Greenock

Has anyone been on a cruise that stopped in Greenock? If so, did any of you decide to stay in Greenock rather than going into Glasgow for the day? If so, was the town easy to navigate on foot? Were there any good pubs where one could have a chat with a local?

Is there anything of merit in Greenock? Thanks so much.

Is there anything of merit in Greenock? Thanks so much.

The only thing to do in Greenock is get out of it.

Not sure you want to stay in Glasgow, either...If you've never been to Scotland before...and if your ship, like mine, only makes the one stop in Scotland, I'd head over to Edinburgh, which is a very nice city...

We've spent time in Edinburgh on our last Baltic post-cruise (stayed in Airth, also visited Loch Ness, Inverness, et al), so this time we're doing an excursion to Loch Lomond and Inverary Castle...

We stayed a couple of nights in Glasgow last year and had an enjoyable time as it is an interesting City with some very nice buildings. If you do go take the hop on and off bus which takes you round the City with a Guide explaining about the buildings etc., you are passing. You pay one price and then you can then get off if you want to explore a particular area further and get on again for the rest of the journey as the buses run very often.

The best thing in Greenock is the M8 out of it

I would take a trip that goes into the Highlands scenery for a day - Glasgow has some good galleries if you like that sort of thing but otherwise I would fix to see Scotlands lovely scenery

UKtog,

You have given me some really useful information about Edinburgh, there must be something in Greenock (boat trips on the Clyde? Maritime museums, old ship yards?) surely there must be something of merit?!?! At least something in Glasgow? but if not perhaps we wont bother. We had thought about hiring a car to go to Loch Lommand area, but my husband has mislaid his licence! and were a bit concerned about the journey, having to go into and through Glasgow? or a narrow bridge? and read that the road around the loch gets particularly crowded? Dont want anything too taxing!!! Any ideas? We will be there mid-week in July.

Thanks

qm2 lover

Here's a link to another post which gives some ideas about hiring a car in Greenock

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=166108

Greenock hasn't got a lot to offer itself .....you could always take the train into Glasgow(£4.90 cheap day return)...there's the usual hop on hop off tourist bus tour...galleries,museums etc.

If you have an interest in architecture....there are some great examples of Charles Rennie MacIntosh works......don't miss the Glasgow Art School !

If you want a trip on the Clyde you could go across to the Cowal penisula ..ferries take 23 mins from Gourock (a short trip from Greenock).....check out the Cal Mac site

http://www.calmac.co.uk/cowal

Here's also some details of the Benmore Botanical Gardens on the Cowal penisula, there's a bus service to the gardens from the ferry in Dunoon.

http://www.spt.co.uk/Tickets/benmore.html

I hope this helps! and you have enjoyable visit to the west coast!

Alan :)

Alan,

Thank you for all this information, and Edinburgh too. It will really help as we dont want to waste a second of the day we are there.

Heather

We just got back from the Golden Transatlantic, and hired Gordon Ross from Great Scot Tours in Greenock. He was fabulous!!!! Although most folks prefer to do the usual tour to Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs, we did a custom itinerary that went to Loch Lomond, Luss and Mont Stuart on the Isle of Bute, returning to Greenock by Ferry. The cost for 6 was 240lbs plus attractions, lunch (and ferry toll). Pretty reasonable for a real quality tour. Gordon, a real colorful character is an expert on Scottish Whiskey, knew all the local tribe stories, and sings in a Celtic Band. He wore an authenic Kilt and was a hoot!! Mont Stuart was outstanding (http://www.montstuart.com)!!! One of the most beautiful houses and gardens I have seen anywhere in Europe, and one room in particular flipped us all out!!! I don't want to spill the beans in case anyone decides to go there. Gordon can be reached at greatscot@sol.co.uk. Hope this information is helpful!!!

melody

I too have wondered about what to do there (if anything). There is a web site that gives some information and a decent map of the town center.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/greenock/greenock/

There were only small commentaries in some of the more common travel guides, which of course touted the museums that are closed on the Sunday we arrive. "There is an enjoyable walk up to Lyle Hill above Gourock Bay and a great view over the Firth of Clyde (and a WWII memorial)."

At this time, I am planning to go into Glasgow. It is not as historic or picturesque as Edinburgh, but it will do for an easy day of sightseeing with kids.

We just got back from the Golden Transatlantic, and hired Gordon Ross from Great Scot Tours in Greenock. He was fabulous!!!! Although most folks prefer to do the usual tour to Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs, we did a custom itinerary that went to Loch Lomond, Luss and Mont Stuart on the Isle of Bute, returning to Greenock by Ferry. The cost for 6 was 240lbs plus attractions, lunch (and ferry toll). Pretty reasonable for a real quality tour. Gordon, a real colorful character is an expert on Scottish Whiskey, knew all the local tribe stories, and sings in a Celtic Band. He wore an authenic Kilt and was a hoot!! Mont Stuart was outstanding (http://www.montstuart.com)!!! One of the most beautiful houses and gardens I have seen anywhere in Europe, and one room in particular flipped us all out!!! I don't want to spill the beans in case anyone decides to go there. Gordon can be reached at greatscot@sol.co.uk. Hope this information is helpful!!!

 

melody

I think you'll find that it's Mount Stuart and the link should be as follows:

http://www.mountstuart.com/

You can catch a ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay and there is a regular bus link between the ferries and Mount Stuart.

Alan

Hi Greenock Bound Cruisers:

Sorry, I posted Gordon't old e-mail address. His new one is: greatscot1320@blueyonder.co.uk

Alan: Thanks for correcting the Mount Stuart Address for me.

Take a raincoat with a hood, sweaters and long sleeve shirts. Scotland was a great suprise. Much more beautiful than any of us had imagined. You'll love it!!

Melody

I was hoping the ship pulled right up to the dock....is that correct?

Thanks,

June

I just ran across some excellent information on the Live from the Golden thread on the Princess boards. They are out at sea now. Someone from the prior cruise posted that there are free tours offered by the local tourist board in Greenock. They do ask for donations for gas, etc. at the end of the tours. The woman who posted loved their tours. She especially loved going to Newark Castle. I have read good things about Newark Castle before on other boards here. The group is Inverclyde Tourist Group and their website is www.glimpsesofgreenock.co.uk On the website they give information on how to find them when you get off the ship and what tours they offer. I already have a guide booked, or we would be doing these tours!

Sue

June Bug, that's right, it's not a tender port. Greenock has a big cargo ship terminal that we parked at.

Beth - how difficult was it to travel on your own from the ship's docking area. Being a container terminal, I'm a little concerned that it might not be that easy to get in and out of. I'm thinking that we might spend the day touring locally in Greenock and area, and possibly take a cab to Newark castle. I need to stop at the James Watt pub, too, to lift a glass to one of the greats of mechanical engineering.

Beth - how difficult was it to travel on your own from the ship's docking area. Being a container terminal, I'm a little concerned that it might not be that easy to get in and out of. I'm thinking that we might spend the day touring locally in Greenock and area, and possibly take a cab to Newark castle. I need to stop at the James Watt pub, too, to lift a glass to one of the greats of mechanical engineering.

James Watt Pub is on Cathcart Street

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/greenock/greenock/images/jameswatt.jpg

Here's a link to a map of the area, you should be able to zoom out from Catchcart St map and see the terminal

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=228000.827020719&Y=676000.346664314&width=500&height=300&gride=228072.827020719&gridn=676075.346664314&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=GB&addr1=&addr2=cathcart+street&addr3=+greenock&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&zm=0&out.x=5&out.y=7&scale=5000

Hope this helps!

Alan

Thanks, Alan. I see that Greenock has a golf course in town, not too far away. I might have to get in touch with them.

It was totally easy to get in and out of the terminal. When you get off the ship, you first go through a large open building where vendors have set up booths and local people are available to give info about the area and what to see. You walk out the other side of this building and there is a clearly marked walkway to the exit of the terminal area. I think we came out of the terminal area on Patrick Street, but I could be wrong. There were taxis waiting outside the building in the terminal area if you need a ride to a golf course, plus the locals had set up a bus service (it was either free or very cheap) that went to tourist sites in the area, so they may have one bus set up for golfers. The bus also went to Newark Castle, and we probably would have done that instead of the train had we known (moral: ask better questions at the cruise terminal than I did!). The local towns are really trying to keep as much of the cruise dollars in their area as possible. It's a fairly economically depressed area, since many of the shipyards there have closed up, so they could really use the money.

We took the tranatlantic trip and wanted to do something local since we had been to Scotland twice and once spent 8 days there. The Inverclyde Tourist group set up a booth at the terminal and provided trips to three different areas. One was Greenock and the local stops of the court house and a local church. We took this first in the morning and found the court house to have some very lovely architecture and enjoyed the talk given by the presiding Magistrate about the court proceedings in his court room. The ceilings were very beautiful in many rooms. A local woman belonging to the church gave a history of the church and was interesting to listen to. Our afternoon tour was to Newark Castle in Port Glasgow. We have been to many castles in Scotland and found this to be a wonderful example in pristine condition. Again, the tour guides talked about the local town and the effect the shipbuilding had on the lavish spending of money in that era on buildings. Some of the places we stopped afforded us the opportunity to take pictures high above the River Clyde. The third trip which we couldn't get tickets for was to Gourock. These are free as someone previously said and they ask for donations. We found both to be great low key tours and would give you time to linger at a pub or do a little shopping.

Also, the bus and train stations are in town and not too far to walk to if you want to go further on to Glasgow or beyond.

The tours you did sound a good way to see the area. I wondered how easy it is to get tickets for the 'free' tours. There isn't an email address on the website so I assume you can only book when you arrive. What time did you get to the ticket office to book on the tour? Could you book for one, two or three at the same time or only for one and then book for another one on your return? How much donation do you feel they expected you to give?

Has anyone been on a cruise that stopped in Greenock? If so, did any of you decide to stay in Greenock rather than going into Glasgow for the day? If so, was the town easy to navigate on foot? Were there any good pubs where one could have a chat with a local?

heres a little 3 page tour of Greenock :D

http://www.thistlegroup.net/greenock/page1.html

Wow Casshew - it is certainly a very picturesque place!!! Perhaps I should stay onboard.

The tour desk is in the terminal and manned by several of the volunteers. We were on the dock at 9:05 a.m., I think. You can make the reservations for the tours (one, two or all three) at the same time. I looked at the website listed previously and noted that the date was 1999. We did see some places like the ones shown but also saw a great many more interesting areas. We gave a donation of $5.00/pp for each tour. I don't know what others gave and the tour guides are volunteers so it was to cover the gas and bus rental. I pick up the pics today and hope they come out. If I can have my son-in-law scan them, I'll try to send them to you. Lauri