at Central. There are full meals and a bar on the train. Freshen up on arrival in the 1st class lounge at Euston (which as a Sleeper pax you are entitled to use). Grab complimentary breakfast in the lounge, then drop your bags at Euston (or any other main line station), and go visit somewhere in central London for the morning. Then make your way to LHR at around 12 or 1pm.
The sleeper is not cheap (£175), but compared to taking the 1740 GLA to Euston the previous night (the last sensible train to London) and then a night at a Heathrow airport hotel (then hanging around all day at LHR) is not off the scale. The sleeper can be booked up to 12 months ahead. I have just checked the fare and availability. Other more expensive cabins with en suite and shower are also available.
You could fly down from GLA to LHR that morning, but again what happens if the flight has a problem.

I appreciate the cautions about travel to London from Glasgow and all the details of what one needs to do to accomplish that if one is going on a train. I was planning on flying from Glasgow to London, however. Looking at British Airways, there are flights that cost as little as 52 BPS or $68. I would prefer to check luggage (and I think I may have to if the regulation about hiking poles needing to be checked still is in place-- I'll need hiking poles for the Lake District portion of my trip). I haven't checked out the Heathrow information yet but presumably there will be a challenge to get to the correct location for international flights. Waiting for checked luggage and travel time to international flights should take me an hour and a half? There is a 10:45 flight that arrives at 12:15. That seems like sufficient time to collect my luggage and to get to where I need to be by 3 p.m. for the 6 p.m. flight. Does these seem like a reasonable plan? And should I buy the ticket for Glasgow to Heathrow immediately?

I can't say enough how helpful it is to have people I don't even know helping me to think through these important details of travel. My friends and children don't give me this degree interest/attention. Thank you so much.

Hi, Lauri,

If you're flying BA on the GLA to LHR leg, all connections take place in Terminal 5. If you're connecting to a flight back to the US on BA, just book your luggage straight through from Glasgow. BA are usually pretty good about transferring luggage. On our flight last July, our connecting flight from GLA to LHR was delayed, so we missed the international flight to PHL. BA was going to pay for food and lodging in London, and put us on a flight from LHR to BOS to PHL the next day. Fortunately, I saw a flight from LHR to BWI later that afternoon, so I asked if we could take that flight. They had two seats left, so we took them.

When we arrived at BWI, we were surprised that our luggage, still ticketed for PHL, arrived with us. That is why, given the option, we'll always fly BA.

However, if you're flying back to the US on an airline other than BA, you would need to transfer between terminals at LHR. I would check with BA to see if they would be okay with transferring luggage to another airline (they should be). If you are on a different airline for the trans-Atlantic flight, you may have to go through security at GLA and LHR.

You needn't worry about having to buy a whole new ticket if you miss your connection at LHR. BA will make every attempt to get you to your destination.

Happy travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: Hiking poles can be put in any suitcase 24 inches or larger. I would definitely not try to bring them as carry on items.