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Setting the Scene
Glasgow is notoriously diffuse but George Square (U Buchanan Street) is the notional hub ofthe grid of streets running north-south and east-west which contain the main shopping and business districts. This is bounded by the River Clyde to the south. the High street and Cathedral to the east. and the M8 motorway (east to Edinburgh. west to the airport and Greenock) to the north and west. Immediately to the east. around the cathedral is the oldest part of the city but apart from the People’s Palace on Glasgow Green to the south east . the mass of featureless housing and light industrial estates beyond don’t offer the visitor much. Over the river. the Citizens' theatre. (U Bridge Street) still standing in glorious isolation where the notorious slums of the Gorbals used to be. the Garden Festival site (U Shields Road) on reclaimed dockland and Pollok House and Park which contains the justly celebrated Burrell Collection are important landmarks. To the west beyond the motorway. the trendy West End embraces the University at Hillhead. (U) the 880. (U Hillhead) and along the banks of Glasgow's other river. the Kelvin. Kelvingrove Park and Kelvingrove Musuem and Art Gallery (U Kelvingrove).
Information
I tourist lntonnation Greater Glasgow Tourist Board. 35 St Vincent Place . 227 4880 but with
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The List by your side. you shouldn‘t need them except for Accomodation (qv).
I Media The Glasgow Herald in the morning and the Evening Times in the evening. Mon to Sat. Radio Clyde. Glasgow‘s local radio station. broadcasts 24 hours. 7 days. on 261 MW/102.5 VHF. a cut above most lLR stations. BBC Radio Scotland. somewhere
; between Radios 4 and 2 in
style is on 370 MW and 92-95 VHF. The local news magazine TV programmes are Scotland Today at 6pm on Scottish
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and Reporting Scotland at ? according to distance.
6.30 on BBC. Mon to Sat. I Organised walks and trips Scottish Tourist Guides Association. 2 Ashton Green. East Kilbride (03552) 38094. I things to do look no further than the magazine you are currently reading. published every other Thursday. which lists
: more or lcsseverything : there is by wayof
entertainment by day of the week in separate theatre. film. music (all sorts). cabaret. dance. art
~ (for exhibitions).clubs 5 and sport Lists.Basic visitor information and ' somespccial
recommendations are on this page.
Getting Around
Strathclyde Passenger transport Executive vehicles are easin recognishale for their orange livery:
I Buses Unbelievany complicated since deregulation - best to ask the driver if he‘s going where you want to go. Fare according to
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distance. pay the driver. There are several other companies operating limited routes.
I Underground a simple circle through most of the places you will want to visit. Quick and cheap but shuts at about 10.30pm; flat fare 40p. Itrains Apart from lntchity out of Central (for south and west directions) and Queen Street (east and north) there is a good inner urban ‘Iow-level‘ network running mostly east—west. It‘s timetablcd and much less frequent than the Underground. Buy a ticket in the station or on the train. fare
Information: on all all Strathclyde PTE services from St Enoch Square (U) 226 4826.
I Taxis Glasgow‘s black cabs which can be hired on the street or by phone are among the cheapest in Britain but check there‘s no boundary charge if you‘re going beyond the city limits. Try T.O.A. Radio Taxis - 941 1101 or A] Radio Cars (942 1414). I Car hire all the major companies are in
‘ Glasgow. Mitchells isa
big local firm situated in the multi-story car park in Mitchell Street by Central Station .2218461.
Accommodation
. to suit all pockets. Contact
the Greater Glasgow Tourist Board, 35 St Vincent Place 227 4880. If you're on a tight budget try the University Accommodation Service. 4 University Gardens (U Hillhead). 339 8855 during vacations.
Help
I Lost Property/Police
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Conveniently two in one; the main Strathclyde Police Station at 173 Pitt Street is also the Central Lost Property Office - 204 2626. If you need legal representation or advice (the legal system is very different in Scotland) contact the Citizens' Advice Bureau in the first instance. Their central office is 212 Bath Street. 331 2345.
I Money Bank opening hours are the usual 9.30am to 3.30pm (plus Bank of Scotland stays open till 4.45pm each day and all banks are open a bit later on Thursdays; some major branches stay open at lunchtime). Cash dispensers are widespread though ifyou bank with an English bank you‘re unlikely to find a branch up here. Check with your own bank or Building Society which of the Scottish Banks you can use your card in; almost everyone has some kind of reciprocal arrangement. I Healthcare Main 24-hr casualty units are the Royal Infirmary. Castle Street. 352 3535 or the Western Infirmary. Dumbarton Road. 339 8822. Emergency dental work at the Glasgow Dental Ilospital. 378 Sauchichall Street. 332 7020. Other problems: Pregnancy and contraception; Glasgow Family Planning Association 2 Claremont Terrace 332 9144. Late night chemists: contact local police for which chemist is on that night‘s rota. Advice/despair/ desperation; The Samaritans 248 4488. Alcoholics Anonymous 48 Dundas Street. 332 3742. VD Information 429 5976. Drugs Telephone Information Service
(2— 10pm) 332 0063. Gay Switchboard (personal answer 7-10pm)2218372.
Shopping
City Centre shopping thoroughfares. now mostly pedestrianised. are Argyll Street (U St Enoch) and Buchanan Street (U). which form a T-shape through the city centre. and Sauchichall Street. parallel to Argyll Street a little further north and west. Arcades off the main streets are worth investigating. All the national chains with some specialist local shops thrown in. Smaller and more specialised boutiques can be found in and around liyres Road (U Hillhead) and a neighbouring short stretch of the Great Western Road (U Kelvinbridge). For those of you who prefer the market stall, try the Barra’s in the Gallowgate. Saturday and Sunday.
9am-5pm. Not what it was some say. but still a lively affair and a good place to check out the Glasgow patter.
Sports Facilities
Plenty ol them. mostly run by the District Council. For information on everything from tennis courts to bowling greens 227 5066. I Indoor sports (badminton. weight training. track and field etc) is best catered for at the newly improved Kelvin Hall Sports Arena (U Kelvingrove). Bunhouse Road. open Mon to Sun 9am-11pm. 357 2525.
I Squash courts. snooker facilities are mostly in private clubs; Marco‘s in Templeton Street. 554 8651 . open Mon to Sun 9am-l 1.30pm is one of the biggest with temporary memberships.
I Swimming there are twelve municipal pools but the Pollok Leisure Pool. 27 Cowglen Road. offers the real fun. with slides. wave machines and so on. Check slightly idiosyncratic opening times8813313.
I Golf With two ofthe best courses in the world just down the Ayrshire coast at Royal Troon and Turnberry. the eight municipal courses in
Glasgow may not enthrall
you. though they are cheap and much better looked after than similar operations in England. Phone 227 5066 for details. Of the private clubs in the city, Haggs Castle. Dumbreck Road. 427 0480 is one of the best. I Water Sports Sailing. windsurfing. and other water sports are well catered for on Loch Lomondside. less than 20 miles from the City Centre. For information phone Balloch Tourist Office on 0389 53533.
Sights and Landmarks
Ifyou get round thislittle lot. go to a Celtic v Rangers football match (the season begins in August) and see a show at the Citizens‘ you can reasonably say that you have ‘done‘ Glasgow. Entry (where applicable) free unless otherwise stated.
I Glasgow Green main attraction is the People‘s Palace (qv) but the Green itself, site of the annual carnival. innumerable political rallies and supposedly the place where James Watt invented the steam engine (a plaque marks the spot) has a quality of its own.
I Botanic Gardens Great Western Road/Queen Margaret Drive (U Hillhead). Huge central
conservatory is the Kibble Palace. full of tropical exotica. Garden open dawn till dusk. Kibble Palace 10am-4.45pm. every day. I Kelvin Walkway and Kelvingrove Park (U Kelvinbridge); the fast flowing Kelvin runs in a deep tree lined gorge through the middle of the City and the three and a half mile walkway which has the park at one end is leafy and green though not without its fair share of pollutants and rubbish. The 85 acre Park. open 9am till dusk . dominated by the tower of the University on Gilmore Hill is home to several important musuems and galleries and because of its hilly aspect. ornamental lakes and many flowering shrubs. is most attracive (though not a place to get stuck in after dark). I Pollok Park on the south side of the City. home of the famous Burrell Collection (qv) and Pollok House. (2060 Pollokshaws Road. open 10am-5pm Mon—Sat; 2-5pm Sun. 632 0274) by William and John Adam. which itself houses many fine pictures (El Greco and Goya) and furniture. The park. open every day 8—dusk. gifted to the City by the Maxwell family who had lived on the land for 700 years. is vast. real parkland with natural woodlands as well as a garden centre. I Glasgow Zoo 771 1185. Small scale safari park operation. Usual amenities. Open 10am-5pm £2.30/£1.20. I the tenement House 145 Buccleuch Street (U Cowcaddens) 331 0183. Lovingly detailed reconstruction by the National Trust for Scotland of how Glasgow‘s poor used to live. Open 2—5pm every day April to October. £1/50p. Free to NT/NTS members. I the Antonine Wall the Romans' other wall (not a stone one but a ditch and earthworks affair) from Bo‘ness on the Forth to Old Kilpatrick. roughly where the new Erskine Bridge crosses the Clyde downstream. runs through the northern suburbs. especially at Bearsden and Kirkintilloch. I the City Chambers the entire east side of George Square (U Buchanan Street). 2219600. Ifyou think this Victorian version of Italian renaissance architecture looks impressive. you should try the marbled splendour inside. Guided tours 10.30am and 2.30pm Mon. Tue. Wed and Fri. I Glasgow Cathedral Castle Street. One of the few church buildings in
62 The List 27 May - 9 June 1988