Greenock, Scotland

[kpjohn]

Any ideas for Greenock? The local tour companies are all booked for the day that we are in port and Celebrity Infinity's tours must be all booked as none are showing available on their website. Thank you.

[insidecabin]

Train into Glasgow.

 

Check out the mini tours the Inverclyde toursist group offer(get off ship early not sure if these can be prebooked)

Edited May 20, 2014 by insidecabin

[FritzG]

I'm pretty sure you cannot book the Inverclyde tours in advance, and they only allow you to book one tour. You check later in the day for last minute availability for an additional tour, but that rarely happens because they are so popular. We loved the tour we took; the guide was so friendly and knowledgable. It's obvious they love their city and take great pride in showing it off to tourists.

[insidecabin]

when they first started you could get two did all three ove two visits.

 

 

Althtough I have never been in by train I do know central glasgow quite well as I lived there for a while so if there is anything specific people want to ask I might be able to help.

 

There are a lot of things going on over the summer so check the date for anything that coincides with the visit.

[threetowner14]

the Commonwealth games are being held at various venues in and around Glasgow, from 23rd July to 3rdAug, so the city will be rather busy during these dates.

[Cruising-along]

Any ideas for Greenock? The local tour companies are all booked for the day that we are in port and Celebrity Infinity's tours must be all booked as none are showing available on their website. Thank you.

 

Celebrity's tours may not all be booked. I see that you're going in June. We're going in July, and even though the website shows only 1 excursion, there are 5. We called Shore Excursions and they're having a problem with the website as usual. :rolleyes:

 

The woman sent us the whole Shore Excursion brochure for our cruise. We're going to try to book the "Lubeck on your own" if we can ever get through to them on the phone again. :rolleyes: Good luck whatever you decide!

[kpjohn]

Thank you all for your responses. The Celebrity website has been very frustrating but we did call Celebrity and was able to make a reservation in Scotland.

[Cruising-along]

Thank you all for your responses. The Celebrity website has been very frustrating but we did call Celebrity and was able to make a reservation in Scotland.

 

:o Oops, I see I wrote we booked Lubeck on Your Own -- wrong cruise, that's our HAL cruise (excursions easily booked online) ;) We did book Loch Lomond and Inverary Castle by calling Celebrity.

 

Glad you were able to get what you wanted. I agree, Celebrity's website is frustrating and maddening.

[phoenixalpha]

Get the train from Greenock into Glasgow City Centre. It takes around 40 minutes and is around £6 single. It's a direct train and the train station is a few minutes walk from Greenock docks. It has around 10 stops before it terminates in Glasgow Central Station.

 

Glasgow City Centre is incredibly compact and all the shops are within a square mile or so. I live in Glasgow so I know what I'm talking about. Dependant on what you want to see there really are only two tourist friendly bits of the city - the City Centre and the West End and neither are really *big*. Everything within the city centre is within walking distance of each other. If you have walking difficulties, use the subway - it's a big loop with stops every couple of hundred metres. It goes from the City Centre where it has three stops (St Enoch, Buchanan Street and Cowcaddens) all City Centre located and it then travels to the West End (Kelvinbridge, Hillhead & Partick) and back again to the City Centre. Its about £1.50 per trip or £2.50 return.

 

Honestly the City Centre is extremely walkable unless you have mobility problems. Main areas to see are dependant on what you are interested in (architecture, shopping or general). Glasgow City is laid out in a grid so it's extremely easy to navigate unlike a lot of European Cities. It's extremely modern as European Cities go with very few (if any) tourist traps. If Glaswegians (that's what we're called or weegies if you are from outside of Glasgow) go out eating or drinking it's the city centre we go to. Glasgow is a working city, not really a tourist city like Edinburgh. If you go on a weekend you'll find the city centre busy with shoppers and people out meeting friends. If you go on a weekday, the city centre will be comparatively quiet apart from lunchtime and after 5pm when people leave work.

 

If you want to go further afield to places like Edinburgh, Loch Lomond or elsewhere it's probably a bit far for a day visit.

 

If you are looking for a quiet time in a small traditional Scottish town, try the train to Largs or Ayr or if you want even quieter picturesque scenery get the ferry to Dunoon.

[insidecabin]

For a tourist on a day trip from Greenock it needs a plan to make best use of the limited time.

 

There is some good history, architecture and museums(free)

 

The recent fire may have eliminated one option the art college.

 

one issue is that some of the options are not that accessible quickly without using taxis although taxi are reasonable and with a group just as cheap as the public on single tickets.

 

There are a lot of events throughout the year so worth checking if anything is on the day in port(obviously this year is bigger than most with the games).

 

traveline Scotland is a good app which gives local travel options but IMO the local transport(very good) is not easy to grasp without research or local knowledge

 

One thing you can do in Glasgow is get a GREAT curry.

Edited May 25, 2014 by insidecabin

[jrzgrl]

Get the train from Greenock into Glasgow City Centre. It takes around 40 minutes and is around £6 single. It's a direct train and the train station is a few minutes walk from Greenock docks. It has around 10 stops before it terminates in Glasgow Central Station.

 

Glasgow City Centre is incredibly compact and all the shops are within a square mile or so. I live in Glasgow so I know what I'm talking about. Dependant on what you want to see there really are only two tourist friendly bits of the city - the City Centre and the West End and neither are really *big*. Everything within the city centre is within walking distance of each other. If you have walking difficulties, use the subway - it's a big loop with stops every couple of hundred metres. It goes from the City Centre where it has three stops (St Enoch, Buchanan Street and Cowcaddens) all City Centre located and it then travels to the West End (Kelvinbridge, Hillhead & Partick) and back again to the City Centre. Its about £1.50 per trip or £2.50 return.

 

Honestly the City Centre is extremely walkable unless you have mobility problems. Main areas to see are dependant on what you are interested in (architecture, shopping or general). Glasgow City is laid out in a grid so it's extremely easy to navigate unlike a lot of European Cities. It's extremely modern as European Cities go with very few (if any) tourist traps. If Glaswegians (that's what we're called or weegies if you are from outside of Glasgow) go out eating or drinking it's the city centre we go to. Glasgow is a working city, not really a tourist city like Edinburgh. If you go on a weekend you'll find the city centre busy with shoppers and people out meeting friends. If you go on a weekday, the city centre will be comparatively quiet apart from lunchtime and after 5pm when people leave work.

 

If you want to go further afield to places like Edinburgh, Loch Lomond or elsewhere it's probably a bit far for a day visit.

 

If you are looking for a quiet time in a small traditional Scottish town, try the train to Largs or Ayr or if you want even quieter picturesque scenery get the ferry to Dunoon.

 

We are coming to Glasgow on July 16. My father was born in there in 1917. I have his birth certificate but it's difficult to read. Does the district of Scotstoun and Yoker sound familiar? I tried to do a little internet research, but I'm not getting very far.

[insidecabin]

Both know areas, next to each other

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotstoun

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8860233,-4.3651509,15z

[phoenixalpha]

We are coming to Glasgow on July 16. My father was born in there in 1917. I have his birth certificate but it's difficult to read. Does the district of Scotstoun and Yoker sound familiar? I tried to do a little internet research, but I'm not getting very far.

 

I know both areas quite well as I live and work near both. Getting to Scotstoun/Yoker is quite easy as both are served by local trains from Glasgow Central/Queen Street. The train takes around 30 minutes one way. What you may want to do is get a black taxi (they are the authorised taxi company and are *everywhere*). A trip would cost around £12 each way.

 

Both Scotstoun and Yoker are very suburban areas full of houses. Most of the houses are from the late 1800's to the 1950s.

[threetowner14]

I know both areas quite well as I live and work near both. Getting to Scotstoun/Yoker is quite easy as both are served by local trains from Glasgow Central/Queen Street. The train takes around 30 minutes one way. What you may want to do is get a black taxi (they are the authorised taxi company and are *everywhere*). A trip would cost around £12 each way.

 

Both Scotstoun and Yoker are very suburban areas full of houses. Most of the houses are from the late 1800's to the 1950s.

 

there will be very little left in area that your father would recognise now, with the demise of the heavy industry and shipyards,Though to get a feeling of the place,and to walk where your family walked, a walk along the main street in the area wjich is Dumbarton road, would give you a feel for the place, this runs through both Scotstoun and Yoker to Clydebank.

You might consider a visit to the Peoples Palace Museum on Glasgow Green about 10/15 min walk from the centre , which has several displays of the houses people lived in around the period your father was born

[Sanjam cruisers]

Hi jrxgrl

Google old yoker photos and it will bring up photos of the Yoker and Scotsoun areas and other sites that may be of interest to you,also try Google Maps the Main Road through the area is Dumbarton Road so try searching for Dumbartion Road at Kelso Street,when you find that everything to the right of Kelso Street as you look at the map is the yoker area.Yoker is basically the area bounded by Kelso Street to the west,River Clyde to the south, Alderman Road to the North and The Kingsway to the east. East of the Kingsway you are entering Scotsoun Area.

Hope this info of use to you,any questions just ask I may be able to help you,do enjoy your cruise and in particular your visit to Scotland.

 

Jim.

[Sanjam cruisers]

Sorry jrzgrl

When using Google maps remember to search Dumbarton Road at Kelso Street, Glasgow.

[insidecabin]

Google maps link above gets you close.

[jrzgrl]

Thanks for all of the great advice!!! The birth certificate is old (1917) and it is handwritten in very fancy script. In other words, almost impossible to read!! I'm going to do some more research. I'll be in touch. Thanks again!

[jrzgrl]

there will be very little left in area that your father would recognise now, with the demise of the heavy industry and shipyards,Though to get a feeling of the place,and to walk where your family walked, a walk along the main street in the area wjich is Dumbarton road, would give you a feel for the place, this runs through both Scotstoun and Yoker to Clydebank.

You might consider a visit to the Peoples Palace Museum on Glasgow Green about 10/15 min walk from the centre , which has several displays of the houses people lived in around the period your father was born

 

Do you think the Hop on Hop off Bus would be a good way to see these areas? I looked at a map of it's route and it does come down Dumbarton Road.

[Sanjam cruisers]

Hi jrzgrl

No the hoho bus does not go far enough west on Dumbarton Road, Yoker and Scotsoun are approx 2 miles or so further west from Byres Road which is the furthest the hoho goes. You could get off the hoho bus at Byres Road and take a taxi to the area you want to visit. Have you managed to find out where your father was born yet.

 

Jim

[jrzgrl]

Hi jrzgrl

No the hoho bus does not go far enough west on Dumbarton Road, Yoker and Scotsoun are approx 2 miles or so further west from Byres Road which is the furthest the hoho goes. You could get off the hoho bus at Byres Road and take a taxi to the area you want to visit. Have you managed to find out where your father was born yet.

 

Jim

 

I haven't been able to figure it out. I was thinking about scanning the birth certificate onto my computer. Maybe I could email it to some of the folks on this board who live in Glasgow. It might make sense to you. If you're interested in taking a look, let me know and we can PM and trade info