It’s been a while since I did a Photo Friday post, and it’s been hard to build up the motivation to look through travel photos when we don’t know when we’ll ever be able to travel again, let alone with everything that has been going on in our lives personally.
On that note, I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented on my last post or reached out. It’s probably the most personal I’ve got on here, and it was written at the end of one of the toughest weeks of our lives. Tonight, we will be drinking rum & coke, and Brewdog Punk IPA in memory of our dear friend Chris.
In this post, I decided to stay a bit closer to home with our neighbouring city of Glasgow. Before we moved to Edinburgh, and with the exception of my mandatory shufflings through Aberdeen on my way in and out of Orkney, Glasgow was always my most visited city in Scotland, whether it was to visit friends who disappeared to the city for university, or to see countless gigs. (Whenever bands do a “UK” tour, their only Scotland date, if they have any at all, is almost always in Glasgow – in fact, one of the first gigs Ash & I ever went to together was Green Day at the SECC.)
The thing is though, I’ve never really visited Glasgow as a tourist. I’ve barely written about Glasgow on the blog, which is one of my biggest oversights. Before lockdown, I started planning out a Glasgow post, but of course despite it being less than an hour away, we haven’t been able to visit to be “tourists” since, which means there are still too many of the “must-see” sights that I haven’t seen yet to be able to write about it.
I have, however, taken every opportunity in the past year or so to find more and more street art in the city. It might surprise you to learn that Glasgow is one of the best cities in the world for it – in fact, there’s an entire dedicated mural trail! And more and more is popping up all the time (I’ve made a new list of ones to look out for next time I’m there).
The first one that I made the effort to see was the famous St Mungo mural, and it’s even better in real life than it is in photos. It’s just stunning!
But if you think that’s good – you’re in for quite the ride in this post! Here are many, many more of my favourites.
Speaking of St Luke’s…
Excuse the lighting – there’s an annoyingly bright light above it! St Luke’s is AWESOME though – it’s a pub inside a church, with a live music venue too. I was indeed there for a gig.
And last but not least… probably my favourite one that I’ve discovered so far!
What’s your favourite?
Mine is definitely the bubbles, along with the magnifying glass one (“Honey I Shrunk The Kids”) and of course St Mungo. The detail in them is just astounding, and it’s just incredible how lifelike they are! I also love the pirate girl – I stumbled across that completely by accident, as I’m sure I will many more!
I have at least five more “big murals” on my list to search for, let alone all the little ones I’ve stumbled across down alleyways.
And let’s not forget the ORIGINAL Glasgow “street art”:
I do not remember a time that the Duke Of Wellington didn’t have a traffic cone on his head. And sometimes the horse does, too! Weirdly, this is probably the most famous landmark in Glasgow, which just about sums up the humour of the place.
(Side note: someone put a traffic cone on the Sir Walter Scott monument in Edinburgh a few months ago. It was gone by the next day. Booo!)
As much as I love Edinburgh, Glasgow certainly has the edge on street art, as there’s hardly any in the capital. Hope these pictures have brought a bit of colour and cheer at a dark time, and that you are all doing well.
Where’s some of your favourite street art?
Want some more Scottish photo posts? Check these out:
⭐ 50 Photos To Make You Want To Visit Edinburgh
⭐ 40 Amazing Views On The North Coast 500 Road Trip
⭐ 50 Photos To Make You Want To Visit Orkney
Like this post? Pin it to read later!
An Orcadian Abroad 
It’s been almost five years since I went to Glasgow, and I swear I remember seeing the St. Mungo mural while walking around town! I didn’t pay much mind to it, because I didn’t know about the city’s ubiquitous street art, but now I realize its fame! Beautiful place, with a wistful, artsy feel to it. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s by the cathedral so you probably did! 🙂 I think it’s only since then that the art scene has picked up there, so it’s possible there wouldn’t have been much of it back then. I certainly never knew about it until the past couple of years!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know how artists manage to get their proportions so perfect on something so large. Amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always think that too! The full building ones are just incredible. And the detail!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love exploring street art when we travel, although we have some cute pieces here in Birmingham too. Rotterdam is a great European city for street art. Must make a visit back up to Glasgow some time as I’ve only ever been for work and seen the inside of hotel rooms!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooooh I didn’t know about Rotterdam. I have to admit street art is one of my favourite things to find on my travels. Glasgow is a cool city, it’s quite industrial but the city centre is nice and there’s a lot going on. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow those are incredible pieces of art..it’s just fantastic..hope to witness it myself someday
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are so cool, aren’t they?! I love finding street art on my travels.
LikeLike
These are all so lovely! I would love to go to Glasgow to see them in person.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are really awesome! And I can always recommend Scotland! 😉
LikeLike
I love exploring street art and always go on the lookout for them when I visit a city. I have been to Glasgow and love their street art scene. St Mungo’s mural was my favourite.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhh awesome! Me too! And St Mungo’s is probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. ❤
LikeLike
I love finding street art while traveling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I accidentally sent the comment before finishing, sorry about that! Great post, I’ve never been to Glasgow, but would love to go.
LikeLike
Me too! ❤
LikeLike
I didn’t know Glasgow had so many street murals. I find street art tells interesting stories of a place. Nice article
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! It really does – one of the best places I’ve seen for that is Penang. They even have art literally telling historical stories! Really, really cool. I loved the art in San Francisco as well, some really interesting humanitarian ones there. 🙂 But for creativity, Glasgow is one of my favourites!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post! It reminded me of my day trip to Glasgow last summer, where I came across some of the murals you shared above!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahh that’s awesome! Thank you for reading. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wish I did a day trip to Glasgow when I went to Scotland. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time. I definitely want to go back, visit this awesome city and see all these murals. Definitely keeping this handy. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Sooo many people miss Glasgow. To be fair, I prefer Edinburgh. 😉 And there is so much to see in Scotland outside of cities. But Glasgow is worth a visit!
LikeLike
I keep meaning to visit Glasgow again. It’s been years since I was there and before cities really started becoming all about the street art. I love the badger and highland cow one, but they’re all amazing
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely worth a visit next time you’re back here! 🙂 (Although obvs you should come visit me in Edinburgh first lol)
LikeLike
Amazing street art, my favourite is the taxi one. Looks so incredibly real. Very envious of people who can paint that well. Not been to Glasgow for years unfortunately.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The taxi one is so cool! I actually almost missed it too, it’s in the same alleyway as the girl with the magnifying glass so I was totally focused on that! I know, I wish I was that artistically talented. Can’t have it all. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s years since I’ve been to Glasgow and I loved it back then even though there wasn’t all the street art (or I didn’t come across it if there was). I really think I’m due a return visit. Wonder when that’s likely to be??
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m honestly not sure when all the street art started popping up! I’m pretty sure a lot of it is recent. Fingers crossed things will start improving soon (although with erm, the plan south, I’m not sure what the UK’s going to look like by the end of the month…).
LikeLike
Love the street art! So pretty! I like the car and the balloons! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like that one too! It’s really understated until you look at it properly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, and hope you’re holding up okay in the circumstances; I’ve been trying to spend my downtime offline to reduce screen time, and have just been catching up on posts. Glasgow has some cracking street art! I had a day there (not nearly long enough!) before hiking the West Highland Way a couple of years back, and there are so many stunning pieces. You’d love the murals in Lyon – if you fancy a virtual preview of sorts, I did a round-up of my favourites a couple of years back (https://lagrenouilleanglaise.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/best-of-the-fresques/)
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s sooo cool – I love the one with the books, and the one with the entire neighbourhood on it is insanely awesome! To be honest with you, there’s not a HUGE amount to do in Glasgow so you don’t need long there. 🙂 I am looking forward to going back and having a wee tourist day out though! Thank you so much btw. ❤ Things are getting a little easier. Just the worst time for anything like that to happen (not that there's a good time). Hope you are doing okay at the moment, don't blame you for reducing screen time x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m in awe of people who paint murals like those in Lyon and Glasgow! We squeezed as much out of a day as we could, but I’d definitely stop over again if I could. I loved the Kelvingrove Museum, and there were some great foodie spots ☺️ So true; it’s the not being able to be with others that makes it a particularly cruel time to lose a loved one. I’m doing alright, finding it easier to stay positive on sunny days than cloudy ones (as I’m sure is the case for lots of people!)
LikeLike
Wow Clazz these are really excellent. I was never too enticed to visit Glasgow. Till now. It’s a bit like Waterford in Ireland. My fave is perhaps the classroom, such clever perspective.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eek so sorry I’m just replying to this, John! I have to say Glasgow isn’t my favourite city, it’s very industrial. But it’s got a lot going on, shopping and nightlife are arguably better than Edinburgh’s, and honestly for me I think the street art is worth a visit in itself!
LikeLike
My favourite is the beanie guy with the robin on his hand, but all of the graffiti looks awesome. I had no idea Glasgow had so much great street art. We usually only pass through on our way to the Highlands…
LikeLiked by 1 person
That one is just incredible! Especially in person when you can appreciate the scale of it more. I know, the street art seems to have really popped up in the past few years! Definitely worth checking out next time you are “passing through”. 😉 Most of it is in the city centre or close enough, so easy to check out even if you only have a couple of hours. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow! Stunning artwork and your camera captured all of it so well! Cheers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much! It’s all really impressive art!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I only briefly visited Glasgow as a kid so don’t really remember much of it, nothing particularly noteworthy anyway. Definitely somewhere I want to get up and see at some point – the street art looks incredible!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a really cool and underrated city (though I do prefer Edinburgh 😉 lol) – and the street art is seriously amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person