Glasgow

We recently visited Glasgow on our cruise on the Zuiderdam. We decided to go it alone. We took the train from Greenock Central Station to Glasgow Central. The ship docked at 7 AM and we took a taxi from the ship to the station. It cost us 4 pounds. The station is really just a ticket office and you wait out on the platform. A one day return ticket cost 10 pounds. With that ticket you can take any train in and back on that day. We were lucky to catch the 7:56 train. It was an express train with only a few stops and we were in Glasgow in about 30 minutes. If you need the toilet at the station, just watch for the signs - it is downstairs. But it costs 20 p. There are change machines there. Glasgow was easy to get around. We had a local map and walked around Buchanan Street and the adjacent streets and eventually went to George Square to get the HOHO bus. Every second bus has a live tour guide. The others have a recorded commentary for which they give you earbuds. The live commentator is best. It cost 14 pounds for 1 day. We had limited time so only stopped at the Glasgow Cathedral, including the Necropolis (which was a fantastic graveyard), and the Riverside Museum (a transportation museum), which we really enjoyed. We did however do the full loop on the bus (about 80 minutes), just to see the city and the sights. At every stop a bus comes along every 15 minutes. There is a schedule posted at each stop to tell you the approximate times. We went back to the station around 1 PM and had a quick lunch there, although there were lots of places in the area to eat. We got an express train back to Greenock around 2 PM. It took about 30 minutes, as opposed to the regular train, which took around 45 minutes. When we got back to Greenock Central, there were no cabs around so we decided to walk. It is a fair hike and we were a little uncertain about the route. After about 5 minutes, we saw a cab so we hailed it. It only cost 2 pounds 60 from where we were and we were glad we took it.

Thank you very much for taking the time to post this info about how to DIY from Greenock to Glasgow...my DH and I will be on a British Isles sailing in a few weeks on the Celebrity Silhouette that includes a port day in Greenock and this gives us enough info that we feel we can do something similar to give us a taste of Glasgow. We do hope to do a land trip to Ireland and Scotland in the near future...but a port day gives you a feel for the area.

Thanks and happy sailings!

We have been to Greenock twice and took a tour to Edinburgh and then on the second time to St. Andrews. Both were wonderful.

Sorry, after reading your review of Glasgow, I was not impressed compared to Edinburgh and St. Andrews.

Also, there were tour to the West Highlands or Loch Lomond that would have been our next choice.