Day 18: Glasgow to Hamilton (half day)

Distance: 11.0 miles
Time: 3 hrs 35 mins
Weather: Sunny
Cumulative distance: 310.8 miles

A leisurely morning, a short walk through suburbia and a train back to Glasgow.

I enjoyed a later start, a leisurely breakfast and shopping for a few essentials in Sauchiehall Street. I needed some glue to repair the protective toe cap lining on my boots, so tried Poundland around the corner. Four pots of super glue for £1 was a bargain, even if I end up carrying them to Carlisle.

I tried without success to locate a light elasticated belt. With pockets full of items and having probably lost some weight during the last few weeks, I find that my trousers are constantly slipping down during the day! In the end, Poundland came to the rescue again, although it was more of a standard belt. Unfortunately, even the tightest notch on the small size belt was too loose to make a difference, so some careful scissor work was required to make it effective.

I discovered today that yesterday's cycle race had included the GB Olympic heroes Mark Cavendish, Lizzie Armistead and Laura Trott. They were travelling too fast be identified!

By this time, I'd decided to bring forward part of tomorrow's walk, thereby earning myself another leisurely morning tomorrow. I set off along the River Clyde walkway in fine sunshine, overtaken by numerous joggers on the way. I then followed the road through the Glasgow suburbs towards Hamilton.

At Blantyre (birthplace of David Livingstone exactly 200 years ago), a car pulled up alongside me. 8 year old Carragh had spotted me after her mum had collected her from school and she really kindly decided to donate her pocket money to Cancer Research UK. That was a grand gesture!

At Hamilton West, I caught the train back into Glasgow. It felt strange playing the role of commuter in the big city after nearly three weeks in the Scottish outback. I wandered up the hill to visit the University, where I studied for my MBA twenty years ago. The department had been relocated to a palatial new building and I could find no evidence of the original building.

The city has certainly become even more cosmopolitan since my time. Even at four o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the streets were bustling with shoppers and tourists from all corners of the globe. There are also more bars and restaurants than I recall.

Good luck to Daniel and Hannah for Sports Day tomorrow!