Free Day

 

 

For just £12 you can a ticket to see all the top buildings in the Greater Glasgow area designed by the city’s greatest architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The ticket gives unlimited travel on the subway and FirstBus services plus entry to these Mackintosh attractions: Scotland Street School, the Martyrs' School, The Lighthouse, Glasgow School of Art, The Mackintosh Church, Ruchill Church Hall, the Daily Record Building (external viewing only), House for an Art Lover, The Hill House in Helensburgh, the Willow Tea Rooms, and the Mackintosh House.

The social reformer Robert Owen pioneered humane conditions for the working class when he ran this massive mill by the beautiful Falls of Clyde from 1800 to 1825. Today, the World Heritage site is once more a full working mill with a thriving village, and is visited by more than 400,000 people each year. Enjoy a tour of the site, including a video trip into the past, and you can buy wool spun from the mill at the gift shop. The mill is 25 miles east of Glasgow - less than a half hour’s drive away or take the train from Central Station to Lanark. You can stay overnight at the New Lanark Mill Hotel on the banks of the Clyde.

 

A 45 minute train ride from Glasgow Central to Ardrossan then a 45 minute ferry ride takes you to the island of Arran, described as ‘Scotland in miniature’. With a dramatic coastline and lochs and mountains, Arran is steeped in Celtic myths. The cave where Robert the Bruce supposedly saw the spider that convinced him not to give up the struggle is here. Visit lovely Brodick Castle and Country Park or try Arran Aromatics for handmade soaps and candles. The island is developing a reputation for gourmet foods, especially cheese. For a drop of the island’s whisky, pop into the Isle of Arran Distillery, or try the Arran Brewery for a unique beer. 

 

 

 

Less than an hour’s drive from Glasgow is splendour of the ‘bonnie banks’ of Loch Lomond. In the shadow of Ben Lomond, Loch Lomond is Britain’s largest expanse of fresh water and whether you walk, cycle or drive through the National Park or take a boat, it offers some of Scotland’s most breathtaking scenery. The main town is Balloch and a visit to Balloch Castle and the nearby Aquarium are recommended. There are trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Balloch and buses from FirstBus. Why not visit the picturesque conservation village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond where the television series ‘Take the High Road’ was filmed? Scottish Citylink run buses there from Buchanan Street bus station.

 

Scotland’s beautiful capital is just 50 minutes by train from Glasgow Queen Street. Arrive in spectacular style at Waverley station, which nestles below the world-famous  Edinburgh Castle. The capital oozes history and charm, from the Queen’s official royal residence at the bottom of the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyrood House, to St Giles Cathedral and the Georgian splendour of the New Town. Princes Street, overlooking the castle, is one of the most picturesque shopping boulevards in the world. Edinburgh is home to the world’s biggest arts festival in August, and newer visitor attractions include Our Dynamic Earth, and the Scottish Parliament, whose innovative architecture has won a clutch of prizes.

 

Overlooked by its spectacular castle perched on an extinct volcano, Stirling was the once home of the Scottish kings. It was in Stirling that ‘Braveheart’ William Wallace and Robert the Bruce won independence for Scotland from England. Wallace is memorialized in a stunning monument on the Abbey Craig. Bruce’s victory in the Battle of Bannockburn is celebrated at the Bannockburn Heritage centre, two miles south of Stirling. At Stirling Jail, actors will give you a tour that brings a Victorian prison to life, or you could explore the beautiful countryside and golf courses that surround the city.

The journey back to Glasgow takes you through the stunning lochs and mountains of the Trossachs.

 

 

 

A three hour train ride through spectacular scenery takes you to the charming west coast town of Oban, the ‘gateway to the isles’. This picturesque seaside town enjoys breathtaking views out to the Inner Hebrides.  Queen Victoria called Oban “one of the finest spots we have seen”, and today it is a popular tourist town. On some days it is possible to time the train from Glasgow to catch the ferry to Mull. The pastel shades of Tomermory on Mull make it arguably the prettiest village in the Hebrides, and the island boasts stunning natural wildlife, including golden eagles, very rare white tailed sea eagles, dolphins, otters, whales and basking sharks. The glorious columns of Fingals’s Cave on the nearby island of Staffa can only be reached by boat but this natural wonder which inspired Mendelssohn's Hebridean overture is well worth a visit.

 

 

Situated amid the splendour of the Perthshire Highlands is the lovely Victorian town of Pitlochry. The first spectacular glimpse of the town is the turrets of the Atholl Palace Hotel, which overlooks the town. A charming town packed full of lovely shops – especially wool outlets - and cafes, Pitlochry also has a hydro-electric dam and salmon fish ladder which can be visited.  Nearby Blair Atholl is dominated by the fairytale looking Blair Castle, the home of the Dukes of Atholl, which is open during the summer. Scotland’s. For a taste of whisky, visit Scotland’s smallest distillery, Edradour, just outside Pitlochry, or the Blair Athol Distillery. There are trains from Glasgow Queen Street direct to Pitlochry and Blair Atholl and buses from Scottish Citylink, changing at Perth.