Glasgow by bus

The other day, we took an open top bus tour around Glasgow. It was fun. The weather was great, too. I took lots of (blurred) photos but mostly missed the major landmarks. I didn't take photos for the first part because it took ages to sort out various children's earphone problems. The audio tour is good and available in many languages, plus a version for kids (ghoulish Glasgow).

We got on the bus at the Hyndland Rd stop, which is conveniently located for us. I am not entirely sure why the bus stops there, as there is nothing of notice to explore other than residential neighbourhoods. We took our earphone sets and made our way to the top of the bus. I am not too keen on riding on the top due to feeling travel sick but I was overruled democratically by the children. The bus took us from Hyndland Rd down Byres Rd and onto Sauchiehall Street, past the Kelvingrove Museum into town. Sauchiehall Street is one of my favourite roads in town, it is very diverse, hotels on one end, then leafy and no doubt expensive houses, followed by a stretch of bars and clubs before ending in the pedestrianized shopping zone. 

The Kelvingrove Museum and Art Galleries

Tenement houses along Sauchiehall Street

past the leafy expensive houses

passing Charing Cross

bar and clubs

view down the pedestrian zone before turning left

past the GFT (where you can see cool films other than blockbusters)

and Queen Street Station

onto George Square. These are the City Chambers.

anti pigeon spikes on George Square

On George Square, we stopped for a wee while and then we went up a steep hill towards the east end of town past the cathedral, the necropolis and the Tennants brewery (no photos, earphone problems).
From there the bus drove towards the Merchant City and back out east to Glasgow Green. 

Glasgow coat of arms (stylized)

a glimpse of the cathedral

towards the Merchant City

the back of City Halls on Candleriggs

down Candleriggs past the City Merchant restaurant (the only time I vomited during either of my pregnancies was in there)

down High Street towards Tolbooth Steeple

Tolbooth Steeple

into Saltmarket (never far from a pawnbroker)

the old Templeton carpet factory (now a business centre) on Glasgow Green. On the very left is WEST, where you can get really nice German pretzels.

Glasgow People's Palace and the winter gardens on Glasgow Green. People's Palace is a good place to find out about living in Glasgow now and then

I decided (not very democratically) to alight there and go for a spot of lunch and a play at the adventure playground. We had a fresh salted pretzels and chips for our lunch. I also enjoyed a sneaky half pint of beer. I felt that I deserved it. I was a bit frazzled because of children's earphone problems. After a while of exploring the big shoots on the playground, we wandered back to the bus for the second half of the tour. 

From Glasgow Green we drove back towards the city centre past St. Enoch Square shopping centre through parts of town that I didn't know very well. We passed some fairly impressive old and new buildings on our way to the part of Glasgow that is known as Glasgow Harbour.

St. Enoch shopping centre

Down by the Clyde we crossed the squinty bridge (I can't remember the official name), drove past the Armadillo (also known as SEEC) and the new Hydro (a venue for big concerts). 

the squinty bridge

a 60 metre shipbuilding crane (apparently it can lift a train).

From there we took the expressway for a few moments to reach the Tall Ship and the new Glasgow Transport Museum. By then, my camera battery was flat and I had more or less lost the will to live. A brief summary of the route is all I have.

Doubling back on the expressway, we reached Argyle Street where you can find some fine dining opportunities. It is in this neighbourhoodd where you can still find a Gaelic community. From Argyle Street we turned right onto Kelvin Way, which crosses Kelvingrove Park, a magnificent park with a great playground (I rate parks by their playgrounds). If you look towards the right on Kelvin Way, Park Circus is visible. There are some amazing houses there, overseeing the park. 
From Kelvinway we turned onto University Avenue past the Pearce Lodge. This is a building that has been moved from the original site of Glasgow University in the East End to the current location in the West End. I am not sure how they did this! From University Avenue we turned left onto Byres Rd and crossed Great Western Rd to drive past the Botanic Gardens, then, finally, back towards Hyndland, where we staggered off the bus for our final walk home. 

If you ever visit Glasgow, the bus tour is well worth doing. You can get two day tickets, allowing you to get off and on where your like, visiting some of the great museums or beautiful neighbourhoods. My kids didn't feel like doing any of this, being locals and all. I hope you enjoyed this brief tour through the city that has been my home since 1999.

Back soon! In the meantime, have a lovely time. Cxx