Glasgow – a gem of a city on our doorstep

A Different View with Dave O’Connell

Think of Glasgow, and chances are you think of Celtic; you think of a tough town – but you don’t automatically associate Scotland’s largest city with its wonderful architecture, culture, wide European-style pedestrianised streets and urban chic.

Granted, the city is putting its best foot forward just now because it is preparing for the Commonwealth Games in August – so it can be seen in its very best light.

But they didn’t come up with glorious Glasgow in the last two years, and what you get is a place that is packed with magnificent sandstone buildings, vibrant pubs and clubs, the world’s most straightforward underground – one line, impossible to get lost – and the sort of friendliness that’s a given among the Celts.

Most Irish heading to Scotland probably think ‘Edinburgh’ because of the Golden Mile and the Castle, but Glasgow is every bit as cosmopolitan and cultural – and just as accessible since Ryanair started trice weekly flights from Knock.

On top of that, one of the best innovations I’ve heard in a while overcomes the fact that you fly into Prestwick, about one hour from Glasgow itself.

All you have to do is produce your airline ticket and you get a free train pass to anywhere in Scotland. It’s a six month opening offer, but it’s a huge saving – and a terrifically clever incentive.

So Glasgow is just 45 minutes away, and when you get there, you’re arriving into a vibrant city, with loads to do – and much of it for free.

Take the Riverside Museum, European Museum of the Year last year and a spectacular building on the waterfront reflecting Glasgow’s rich transport and maritime heritage on the Rover Clyde.

There is everything from Porsches to Robin Reliants on display; the old trams and steam trains all set into an old frashion streetscape complete with subways and shops that you can walk into to glimpse life as it once was.

And it’s free.

Outside there’s an old Tall Ship which is also free to visit, restored to its former glory and permanently anchored for visitors.

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is as eclectic a centre as you could hope to find; 22 separate galleries and 8,000 objects with everything from priceless Dutch collections to Salvador Dali’s Christ of saint John on the Cross to a World War II Spitfire hung from the roof over stuffed giraffes and tigers!

And it’s free.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.