Rutherglen

In 2024 the city had a population of 650,000, with a total of 1.2 million in the Greater Glasgow area, Scotland's largest conurbation. The name derives from ancient Brittonic glas cöü, a green hollow, which you will struggle to find. What you do encounter is a lively year-round destination with lots to see and do.

History:

Glasgow was a small market town until the 18th century, focused on the cathedral, so its "High Street" is a modest thoroughfare a mile east of the present centre. It grew rapidly when the 1707 Act of Union allowed Scotland to trade with English overseas colonies, flourishing with the transatlantic trade in tobacco, sugar and slaves. Glasgow's mills and foundries also drew in labour from the west Highlands and Donegal, as those regions lost their traditional smallholding ways of life. But the River Clyde was shallow, so the ports and shipyards grew up 25 miles downstream at Greenock, while a ramshackle flotilla of Cluthas and "Clyde Puffers" plied the city river. In the 1880s a deep channel was blasted, so shipyards and other metal-bashing industry developed at Govan. Their wealth created an elegant Victorian West End of mansions and parks, while the inner city earned a reputation as a dirty, rough place of teeming tenements, sectarian tensions, drunken brawls and poor life expectancy. In the 1960s, industry and employment collapsed, ill-designed new housing schemes were built, and drug misuse grew.

Orientation:

City Centre has the transport hubs, most visitor attractions, shopping and entertainment, and the commercial sector. It's an elegant grid of Victorian streets, several pedestrianised, bounded to the south by the Clyde and to north and west by M8. Principal thoroughfares are Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street running east-west, and Buchanan Street south to north. East side of the centre is marketed as Merchant City, focussed on Glasgow Cross.

By plane:

1 Glasgow Airport (GLA IATA), Paisley PA3 2ST (8 miles west of city centre, near Paisley), ☏ +44 344 481 5555. This is the city's principal airport, and a major portal of entry into Scotland. It has a wide range of European flights by traditional airlines, budget carriers and package/charters. Long-haul routes are from Toronto with Air Transat and Dubai with Emirates; other direct routes lapsed with covid. Flights from London by BA are frequent from Heathrow, less often from London City. Easyjet flies from Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Belfast and Bristol. Flights within Scotland, including the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetland, are by Loganair. The single terminal has the usual facilities, including car hire, cafes, and prayer rooms. (updated Apr 2023)

Airport hotels: see Paisley, as the airport is a couple of miles north of that town. Several are within walking distance, others are reached by shuttle bus or taxi.

Parking: Pick-up and drop-off costs £5 for 15 min. Use Short Stay for up to 90 minutes. There's a range of long-stay parks off-site, with transfer minibuses.

Transport from GLA is usually by bus, there's no railway station.

Glasgow Airport Express takes 15 min from the terminal via Dundas St (for Queen Street Station) to Buchanan Bus Station. It's every 10-15 minutes from 8AM to 11PM and hourly through the night. Tickets cost £10 for a single adult, £16 for an open return (within 28 days), and can be paid in cash (change is given) or by card, a little cheaper if booked online. Single tickets (but not returns) include an onward transfer to any other First Glasgow bus in the city centre.

First Glasgow Bus 77 takes an hour via Renfrew, Braehead, Govan (for QE Hospitals), Partick and Kelvingrove to Buchanan Bus Station. It's every 30 min 5:20AM to 9PM and while it's slow, it may be more convenient for the West End, and cheaper at £5.40 for a Dayrider single. (The airport is in "Local" zone, so the "City" zone fare isn't enough.)