My time in Scotland has come to an end. Before I left, I got to see a traditional Scottish pipe band play. The Kilbarchan Pipe Band led a march of local school children up to the school for their end of the year dance.

One of the most supported football clubs in Scotland is the Glasgow Rangers. I got to meet their passionate head groundsman David Roxburgh. Rangers play in Ibrox Stadium which holds the unique and challenging title of the darkest stadium in Europe. It really was incredible feeling the difference in moisture and temperature when walking from a shaded part to a sunny part. Because so little light gets onto the pitch, grow lights are a necessity.

David Roxburgh and me at Ibrox Stadium.

The difference between the pitch in the sun and in shade is drastic.

David also took us around to to show us the rest of the stadium, including the trophy room and locker rooms. Rangers have won a lot of silverware over the years, as you can see from the pictures.

After our visit to Rangers, we visited Hampden, the National Stadium, as they set up for an AC/DC concert. We also got around to a couple of smaller clubs, Partick Thistle and Greenock Morton FC.

Flooring going down for an AC/DC concert at Hampden.

At Greenock Morton, their one and only groundsman, Mark Farrell, showed me some Red Thread that had invaded his pitch (photo below). Luckily, Mark really knows his turf, so dealing with that will be no problem. Mark uses his limited budget in the best ways possible to get the most out of his pitch.