Scotland Trip 2025

Scotland has always held a very special place in my heart. While I am (unfortunately) not Scottish, my earliest memories are of a brief period when Mum and I lived in Kelso, a small village near the Scottish border, so I have always considered Scotland my home. I have visited Scotland a few times over the years, and always felt welcome.

A few weeks ago I hopped on the train for yet another visit. The plan was thus: head from Cardiff to London, catch the Caledonian Sleeper up to Glasgow, then onto Edinburgh for the rest of the week.

Getting to London was painless enough: a nice, easy direct train into Paddington. Never been there before, so it was pretty cool to see the famous station! After a little mooch, it was off to Spoons by Euston for a quick bite to eat and a drink while I waited to board the sleeper.

Once 23:00 rolled around, I headed back over to Euston. Unlike Paddington, it wasn't a particularly interesting station, no fancy architecture to speak of, just the usual overpriced shops and fast-food joints.

The Caledonian was a lovely train; I was very surprised how roomy the rooms were! Alas, I was only in a single room as I was travelling solo, so it had bunk beds, though these were still a lot comfier than I was expecting. Surprisingly, the rocking of the train was quite soothing, similar to being rocked asleep like a baby, I suppose. It did have much the same effect.

I arrived into Glasgow Central at 07:00 Monday morning, very well rested, and made finding the nearest coffee shop for breakfast my priority.

From there, I dropped my bags off at the hotel before heading up to the Necropolis and the Bridge of Sighs. As a Doctor Who fan, I decided to take a photo of every Police Box I saw while I was there. A lot more still standing than I expected, not that I was complaining.

I spent a good chunk of time wandering around the city centre, exploring as much as I could as it was my first time in Glasgow. I followed my tried and trusted way of finding my way about by plotting a course through all the local record stores and camera shops.

Eventually I had to stop for some food and found an amazing little coffee shop called Fern. I went on and ordered the Lentil soup, which was absolutely incredible! Genuinely one of the best soups I've ever had, so much so that I asked for the recipe! The trip is off to a very good start!

After that, I headed back to my hotel to rest a bit. My evening was to be spent seeing Fish live at the O2 in Glasgow; it was his last ever show before he retired. I had seen him a few weeks back in Bristol, which was amazing, so I was really excited to be here for this occasion. I stopped off at the Laurieston Bar on my way for a drink, and by some miracle actually met Fish!

The concert was phenomenal and very emotional. I still can't believe I was there. But this was the end of my time in Glasgow, and I caught the early train to Edinburgh the next morning. I did briefly return to Glasgow on Thursday for another gig at Audio. I was seeing Tempesst, who have very quickly become one of my favourite bands.

Arriving in Edinburgh is always followed by a huge sigh of relief; it's one of the few places where I actually feel at home. I headed down the Royal Mile toward my hotel in the old town and checked in. This first day was more about finding my bearings again than doing anything in particular. I decided to try somewhere different for dinner and had some amazing ramen at Ikigai. And for the rest of the week I was coffee shop hopping and record shopping like there was no tomorrow! By the end of the week I had a serious stack that I somehow had to transport back home in one piece. Annoyingly, I still had a fair bit of uni work to complete, so much of the week was spent finishing that off for my final hand-ins.

Later in the week I decided to go for a long walk out of Edinburgh towards Morningside. It was a bit further of a trek than I anticipated but was made worthwhile when I passed Cameratiks - a small little camera shop filled with lots and lots of goodies! I didn't get much but a battery door cover for my AE-1 Program, but made a note of the shop for my next trip. On the way back, I stopped off at a few antique places and came past the Castle.

I came across a small Gallery run by Chris Close, an amazing photographer and ended up chatting for ages about Stills and fine art photography and our mutual love for shooting on film. I highly recommend visiting his gallery if you are planning a visit to Edinburgh. I'll also at this point mention Stills, another independent gallery, education centre and community darkroom. They do some really great work there, and the staff are very knowledgeable, plus they have a great range of photography books and merch!

And that about wraps up this (rather overlong) post. I had an absolutely amazing time, and I definitely want to explore Glasgow more! Just gotta make sure I take more spending money!

List of Record Shops visited:

Glasgow: