Rampant Scotland Directory! Glasgow has been a major commercial and industrial city, ever since the days of the tobacco and cotton trade with Virginia in the 18th century. Most of the heavy industry (shipbuilding, engineering, steel) have declined in recent years but the city is still bustling and successful. The "dear green place" is still as friendly as ever and there is a growing number of new tourist and cultural attractions. Having had its Garden Festival in 1988 and been European City of Culture in 1990 and UK City of Architecture in 1999, it is living up to its slogan "Glasgow's miles better."
Other areas and aspects in the Rampant Scotland site of interest to the virtual tourist include:
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Part of an extensive feature on this site covering places to visit across all of Scotland, the places in Glasgow which are described and illustrated include:
The revamped Scottish Tourist Board is a very large site full of information on most parts of Scotland including Glasgow. Full of illustrations, navigation is aided by an active map and a useful menu. As well as touring all the main tourist areas of Scotland, the Scottish Tourist Board have provided information on travel to and from (and within) the country together with accommodation guide, places to visit and practical information for the visitor. The National Trust looks after a wide range of properties around Scotland. The Web pages give brief description of each one, together with opening times and a (small) illustration. The Trust properties in Glasgow and nearby include Hutcheson's Hall, and the Tenement House as well as Greenbank Garden on the outskirts of the city. A recently opened trust property is Holmwood House, Glasgow. while the newest in the area is the Museum of Scottish Country Life at Kittochside, East Kilbride. With an excellent selection of illustrations The Glasgow Web Site covers all the expected tourism aspects of the city - and more! There are sections on most of the Glasgow Museums including the delightful Transport Museum and the Fossil Grove. Glasgow's Art Galleries includes the famous Burrell Collection. Hotels, restaurants and a large leisure section (with external links where available) are also covered while the Transport section has a map of the Glasgow Underground system. But it is the "extra" pages which make this site even more worthwhile to browse through. 1920's Glasgow has a series of photographs of the city from that era - with a selection of current views for comparison. I Belong to Glasgow is a slightly tongue in cheek introduction to the Glesca dialect where visitors can leave their own examples - and translations! And there is also a brief History of Glasgow To round off this excellent site, there is a nostalgic look at the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival. Catering mainly for Glasgow residents and the services availble.
Where to stay, what to do (arts, sports, comprehensive list of attractions), events and dining out, history and culture (Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow's coat of arms, history timeline) and a "Frequently Asked Questions", all from the local Tourist Board. If you search the Visitor Attractions page using the all attractions/all locations option you get a good long list of places, but the information is basic and there are no illustrations. A comprehensive and up-to-date listing service for all the many events and entertainment in Glasgow from the City Council's marketing bureau. Also covers ticketing details for events and there is an accommodation and restaurant booking systm to help you plan your stay in the city. A photo gallery and video highlights complete the picture. Named after the way in which Glasgow is often pronounced (by the locals), Glazgow.com aims to provide comprehensive information about shopping and travelling in and around the city. They also have a unique walkround of the city and some interactive maps. An on-line guide aimed at being a useful illustrated resource for anybody planning to visit the places in many of the less tourist driven areas of Glasgow (though there are a few other towns covered too). Areas covered so far include Castlemilk, Garrowhill, Langside, Pollokshaws, Shawlands and Crossmyloof, Springburn. places outside of Glasgow include Pitlochry and Cardross. Glasgow's Mitchell Library is one of the largest public reference libraries in Europe. It also houses the City Archives. As part of an ongoing project to make its resources more accessible, a large selection of photographs and other images of the city has been digitised and can be viewed online. Search by area, street or subject. Glasgow Search is a city portal, visitor guide and local search engine all rolled into one. Packed with all the latest Glasgow information and resources, the site caters for locals, visitors and tourists alike. Sections include Eating Out, Glasgow Pubs & Clubs, What's On, Attractions & Tours. Over 300 unique photographs of Glasgow, games and quizzes about the city, postcards to send, city-centre maps, pubs, clubs, venues, places to visit, discussion board and where to stay in Glasgow. The site title says it all - lots of pictures of Glasgow with notes on each. Between the main page and a Second Page there are over 60 illustrations, viewed in sequence. The strapline says "Discover the secret and hidden side of Glasgow through photographs, maps information pages." While some of the features here are perhaps not "hidden" (such as Glasgow Green, Glasgow Tower, Hampden Park, Kelvingrove Museum) there is also plenty of information and illustrations about a motley series of aspects of the city which are less well known such as "Doocots" (pigeon lofts), water towers (at Cranhill, Garthamlock, Barloch, Bishopbriggs, Cranhill), rotundas and Govan graving docks. This is a byproduct of the Cranhill Arts Project, the largest documentary photography project in Scotland with 30,000 photographs taken between 1989 and 1992. This online archive provides a selection of these photographs that are "a record of Glasgow through photographs of its people - their lives, habits, quirks and cultures." The images are organized into topical albums, such as "Things You Don't See Anymore" where aspects of Glasgow that have disappeared or been altered in the sixteen years since the photographs were taken are displayed. These lost Glaswegian sites include orange and black buses, smoking in pubs, and drinking alcohol in the street. Another album, "Deep Fried", portrays the Glaswegian diet, ranging from a tray of scones to women factory workers making sausages and filling meat pies. This site was launched in the summer of 2002 with information about Glasgow and it is planned to extend the website to cover the whole of the country. The Glasgow section of the website is based on the guidebook "The Glasgow Guide" which was written by David Williams. Glasgow Science Centre is one of the biggest Millennium Projects in the UK. Located on the River Clyde at Pacific Quay in Govan, the centre has both educational and economic development aspects. There is the first "IMAX" large screen cinema, the Glasgow Science Centre building itself (open in Spring 2001) with a huge array of interactive exhibits and the Glasgow Tower - a 340 feet high tower which rotates 360 degrees and offers panoramic views across Glasgow and down the Clyde estuary.
SECC is Scotland's national venue for public events. It's also the UK's largest integrated exhibition and conference centre. The site provides a comprehensive review of forthcoming events at the SECC. The last sea-going paddle steamer in the world sailing round the coasts of the United Kingdom, including the Firth of Clyde, from its berth in the centre of Glasgow. The site has lots of illustrations of this venerable ship, latest news and a timetable of her cruises "Doon the Watter". Starting in the summer of 2002, Clydefast run fast ferry services using high-speed ctamarans on the Clyde with up to 10 services a day to Dunoon and Rothesay from Glasgow (Broomielaw), Braehead and Greenock (Custom House Quay) with a late evening service on Friday and Saturday. Brodick will be served from 2003. The Clydesite Web site has three distinct areas - Archives of recent and not so recent shipping and shipbuilding activity on the Clyde, up-to-date information through the Clyde Shipping Bulletin and an online database of 20,000 ships built on the Clyde. By linking the friendly reputation of the city plus finding that the relics of St Valentine are supposedly stored in a Gorbals Church, the Blessed John Duns Scotus, the city decided to hold a City of Love Festival in February. It includes musical events, performance, film and exhibitions. This site gives details of those events - and the history of St Valentine.
Glasgow Harbour is a large (120-acre, £500 million) commercial, residential, retail, leisure and public space development on the banks of both the Clyde and the Kelvin. Built on mostly redundant shipyard and dockland the project will regenerate the waterfront of Glasgow. The overall project will take about 10 years to complete and the Web site describes the project, provides maps and plans and you can sign up for a regular e-mail update.
This site aims to inform both locals and an international audience of Glasgow's vibrant contemporary architecture scene. The News page (currently the largest part of the site) aims to act as a both a resource and a forum for discussion of topical issues, new buildings and masterplans. As such, it is somewhat large, with lots of illustrative graphics. Not just sculpture but the work and biographies of over 220 sculptors and architects connected with Glasgow, covering over four centuries, with a wealth of material from the 'golden years' of the Victorian era. The pages covering the biographies of individual sculptors (and there are a lot of them) are particularly rich in illustrations.
This site has Gerry Blaikie's great architectural drawings and brief description of buildings of note in Scotland's two largest cities. The Glasgow pages provide A Walk Around Central Glasgow and Glasgow's Merchant City as well as Peripheral Glasgow.
Using as a base the routeof Glasgow's southern suburban railway line, this is a well-illustrated tour of many of the fine buildings which can be found close-by. Included are Alexander "Greek" Thomson designs such as Holmwood House, No. 1 Moray Place, and Maria Villa, Langside. Also covered are Cathcart Old Parish Church, Holmlea School and Sir John Maxwell School, Haggs Castle, Battlefield Rest, Pollok House, Cathcart Parish Council Chambers and St Albert's Church Pollokshields - and many others.
Keeping you up to date with all the latest from Byres Road and the West End with coverage of local shops and services, local associations, societies, libraries, museums and art galleries, travel and transport, places of interest, property for sale, newsfeeds, classified adverts, discussion forum, job listings and links to related websites. There is a large photo gallery of the West End Festival and of Byres Road and the West End area generally. Helpful guide to Glasgow's "Top Ten" in a number of categories, including attractions, eating out, getting around, Glasgow and Prestwick airports, all recounted in a light-hearted style. As of April 2007 a number of the pages on the detail of these subjects were still to be created, but once it has been completed, it will be a useful resource.
SPT provides rail, bus, Glasgow Underground and ferry services for Glasgow and beyond. The site has lots of useful information, contact numbers and maps about public transport in Strathclyde. The recollections of a bus conductor who worked for Glasgow Corporation Transport in 1973. A real bit of social history - told with a sense of history and reality! This is two sites in one. Barrowland Ballroom is where generations of Glaswegians have danced and been entertained; the site covers many of the acts who have played there as well as providing information on future performances. The Barras Market Page has a history of this famous institution where locals and tourists alike still buy bargains at the stalls. A local directory and guide to this part of Glasgow with local news, map and places to see including good Photo Gallery.
Clydebridge Steel Works in Cambuslang, at the East End of Glasgow, was one of the giants of industrial Scotland. Its steel plates went into many of the most famous ships built on the River Clyde (and elsewhere) including the Lusitania, Mauretania, Queen Mary, HMS Hood, Queen Elizabeth, QE2. The site contains some of the history of Clydebridge and a good selection of photographs. It also contains a description and photographs of Clyde Iron Works, which operated from 1786 to 1978. The "Gang Shows" are performed by Scouts around the world to give them the experience of being in a theatrical production - and to entertain the thousands of people in the audience. The Gang shows have been in existence since 1932 but the Glasgow Gang Show is now the longest running annual performance in the world - since 1936. The Web site gives the history of the Gang Shows, information on Ralph Reader - "Mr Gang Show" himself - and photographs from some of these exuberant shows. And of course, details of the next performance.
The Web version of the printed magazine concentrates on restaurants, bistros, cafes and bars in Glasgow (and Edinburgh). There are more than 800 places to choose from, covering all styles of eating and cooking from Scottish to Mexican and French to Chinese. You can search by city, style and type of cooking or even alphabetically by name of restaurant. There are also special restaurant deals and booking facilities at selected establishments across the country. An on-line guide to Glasgow's restaurants, bars, clubs, cafes and list hotels and provide travel information. Users comments on some of the locations can be "enlightening" and entertaining. Designed to give you a quick guide to some of the best nights out in Glasgow. It covers pubs and clubs in particular but also cinema and live music. Not just a database of pubs which you can search by name or location but also an up-to-date list of the "Happy Hours" and special offers available to keep the cost of drinking to a minimum. And it's all presented in a suitably light-hearted manner. This is guide to the underground and music scene in Glasgow Scotland, offering an online community for DJs, electronic music artists, and sound designers, promoting the work of Scottish music artists to the world wide web. There's a rundown on the various DJs about town as well as samples of the latest house, jungle, hip hop, dance, garage, funk, ambient and trance vinyl and records. There is also a 'what's on' section for a rundown on all of Glasgows clubs and pubs. The site requires the Flash 5 plugin. This is a tea room in the West End of Glasgow which hosts jazz evenings, open mike sessions, storytelling clubs - and serves over 80 different types of tea. Brew a cup of tea while the opening page infuses. One of the most famous murder trials ever to take place in Scotland was that of Madeleine Smith, 140 years ago. Madeleine lived at Blytheswood Square, Glasgow. The jury found the case "not proven" (a result which is unique to Scots law). And debate still rages as to whether or not she was guilty. This extensive web site sets out the historical and social background as well as the facts and the testimonies of the witnesses. There is also a copy of Bell Geordie (a reminiscence of George Gibson, an old City of Glasgow Bellman which gives an interesting insight into Glasgow at the end of the 19th century), History of the City of Glasgow (an excerpt from the 1847 Gazetteer of Scotland, giving a lengthy account from earliest times through to the 19th century). Located in a former church building in the centre of Glasgow, the Piping Centre is the place for piping in the city with a museum, tuition, events and a shop. There is also a small hotel attached and a restaurant - the "Piper's Tryst" - specialising in traditional Scottish fare. A series of pictures of the building, both inside and out. < This Web site has a programme of the concerts for the next few months. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra which has its base in Glasgow, has a Web site providing the concert programme for the RSNO around Scotland and a background to the orchestra and its activities. The Glasgow International Jazz Festival site has a list of events, including places where admission is free. Glasgow Jazz is primarily involved with Glasgow, but the site is designed to promote live jazz music throughout Scotland with interviews on musicians from all over. There are live jazz listings, venue reviews and links to a variety of Scottish jazz sites. As might be expected the pages here are very graphics heavy! Lots of information on the School (building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. |
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
