Martijn.be

A Tale of Two Trains

Published on 17 October 2026

Well, it’s not much of a tale, as today it was time to travel home again, which would take most of the day… And yet I still managed to squeeze in a brewery visit: Werewolf Beer.

Return day means bag packing, and bag packing means I have breakfast in the hotel. It was the least inspired breakfast of the week, unsurprisingly, but it did the trick, and I could quickly return to my room to pack up the last bits.

A five minute walk through the 3°C cold brought me to Glasgow Central, where my Avanti West Coast to London Euston was already waiting at the platform. I was travelling Standard Premium today, because the price difference with First class was ridiculous, and I was able to book a solo seat anyway.

While I had a free coffee on the train—a Club Avanti perk—it wasn’t quite up to my standards, so my first stop after arrival was The Coffee Jar in Camden, for a cortado and a cookie. Well, that was the plan, but all cookies were sold out already, and the coffee was only to-go, since they were about to close… Luckily I had my KeepCup handy, so I did have my proper coffee after all!

Elsewhere in Camden I visited the taproom of Werewolf Beer, an American brewery in London. Nice beer, awesome staff, and a great atmosphere overall! I can see this becoming my new pre-Eurostar beer spot.

For my last beers of the trip, I had planned to go to Beer + Burger. Tough luck, because when I showed up there, they were closed for a private event… The original plan was even to have a burger there as well, so luckily, a couple of days earlier, Eurostar had informed me my—quite low—bid on an upgrade had won. And since an actual three course meal is included in a Premier ticket, dinner was sorted!

The main reason I actually bid on an upgrade, is the waiting space in St. Pancras International: it’s always overcrowded, and Premier passengers have access to a lounge!

As soon as we had boarded the Eurostar to Brussels, they started handing out the champagne, and soon after the amuse-bouche followed.

My main was West Country beef short rib, with black bean rice, mustard-braised peppers, baby spinach and savoy cabbage.

With all the dining, champagne, and tea, the trip was over in no time, and soon it was time to dig out my Mobib to travel the last kilometers home…

Free First Friday

Free First Friday

Published on 16 October 2026

Last day in Glasgow, and spending most of it just outside of it: a visit to Holmwood House, and on the opposite side of town to Two Towns Down Brewery in Paisley, both by First buses, for free! The evening was spent in another of my favourite bars, Inn Deep.

It had been a while since I had an Indian breakfast at Dishoom, and I hadn’t been to the Glasgow one yet. Their Keema Per Eedu definitely gave me a kick start for the day!

So for some reason I received a free day pass from First buses. So far I had been using a ZoneCard for Glasgow zone 1 (which I had put on my Glasgow Subway smartcard). Today’s destinations were far outside of that zone however, so the perfect day to use my First day pass, valid in the wider Glasgow region!

So the first destination was NTS property Holmwood House, a creation by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson. I didn’t expect one, but I actually got a tour.

The next destination was in Paisley: the Two Towns Down Brewing taproom. It was on an industrial estate, as all the best breweries initially are, and the taproom, the brewer, and—most importantly—the beers were really nice!

I didn’t have my haggis, neeps & tatties yet this trip, so I had some with a whisky cream sauce at the bar of Stravaigin. At the bar? Yes, because that way I was in and out in twenty minutes, while the wait for a table in the restaurant section was at least 45 minutes…

Quickly thereafter I descended into Inn Deep. I came to drink beer, of course, but also to pick up my “limited run Inn Deep Heavy Metal featuring the Kelvin Monster” T-shirt!

My very last stop was at The Valinch, a quite new whisky bar, by the same people who run The Pot Still, for the last dram of my trip.

Take it Easy Thursday

Take it Easy Thursday

Published on 15 October 2026

Nothing booked today, just a couple of scenic walks in the West End, an organ recital, and a Barbie exhibition. To end the day, I spent a couple of hours in the Koelschip Yard.

The breakfast pick of the day was Rabbie’s Eggs Singl-end. Again, familiar ingredients—egg, bacon, haggis—but the sriracha hollandaise and chilli jam really elevated it, and gave it a nice kick.

Then I was off to the West End! So, on Mastodon I follow this account, This Is Glasgow, which posts photos of architecture and architectural details in Glasgow. The man behind this account, Colin M. Drysdale, is also the author of a book: Glasgow Uncovered. It is a collection of walks all around Glasgow, and I picked a couple to actually walk. This morning I started with chapter 8. West End, Part I. In between sights, I stopped for coffee at Black Pine Coffee Co.

I rushed and shortcut the last bit to make it to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for the one o’ clock organ recital. It was quite a modern set this time, with pieces from The Phantom of the Opera amongst others.

After the last notes, I went down to the Barbie exhibition, where I learned about the history and design of the world’s most famous and iconic dolls. I didn’t realise how much they’ve changed over the years to be more inclusive.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – Organ recital

In the afternoon it was time for Glasgow Uncovered chapter 9.:West End, Part II, with a coffee stop at 1841 Coffee.

After a bit of souvenir shopping and a little rest at the hotel, I went down south for dinner at Freddy & Hicks. The Hawaiian burger was delicious, and jalapeño mash? A stroke of genius!

The rest of the evening was spent at the Koelschip Yard with Dom, the regulars at the bar, and some brilliant beers!

More Mackintosh

More Mackintosh

Published on 14 October 2026

Today I managed to check off the last of the publicly accessible buildings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh: the Mackintosh at the Willows tearoom, and the Queen’s Cross Church. It was also my last Scottish hash this week, actually IN Edinburgh this time.

Today’s breakfast place choice was Cranberry’s, because I was intrigued by their Nacho Breakfast. Turns out it was mainly a Scottish cooked breakfast, with tattie scones fried as nachos, and the addition of salsa and guacamole. Still nice though!

At Mackintosh at the Willow—nowadays in the care of the NTS—I had booked a tour at 11:00. That meant I got to see parts of the building I wasn’t allowed to go when I was there years ago for an afternoon tea. And the exhibit must be new anyway.

I had been to the Riverside Museum a couple of times already, but they had a new addition I really wanted to see: Glasgow Subway car 128. Too bad you couldn’t go inside, but a nostalgic reunion nevertheless.

The Mackintosh Queen’s Cross Church is the only church in the world designed by the great Scottish architect, designer and artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and the last of his (publicly accessible) buildings I hadn’t been to yet. Until today!

After a coffee at Laboratorio Espresso, I had to get ready for the last hash of the trip, in Edinburgh.

However, I went a bit earlier than necessary, so I could grab a beer and a bite at BrewDog DogHouse, one of the few BrewDog bars still left, and the first one I visit after the takeover of the brand by Tilray. They still honour the stamp rewards, so those chicken tenders with Buffalo sauce and blue cheese dip, and tater tots, were on the house.

Run 2154 of The New Town H3 started and ended in Leslie’s Bar just a short bus ride away. For the first time—for me—the run stayed close to the centre, and passed quite a few sights. A lovely run to finish with!

Science & Myths in Falkirk

Science & Myths in Falkirk

Published on 14 October 2026

After a day in Glasgow, it was time to head out again in undiscovered country! Today, that was Falkirk. Wonders of engineering and artful evocations of ancient myths awaited me: the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies.

So I planned to have breakfast at Piece: the description of the Chicken Olé sandwich sounded delicious—and it turned out to be so—but somehow I missed the fact that it was takeaway only… Luckily they had a tiny terrace, and it had stopped raining, but it was the first time in years I had a coffee from a disposable cup.

I actually didn’t have time to search for a waste-free alternative this time, because I didn’t want to miss my planned train to Falkirk High. That station was nowhere near my destinations for today, and for this area, I had to use a bus operator I hadn’t used yet: Midland Bluebird. I would be using them all day, so I got a day ticket in their app.

The bus took me to the Falkirk Wheel, where I had booked a 50 minute boat ride, including two turns on The Wheel. I must say, it’s quite a feat of engineering!

Back in Falkirk centre, I had a Fiery Mango Chicken Sourdough Melt at Behind the Wall and a pit, before hopping on a bus again to my next destination.

I could actually see The Kelpies already when I was taken up in the Falkirk Wheel, but to get there, it was still a ten minute walk from the nearest bus stop. That walk started all nice and sunny, but by the time I arrived, it was pouring down. Luckily there was a bridge providing cover to wait out the worst. So The Kelpies are a pair of monumental—really huge, I did not expect that—steel horse-heads by sculptor Andy Scott, representing both mythical, shape-shifting water horses, and the heavy horses once so important for the Scottish industry and economy.

Back in Glasgow, I remedied a huge oversight: until today, I had never seen the statue of Charles Rennie Mackintosh! And just a couple of minutes from there was The Ben Nevis, where I apparently hadn’t been for ten years already! I had a couple of drams to make up for it.

At The Islay Inn it was Tattie Scone Taco Tuesday. Yes, you read that right, they use potato based tacos, and that works remarkably well! But the real stars were the fillings: sticky chilli and irn bru chicken with sweet drop peppers and ranch, Stornoway black pudding, Ramsey’s haggis, caramelised onion and pepper sauce, and the—quite spicy—special was fajita chicken, spiced veg, chipotle mayo and chili.

The plan was to spend the rest of the evening in the Grunting Growler, working my way through the tap list and fridges, but it being primarily a beer shop, last call was already as early as nine thirty.

An excellent excuse to pay a visit to the Scotia Bar, supposedly the oldest bar in Glasgow. I originally planned to go there on my first night, because it was conveniently close to my hotel anyway, but I was just too exhausted. Shit beers on keg, but some beauties on cask. And an awesome atmosphere, definitely worth the visit.

Martijn.be Posts

A Tale of Two Trains

Free First Friday

Take it Easy Thursday

More Mackintosh

Science & Myths in Falkirk