In the morning we headed over to the University of Glasgow, intending to see the Mackintosh Rooms at the Art Museum. Instead of a 30 minute walk the receptionist at the hotel suggested we take the subway. Yes, there is a subway in Glasgow, apparently the third oldest system still in existence in the world.

Navigating the system is easy, even for us – it’s a loop. Two sets of tracks, running clockwise and counterclockwise with a train arriving about every four minutes. It’s really well done!

After the underground trip and a short walk to the University, we arrive at the museum to find a notice next to the entry door that they are closed until 1:30, with apologies for any disappointment. We didn’t have enough time to wait, so everyone has been spared more Mackintosh.

But we did run across this Banksy along the way, in a residential area…

The University is quite old, dating back to 1451, and it shows. The buildings and the the grounds are quite amazing. We both want to go get another degree…

So, no more Mackintosh. Next up is a short car ride in the car east from Glasgow to Roslyn Chapel. The novel by Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code, followed by the movie with Tom Hanks Audrey Tautou that made Roslyn Chapel into a much more popular destination.

The St. Clair family settled in the area around 1450, found a high piece of land next to a deep gorge and built a castle. With the St. Clair clan having the means to build and also desiring to ensure their salvation, they embarked on a mission to establish a collegiate chapel.

The foundation work far exceeds the scope of the actual chapel construction. The Romanesque and Gothic stonework captures many elements from nature and scenes from the Old and New Testament. The stonemasons were quite creative and prolific. No photos or videos are allowed within the chapel, so it’s exteriors only.

Fun fact, the exterior of the chapel was covered in scaffolding at the time of the movie, so the exterior was digitally recreated. The scenes of Hanks and Tautou entering the chapel and going down into the crypt were shot on site. The secret room in the crypt with the manuscripts is actually at Pinewood Studios in London.

One of the docents highly recommended the short walk from the chapel to the original St. Clair clan castle. We gave it a go and it was well worth the trek down through the cemeteries. Part of the castle is restored and is a private residence. The remainder is unrestored but accessible only by a narrow drive across a ravine about 100 feet below. The ramparts that remain are another 60 feet above ground level – apparently to better see visitors approaching.