Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland and the third biggest in the UK.  It is home to 626,000 people with more than 1,65 million people in the greater metro area.

Glasgow is in central west Scotland on the River Clyde.  It is about 412 miles northwest of London and 46 miles west of Edinburgh.

The city was founded in the late 6th century and gained city status in 1170.

In 1990 it was a European City of Culture, in 2008 it was named a UNESCO City of Music, in 2014 it hosted the Commonwealth Games and the first European Championships in 2018.

Scottish English can take some getting used to but the Glaswegian accent can be quite difficult to understand.  I had to laugh when I was told by a local that I have a "soft American accent".  I've defiantly never heard that one before.

George Square is the city's main square and it's filled with statues and monuments.  The City Chambers were completed in 1889.




The Cenotaph monument on the east side of the square honours the soldiers who died in WWI.  The monument was unveiled in 1925.



The Gallery of Modern Art opened in 1996 and it is housed in a building completed in 1778.





In front of the gallery is the Duke of Wellington statue.  Since the 1980s the statue has been capped with a traffic cone.  

The Royal Concert Hall opened in 1990.

St. George's Tron Church opened in 1808.  It belongs to the Church of Scotland and extensive refurbishments completed in 2009.

The Trades House was established back in 1605.

The Beresford was a hotel that opened in 1938.  At 10 stories it was the city's first skyscraper and built between the wars.  During WWII it was used to house American servicemen.  Today the building has privately owned flats.

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was established in 1901.  Following a three year refurbishment it reopened in 2006.

The museum houses Salvidor Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross.  In 1951 the purchase price of £8,200 was controversial.  Today it is valued at over £60 million.

The Mitchell Library was established in 1877.  It houses over 1,2 million volumes.

St. Andrew's Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Church, was consecrated in 1816.

Hutchesons' Hall was built in 1805.

Glasgow Green is a 55 hectares (136 acres) public park.  It was established in the 15th century and is the city's oldest park.

The Doulton Fountain, at the Green, was built for an exhibition in 1888.  It is the world's largest terracotta fountain.

The oldest cathedral in Scotland is Glasgow Cathedral.  Also known as St. Mungo's cathedral and it opened in 1136. It was a Roman Catholic Church until the 1500s and now it is Church of Scotland.

The Britannia Panopticon was built in 1858.  It is one of Britain's oldest remaining music halls.




The Glasgow Botanic Gardens are in the city's West End.  The Kibble Palace is a 19th century wrought iron framed glasshouse.

The Central Gurdwara is the country's biggest place of worship.  Not just as a Sikh temple but of any faith.

The Riverside Museum opened in 2011.  It is the Museum of Transport and in 2013 it was the European Museum of the Year.



The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland was founded in 1847.  It is the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland with over 500 performances each year.



Bingham's Pond is on the West End.  It was built in the 1880s on the site of old brick and coal pits.




Kelvingrove Park began in 1852 as the West End Park.  It is 34 hectares (85 acres) with several statues and fountains.





The Harbour Tunnel Rotundas were built in 1896 on the River Clyde.







The SEC Armadillo opened in 1997.  The venue seats 3000 people.





The SSE Hydro seats 14,300 people and it is one of the world's busiest arenas.


The city council commissioned huge murals throughout the city with many of them by Smug, aka Sam Bates, the Australian street artist.




It's a great alternative to people tagging the city's buildings.

Glasgow was supposed to be an anniversary trip but it didn't work out.  I had already paid for my flights and the hotel so my only options were to go alone or stay home and be out the money.  Breakups suck but at least there was enough in the city to keep me busy and my mind off of things.  I definitely want to give the city another go under better circumstances.