The Best Museum (and Bus Driver) Ever

Alas, before we knew it our time at Glengorm was over, and the taxi had arrived to take us to the bus. It turns out that the cab driver was a former constable from Glasgow, and when he found out we were from Canada he became quite talkative, telling us historical things about the area and things to see in Glasgow. He told us that the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery was “The best museum in the world”. He also informed us that all the museums in Glasgow were free admission, a truly remarkable commitment to culture and education on the part of the city. (Beth already knew this because of internet research, and had picked the hotel we were booked at because of its proximity to the Kelvingrove Museum… but it was nice to have that affirmed by a local). Even though he moved to the Isle of Mull because it was a good place to raise a family he still spoke with pride about his native city.

Buses in the United Kingdom work differently in Canada, at first I thought the Isle of Mull buses worked this way because they were a family run business unique to the island, however we discovered the same thing when we were going from Oban to Glasgow. After the taxi dropped us off in Tobermory we took the Isle of Mull bus down to Craignure where we boarded the ferry to Oban. According to my internet information we would have about 25 minutes between when the ferry docked and the bus for Glasgow left. We had decided to take the bus to Glasgow rather than the train for two reasons, first because there was a run that worked well for our schedule, and second because it would give us some different scenery than the train trip out.

So lugging our luggage off the ferry we walked around the terminal, past the train station to where the map indicated the bus station was. Only problem was that I couldn’t find the bus station and we were running out of time. All I saw were some bus stops on the street with a sign that read “Local Buses Only”. I was beginning to get frustrated (and a bit worried), and Beth took over, asking some local folks, and it was through this that we discovered that what looked like a standard curbside city bus stop was indeed where we caught the bus to Glasgow… there was no terminal! In the U.K. most of the time you buy the ticket directly from the bus driver. Sure enough, shortly before the designated time a bus pulled up and when I asked if this bus went to Glasgow it was affirmative.

So we get on, take the front seats so we can see, and have a lovely drive from Oban to Glasgow. Once the driver discovered we were visitors, and were from Canada he pointed a few things out to us along the way. We drove the road that follows the shore of Loch Lomond which was pretty, if a bit nerve wracking at times (the driver said his wife never drives with him when he’s on this route). At one point he asked where we were staying in Glasgow, and nodded his approval when we told him.

In Glasgow, when we had arrived at the station he asked us to stay on for a minute - I thought it was to let the others off first so he could help us with our luggage - instead, once everyone else were off the bus he said “I’ll take you folks to your hotel, it’s close to the bus garage anyway.” It turned out he had the wrong hotel at first (but the right area), and eventually after driving around the block, we were let off right in front of our hotel door! Could you imagine a Greyhound driver doing that in Canada? It seems that everyone we were encountering in Scotland went out of their way to help us.

That theme continued as we checked in at the Kelvingrove Hotel, an establishment run by three generations; grandmother, mother and daughter. We were met by a very friendly receptionist, shown to our room (surprisingly decent sized) and told about eateries in the area when we asked. Such pleasant people, everywhere!

Our day ended with a great meal at Sutherlands - a restaurant across the street from our hotel (Steak and Ale pie for me, Beth had Fish and Chips - the nicest battered Haddock so far! I also discovered a great Swedish Pear Cider called Kopperberg, what great pear flavour, even better than the one I had in London). After a long afternoon of travelling and a very filling meal we had had enough, time to sleep and get ready for tomorrow.

By the way, the picture is of Dennis pointing at an unusual traffic sign we saw in a number of places driving through Glasgow. In other words, it’s not just the law, it’s common sense too!