Glasgow Scotland
 

My friend, boyfriend, and I are traveling to Dublin via Glasgow Scotland. We arrive in Glasgow and have 11 hours before our flight out of Prestwick airport to Dublin. Any suggestions on what we can do for those 11 hours? Are there any lockers in the train stations to store our luggage while we venture around for a while?

Also, on our return trip we are spending our last night in Glasgow. Any recommendations on where to stay inexpensively that isn't far from the airport? We need to be at the airport by about 7:00am.

Thanks for all help and suggestions,
Kathy

You don't give the time of day that you will be in Glasgow, the time of year, or your interests, but I'll dive in with an initial response.

The train stations do have facilities for left luggage. I have left my luggage at the Queen Street station, but I'm sure Central Station is similar. The lockers are in a room that has an attendant. You pay for your locker and the attendant does a security search of the bags before they go in the lockers.

You can ride the hop on hop off bus to get aquainted with the city:
http://www.activitypoint.co.uk/en/e00/00376.htm
It has 21 stops, including Central Station.

If it's a nice day, I'd go to Glasgow Green and visit the People's Palace, a folk museum that gives a great taste of Glasgow. I'd then wander up to Merchant City and have a nice pub meal and brew at Babbity Bowster's. From there, I'd make my way to the gothic Cathedral of St. Mungo. Actually you could do this route in reverse which would be downhill - and these are all stops on the hop on bus.

There's great shopping on Sauchiehall and Buchanan Streets, which are pedestrian streets in the center of the city (very near the Queen Street Station).

For art, the Kelvingrove Gallery has just reopened after renovation work.

Yes - is this a day time lay over or overnight? Makes a really big difference.

Assuming day time - you can travel into central Glasgow, leave your bags at Glasgow Central station, and then pick them up before catching a train to PIK.

You can get into Glasgow from GLA either by bus to Paisley and train in to the city, or bus all the way.

Just to be clear, you arrive in Glasgow and not Prestwick?

noe's suggestions are good. I'd add the Burrell, the Tenement Museum, the Rennie McIntosh tour, and (if your boyfriend's big) the Sarry Heid (the Saracen's Head)

Sheila, you're being naughty again. You're sending them to the Sarry Heid when they need to be sober enough to fly within 11 hours?
Kathy, your problem is going to be lack of time to do all the must-do's. Depending on your flight times and interests the shopping, galleries, parks and general vibes of Glasgow take some beating. Any of the previous suggestions would be a good use of your time, but if I was doing them all I'd want several days.

Shiela,
What is the Sarry Heid? My boyfriend is big...what does that have to do with that?

Ok, sorry for being vague guys. Here it goes, I will be arriving at Glasgow Int'l at about 9am on September 21. My flight out of Prestwick leaves about 11 hours later. On our return flight we arrive at Prestwick at about 7am on September 26. We are going to stay the night in Glasgow and then our flight leaves out of Glasgow Int'l at 11am. We are flying standby so we need to get to airport at about 7am.

We were thinking of taking the train to see Dumbarton Castle on our arrival day, but I'm not sure. On our return I was thinking that we could check out the Burrell Collection. What do you think?

Any suggestions on an affordable accomodation for our one night?

I know that we have a very short amount of time in Glasgow, but we have friend in Dublin that we are actually staying with for the majority of our trip.

Thanks for all of your help!

Cant beat a travelodge for value . Look at www.travelodge.co.uk

FWIW, I'd put the Burrell way, way ahead of the People's Palace (which is really more interesting to Glaswegians than to most of us) and the Tenement House (which is...well, a tenement).

The Burrell is, in my view, one of the three or four best museums in these islands (the Chester Beatty in Dublin being one of the others) And one it's possible to see all of without that feeling your head's about to explode that you get in the really big and famous museums.

I agree about the Burrell in some ways, but its art is generic. Both the Tenenment Museum and the Peoples' Palace are about Glasgow.

Kathy, the Sarry Heid is a pub; and a fairly .... down to earth one at that.

I have a Glasgow doc I could send you by email if you like?

Could I be so bold as to request a copy of the document as well, Sheila? We will be in Glasgow for 12 days in August, and I'd love to take advantage of some of your suggestions. (I will have my trusty Peter Irvine with me as well.) I can send you an email with my email address.

There's a coincidence. I just sent it to you.

Thanks!! I will put it to good use (already printed and in the packing pile).