Scotland Peter Irvine’s the best
A day out in Glasgow
Planning a trip to Scotland’s biggest city, here are four places you simply must put on your list
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum
Huge Victorian sandstone edifice with awesome atrium. On the ground floor is a natural history/scottish history museum. The upper salons contain the city’s superb British and European art collection. Temporary exhibition space (admission fee) downstairs. Dali’s Christ of St John on the Cross is a focal point. It’s free!
Glasgow Cathedral and Provand’s Lordship
Both on Castle Street. Across the road from one another, they represent what remains of the oldest part of the city. The present cathedral, though established by St Mungo in AD543, dates from the 12th Century and is a fine example of very real, if gloomy, Gothic. The house, built in 1471, is a museum which strives to convey a sense of late medieval
life. In the background, the Necropolis piled on the hill invites inspection and offers a viewpoint and the full Gothic perspective. Part of a precinct, it’s easy to do these and St Mungo’s Museum together; allow half a day.
Glasgow Science Centre
On south side of the Clyde by the BBC and opposite the SEC. Approach via the Clyde Arc (“Squinty”) Bridge or walk from SEC complex by Bell’s Bridge. Four floors of interactive exhibitions, planetarium and theatre. Separate tickets or combos. Book slot for the on-again, off-again tower (closed on windy days).
Botanic Gardens & Kibble Palace
Smallish park close to River Kelvin with riverside walks, and pretty much the Dear Green Place. Kibble Palace (built 1873) is the distinctive domed glasshouse, with statues set among lush ferns and shrubbery from around the (mostly temperate) world. Carnivorous Plant House especially popular. Main range arranged through smell and colour and seasonality. A wonderful place to muse and wander.
Peter Irvine is the author of the essential travel guide Scotland the Best published by Collins, priced £15.99