Glasgow Sightseeing on the Hop On - Hop Off Bus
Learn about Clyde Shipbuilding and Other Glasgow Attractions
May 12, 2009
The City Sightseeing Glasgow Hop on- Hop off Bus Tour is particularly good value at 10 pounds as it is a 2 (consecutive) day pass. Concessions are generous at 8 pounds for seniors, 4 pounds for children to 15 and family with up to 4 children under 16, just 22 pounds. Children under 5 are free.
The Glasgow Tour
The tour can be started at any of its 21 stops by hailing the driver and paying on the bus. The official starting point, however, is in George St at George Square, which is quite close to Queen St Station and across the square from the Tourist Information Office. There is, of course, the usual multi-lingual commentary available via earphones, which the tourist takes with them if they get off the bus mid-tour. Some services have a ‘live’ guide commentary and there are usually added anecdotes that make the trip more enjoyable.
Highlights of the Glasgow Hop on-hop off Bus Tour
The tour gives a broad perspective on the city of Glasgow and has stops at shopping precincts and hotels as well as the expected ‘tourist sights’. Not only the history of Glasgow but the character of the town emerges.
Several themes become apparent:
The Importance of St Mungo to Glasgow
St Mungo is the patron Saint of Glasgow and is given credit for founding the city, in that he was granted land for a religious community on the site that is now Glasgow Cathedral. He is buried in the crypt of the cathedral. At bus stop 2, tourists access the Glasgow Cathedral and St Mungo Museum. The commentary at this point describes some of the miracles St Mungo is reputed to have performed. The Glasgow Coat of Arms and city motto come directly from St Mungo.
The Tobacco Lords of Glasgow
At Stop 3, tourists are introduced to Merchant City and Merchant Square, unique heritage parts of the city, once the domain of the so-called tobacco lords, who built stately mansions and warehouses that have now been turned into boutiques and restaurants.
The tobacco merchants became extremely rich but their Calvinist backgrounds determined that any display of wealth should, paradoxically, have an appearance of austerity. Thus, much of Glasgow looks heavy and somber and its grandest buildings are stolid, classical structures without frills. Other points of interest on the bus route, such as the Gallery of Modern Art are merchant homes converted.
The Glasgow Working Class
Glasgow is proud to honour, not only the notable and wealthy town fathers, but also the little people who kept the mighty industries, especially the 62 shipyards, going. At bus stop 4, tourists will alight at the Glasgow Green, where, officially, residents still have a legal right to run a cow or dry their washing. This stop gives access to the Barras Market, originally where the 1920s barrow boys sold produce, but still a lively weekend market and tourist attraction. Next to Glasgow Green, the visitor will also find the People’s Palace and Winter Garden, which was purpose built as a cultural haven for the working class east end residents in 1898.
It has subsequently developed into a wonderful social museum, chronicling the changing lives of Glaswegians, especially working class families. The Winter Garden, an overgrown Victorian greenhouse, is attached and is a delightful place to have a coffee on a cool morning.
The hard life of working class people, especially the women, is further explored in a folk museum called The Tenement House (bus stop 18), which is an authentic 19th century tenement in which a Miss Agnes Toward lived for fifty years. Miss Toward was a hoarder, so her grandparents’ Victorian furniture is still there, her rent receipts, recipes, newspaper cuttings, wartime leaflets and many other items of social historical interest.
The River Clyde and the Shipbuilding Industry of Glasgow
The second loop of the bus tour follows the River Clyde for a distance and the commentary concentrates on the great iron shipbuilding industry that saw 62 shipyards active at the height of the boom. Many great warships such as the HMS Hood, HMAS Australia and the Repulse were built here, and prestigious liners such the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth I and II and the royal Yacht Britannia.
Today, there are only 3 extant shipyards, but the tourist can hear about the heydays and see the immense Titan crane (bus stop 13)that fitted out so many of the big ships.
Glasgow – European City of Culture
Glasgow won the prestigious European City of Culture award in 1990 and followed this triumph by winning UK City of Architecture in 1999. Consequently, the sightseeing bus tour has the Glasgow emphasis on culture and architecture as another theme. Travellers can stop to visit the magnificent Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and Transport Museum (stop 16), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (stop 21), the Academy of Music and Drama and the Piping centre (Stop 20), the Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum (14), the Gallery of Modern Art (bus stop 1)
The hop on-hop off Glasgow sightseeing bus is an excellent way to get an overview of the city. Some tips are given about the best places to eat and shop. There are even discount vouchers for several food outlets.
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