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In 1977 we hired our first narrowboat from Anglo Welsh at Market Harborough.From that moment our destiny was set. In 2006 we finally purchased our own brand new 57' narrowboat which we named 'Free Spirit'. Our aim is to travel the length and breadth of all the navigable rivers and canals of the UK. This will be our story as it unfolds.

Monday 12 August 2024

Glasgow road works could be costly.

 It wasn't too bad last night, the most noise we had before going to bed was the motorhome right next to us. They kept opening and closing the door to take their dog for a walk, had to be done I suppose, and no, it wasn't a sliding door. An ordinary 'pull towards you' door in dire need of DW40! It creaked loudly every time they went out, and considering how near that motorhome was to MB, became most annoying. Eventually the dog must have done its business and all became quiet.

The rain was bad again in the wee hours, funny because on FS I rather like the sound of rain on the cabin top. On MB, the sound appearers amplified and has disturbed our sleep more often than not. Before 6 the kettle went on, by 8.30 the car park was left far behind.

No doubt, Glasgow is a wonderful city and easy to get around, but not today! I grabbed this photo of, what I think, is the cathedral as we drove toward it. 



Our sat nav wanted to take us onto the M8, avoiding the low emission charges. Normally this would be simple, but major road works are happening all over the city and the M8 slip road was closed. I can't tell you how stressful it was trying to find a way onto the motorway. There were diversion signs everywhere, not just to get onto the motorway but into the city centre too. So which one to follow? Suddenly, a message sprung up on the sat nav screen. 'Cannot avoid the emission zone!' Ian was all for trying to turn MB in front of oncoming traffic, it was impossible, and you should have heard the words that came from his mouth. He was VERY unhappy! One diversion sign appeared with M8 E, at last, that was the direction we had to go, but that route took us to a warning sign saying you are about to enter the LEZ.  It was at that point the diversion took us down another road, and we have no idea if we did briefly enter the zone or not. With resignation, we are assuming a fee will have to be paid, although Ian, not being one to just pay without a fight, would argue that the road work route should be exempt. We did get on the M8 and the first services we came too, stopped for a coffee to cool off.

From leaving Balloch to where we stopped in the Yorkshire Dales took 5.5 hours. It was a long drive for him, and to stop in the middle of nowhere with the sun warming us up after we arrived, was wonderful. In fact, since leaving Scotland and entering England, the rain was left far behind. We have high hopes of good weather from now on. 










2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Greetings Irene and Ian, It was not Glasgow Cathedral. You were on Great Western Road heading towards the city centre. What you saw was the elegant, slender spire of Lansdowne Church of 1863. The church is now a theatre. The medieval cathedral is on the north east side of the city centre.

Graham said...

It was not Glasgow Cathedral that you saw. You were on Great Western Road, heading towards the city centre. The building you saw was the elegant, slender spire of Landsdowne Church of 1863. A very fine Victorian church with some famous leaded glass, now a theatre. The medieval cathedral is to the north east of the current city centre. When you were on the motorway you would have passed very close to it.

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