What to do in Greenock, Scotland for the day??

[Kiwi_cruiser]

It has been over 15 years since I was last in Greenock, Scotland.

 

so I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

and if you have been to Greenock before, what did you do there for the day??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome :cool:

[Ine]

You can make one (or maybe 2) of the free tours by the tourism office. https://www.inverclydetouristgroup.co.uk/content/tours/

Or take a train to Glasgow.

[elaine5]

we took the train to Stirling and went to the castle.

[geoherb]

We took the train to Glasgow and enjoyed using the hop on/hop off bus to get around.

[Cruisin' Along]

We are taking the ship’s excursion to Edinburgh.

[anthonyy7]

We went to Stirling Castle and William Wallace Monument then walked around Glasgow on the way back since you have to change trains (and stations) If you get off the ship early enough you can catch express train from Glasgow to Stirling which saves you some time. We got to the castle when they opened. My inlaws did the Glasgow HOHO bus... they got a combo deal at the Greenock train station that included a train ticket and HOHO bus.

[Blue and Green]

We took a tour with Discover Scotland. It was one of our favorite tours of the British Isles cruise. Cameron was our driver in a comfortable van/small bus with about 15 people.

 

We were picked up at the dock in Greenock, just outside the gate, and had a full day of touring which included Loch Lomond and the quaint village of Luss, the Trossachs National park, Stirling Castle (with a stop to photograph the “hairy coos”), and a drive through Glasgow. 

Midday, we stopped in the small town of Callander where we had time for lunch on our own. This was a sleepy little town, and Mr. Blue says it was his favorite.  There are several little cafes and tearooms on the main street. I think Callander Meadows was the name of the little room where we ate a sandwich (the bread was fresh out of the oven!) and had a cup of tea. It was very good and a lovely setting. We also walked through a couple of shops here, and bought a wrench at a hardware store/gift shop to tighten up Mr. Blue’s wheelchair which was taking a beating on this vacation!

 Cameron was very responsive to our group, even adding a non-scheduled stop at Doune Castle for us (once it was confirmed we had plenty of time before we needed to be back on board the cruise ship)! As an Outlander fan, I appreciated this stop!

 Cameron was an interesting speaker, telling stories about life in Scotland, as well as sharing knowledge about nature and history. I loved that he stopped and brought samples of myrtle on board!  The van smelled amazing after we all crushed the leaves he gave us. Throughout the tour, he made sure we were comfortable and conversed with us, answering questions, telling stories, and played interesting music with a story behind it! 

 

 

[PhilbeachTraveller]

We took a local bus to Largs and then got the ferry (only 8 minutes) to the Isle of Cumbrae. This was suggested by the tourism ladies at Greenock and it was such a lovely day. Would definitely recommend it as something a bit different and somewhere not packed with other cruise passengers. https://www.millport.org/

[rocklinmom]

If we stay in Greenock, what is in the town?  Was planning to walk around there that day. 

[adstz]

5 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

If we stay in Greenock, what is in the town?  Was planning to walk around there that day. 

 

Check out Inverclyde Tourist Group online.  They have 2 hour local tours run by local people.  They work on donations only, no charge.

We are going on the ship's tour to Edinburgh at 5 pm that night so this sounds like a good way to see the area.

[edinburgher]

Have you ever looked at Toms Port Guides? This is the one for Greenock which is worth reading as it covers some of the suggestions above and has some photos:

 

https://www.tomsportguides.com/uploads/5/8/5/4/58547429/greenock_scotland-08-28-2012.pdf

[spunks]

we have taken several of the free tours and found them to be wonderful....Very knowledgeable guide that are very proud and enthusiastic. The tours are great and you will not regret making that decision. I cannot recommend them more strongly.

Doug

[Cindy]

Four of us took a full day tour with Photo Walk Scotland to several castles and Glen Coe. Two of us were photography nuts, and two were not, but we all loved it! Our tour included breakfast, lunch, drinks, and snacks, and was one of the best tours we’ve taken!

 

https://photowalkscotland.com/

https://theworldthroughmylens.blog/2018/09/23/picture-perfect/

 

 

Edited January 19, 2019 by Cindy

[medwarriors]

We found an excellent small tours company called CLA Scottish Tours. There was 6 of us and the vehicle was nice with plenty of space. We asked them to suggest a 7 hour trip and they took us to Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond. Also stopped at an amazing spot on the South shore of Loch Lomond for afternoon tea.

Would thoroughly recommend them.

[BarbinMich]

In 2013 we did a small group tour very similar to the one described by "Blue and Green" above.  It was our first time to Scotland and the tour was great!

Edited January 24, 2019 by BarbinMich

[Alaskanb]

On 11/12/2018 at 2:01 AM, PhilbeachTraveller said:

We took a local bus to Largs and then got the ferry (only 8 minutes) to the Isle of Cumbrae. This was suggested by the tourism ladies at Greenock and it was such a lovely day. Would definitely recommend it as something a bit different and somewhere not packed with other cruise passengers. https://www.millport.org/

Cumbrae is one of my favorite places in the world. An aunt lives in Largs and we would go over and ride bikes around the island --beautiful on a sunny day. On our British Isles cruise we met at Greenock and went to Wemyss Bay and took the ferry over to Rothesay,  We took a taxi to Mount Stuart House, did a tour of the house, had home cooked soups and bread for lunch in their cafe, and the bus back to the ferry. I do not know how to do this by public transportation. 

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Thank You everyone for your information 😊

Very helpful!

[kmoody]

Amazing does not even begin to describe the wonderful day we spent with The Kilted Piper touring the Scottish countryside! Based on excellent reviews of him on Trip Advisor, our group of four booked a private tour with him and could not have been more pleased. We all felt our day with Graeme was the highlight of our 12 day British Isles cruise. He was waiting at the port of Greenock (Glasgow) for us in a traditional kilt and led us to his very clean and comfortable van. His love of his Scottish heritage and history was apparent as he shared stories with us throughout the day.  We saw Glasgow Cathedral and the The Battle of Bannockburn monument before our tour of Deanston Distillery which was entertaining and fun! From there, a drive through the Trossachs National Park with him pointing out different shooting locations for both Game of Thrones and Outlander, stopping when we wanted for photo ops. Driving through the bucolic countryside we saw many sheep and the iconic Hairy Coo (Highland cows). Then, stopping at a beautiful loch, Graeme brought out a bottle of Scotch, along with some Scottish treats and serenaded us with his bagpipes - just WOW!! A memory we will always treasure.  From there, a stop at a medieval church, visiting the grave of Rob Roy, and short walk to a babbling stream in the forest.  A delicious lunch stop next at the 300 year old Drovers Inn where we enjoyed traditional Scottish fare.  Another customer asked Graeme if he would play a tune, and he obliged with a smile.  Enchanting! Our drive back to the ship was along the shores of Loch Lomond, listening to Scottish ballads. We made one more delightful stop at the small village of Luss before our safe return to the ship.  Such an incredible day! If you are headed to the Glasgow area, you will not be disappointed with Kilted Piper Tours!

[trrn2016]

On 10/5/2018 at 12:28 AM, anthonyy7 said:

We went to Stirling Castle and William Wallace Monument then walked around Glasgow on the way back since you have to change trains (and stations) If you get off the ship early enough you can catch express train from Glasgow to Stirling which saves you some time. We got to the castle when they opened. My inlaws did the Glasgow HOHO bus... they got a combo deal at the Greenock train station that included a train ticket and HOHO bus.

We are interested in the William Wallace Monument. Did you take the train to it or can you walk? We are just starting our planning and things are confusing. Any help is appreciated!!! Thanks.

[anthonyy7]

5 hours ago, trrn2016 said:

We are interested in the William Wallace Monument. Did you take the train to it or can you walk? We are just starting our planning and things are confusing. Any help is appreciated!!! Thanks.

 

We walked easily to Stirling castle from the train station however the Wallace monument is a bit far.  Once we finished touring Stirling Castle we asked one of the many employees there to call us a taxi.  The drive was less than 10 min and she gave us her cell to call when we were ready to be picked up.  If you won't have a working phone I'm sure someone inside the ticket/sales shop at the Wallace monument can call for you.  Instead of taking us back to the train station we asked to be dropped off at Stirling bridge for pictures and we walked a bike path back which was less than 10 min walk. 

 

As far as the train, we walked 15-20 min from the ship to Greenock West station.  We were the first ones off the ship just a few min after 7am.  We took the 7:34 train to Glasgow which arrived at 8:18.  We then exited the station and walked 10-15 min to Queen St station for the 8:41 train to Stirling which arrived at 9:07.  Stirling Castle opened at 9:30, we beat the crowds and was able to spend 90min-2 hrs there before heading over to the Wallace Monument.  I believe we left on the 1:13 train to Glasgow for about 60-90 min before heading back to Greenock because I wanted to shop at the ALDI which was across street from the ship.  Train tickets for the day was roughly £20.  It would be best to write down all train times ahead of time so you have them.   Stirling is easy trip to do on your own from Greenock.  https://www.scotrail.co.uk/

[kbubbles]

Our itinerary was port intensive, so for Greenock we opted for the Inverclyde Tourist Group, mentioned previously.  We took the tour to Newark Castle and really enjoyed our time and our guides.  The guides recommended a place for a pub lunch with time to enjoy the super Tesco. We have never seen such a large Tesco and we pick up many made in Scotland products. 

[Kingofcool1947]

On 9/30/2018 at 8:40 AM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

It has been over 15 years since I was last in Greenock, Scotland.

 

so I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

and if you have been to Greenock before, what did you do there for the day??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome 🆒

 

Walk around on my own.

[tartanexile81]

It would be best to do something in Greenock especially with so much amazing scenery on your door-step. If you just want a day in a town, then go to Glasgow and do a Rennie Mackintosh Tour. He is probably the most famous Scottish architect who designed some of the most beautiful buildings in the city.  

 

Or try a tour to The Trossachs which is IMO the most beautiful part of Scotland and it may even include Glencoe which is #2 for me.

 

Inge included a link to the local volunteers website and https://www.inverclydetouristgroup.co.uk/content/tours/#tours will give you details about a free tour, which would be a good idea if you've been to the area before.