Day 03 /// Scotland and England
September 30, 2020
Wettest Country of the Trip: Scotland
We left our hotel on another day of intense rain, setting off on a gorgeous drive along the western coast of Scotland — with its pounding cliffs, weathered shoreline, and magnificent views — into the modern city of Glasgow, which felt totally deserted.
We arrived for a busy day of meetings and interviews at the Glasgow Science Centre. This is a big statement, but we all agreed that Scotland was the country that embraced us the most, with many amazing people arriving excited to speak with us, many of whom had coordinated through Sandy Kennedy of Entrepreneurial Scotland. We met with representatives of eight companies: EOS Advisory, Talking Medicines, The Brain Tumour Charity, ClinSpec Dx, Glasgow Science Centre, Saltire Foundation, Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation, and our local sponsor, Arranta Bio, as well as students and primary scientists.
After a long and invigorating day of meetings, we unfortunately had to hit the road without getting a chance to see much of the city, heading south across the border to Harrogate, England, a famous old Roman spa town, where we made up for the previous rough night by booking rooms at a big chain hotel. We ended what was probably the best day of the trip, having seen such amazing scenery, met with a large group of friendly and enthusiastic people, and actually got nearly eight hours of sleep, which was sorely needed.
THE TEAM MET WITH:
Dr. Mark Hegarty and Dr. Matthew Baker, ClinSpec Diagnostics Ltd.; Sandy Kennedy, Entrepreneurial Scotland; Kelly Glass, Saltire Foundation; Alice Russell, The Brain Tumour Charity; Jo Halliday and Dr. Elizabeth Fairley, Talking Medicines; Mark Beaumont, EOS Advisory LLP; Dr. Gillian Lang and Dr. Robin Hoyle, Glasgow Science Centre; Calum Stevens, BDD Ltd.; Nisha Middleton, former That’s Nice intern