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Things to do near Glasgow
Want to make the most of your time on the West Coast? Take your pick from this list of 12 great things to do near Glasgow. We’ve got everything covered, from free family events and outdoor adventures to days spent delving into Scottish history.
Outdoor activities
Whether you want to smell the roses or bag a Munro, you’ll find all kinds of outdoor activities near Glasgow. Escape the city and fill your lungs with fresh air!
1. As one of Scotland’s most popular summits – attracting more than 50,000 walkers and mountaineers every year – Ben Lomond should be on every outdoor adventurer’s list. The most southerly Munro in the country still feels as wild as it did when Rob Roy roamed here 300 years ago. And whatever route you take, make sure you soak up the spectacular views and keep an eye out for ptarmigan, adders and orchids.
2. Treat the whole clan to an idyllic day out at Geilston Garden, a tranquil 200-year-old walled garden on the banks of the Clyde. You’ll find colourful 40m long borders, bluebell woods, a floral mini-maze and a ‘hobbit hole’ play area for wee explorers.
Look out for the giant rhubarb – its leaves can grow as big an eagle’s wingspan.
3. At the Himalayan-inspired Crarae Garden we’re still waiting for our first yeti sighting among the Tibetan shrubs! Home to champion trees, red squirrels, a magnificent wooded gorge and all kinds of rare flowers, it’s the perfect place for plant-lovers and walkers alike.
Castles near Glasgow
These fantastic fortresses are right on our doorstep, and they’re stuffed to the turrets with amazing stories and collections.
4. Along with the breathtaking clifftop castle, there are 40 other buildings and secret follies scattered around Culzean Country Park, including an ice house, a viaduct and a pagoda, not to mention the idyllic gardens. Kids can run wild in our outdoor adventure playgrounds, and the exquisite interiors of the castle are home to vast collections that tell the fascinating stories of the people who lived there.
5. A short hop on the ferry from the mainland will get you to Brodick Castle, Garden & Country Park on the Isle of Arran. With playgrounds, gardens and parkland for everyone to enjoy outdoors, and an interactive visitor experience in the castle that includes a Victorian arcade, it’s the perfect place near Glasgow for families to visit.
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Museums and landmarks
Learn about Scotland’s famous faces and working communities with a trip to one of our excellent landmarks and museums near Glasgow.
6. In the picturesque village of Alloway, where our national bard was born, Robert Burns Birthplace Museum is home to landmarks, stories and more than 5,000 artefacts. Read Burns’s handwritten manuscripts, follow in Tam o’ Shanter’s footsteps, and send the kids on an augmented reality quest to find Burns and his friends through the Mighty Missions app trail.
7. Work is well underway on a 10-year conservation programme at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s domestic masterpiece The Hill House. Every inch of this design classic is a work of art, from the architecture to the interiors and furnishings – and it was all designed by Charles and his wife Margaret Macdonald. Now, thanks to the Box we’ve built around the house, you can view the building in ways that have never been seen before, not even by Mackintosh himself.
8. Discover Mackintosh at the Willow, located in the heart of the city on bustling Sauchiehall Street.
This iconic Tea Room, established in 1903 by Miss Cranston, was beautifully designed by the skilled Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife, Margaret Macdonald. It stands as the only surviving tea room created by Mackintosh, making it a true A-listed treasure.
Historic homes
Discover how Scottish people from all walks of life used to live and work at these perfectly preserved properties near Glasgow.
9. Holmwood is a family home like no other in Glasgow. Located in the Southside of the city, it’s masterfully designed but surprisingly cosy, with grand imagination behind it. Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson designed the house for paper magnate James Couper and his wife in 1857–8, and it’s widely regarded as this Scottish architect’s finest domestic creation.
10. Curious to see what life was like in Glasgow in the early 20th century? Open a door to the past as you step through the modest entrance to The Tenement House on Buccleuch Street. All sorts of items – from soap balls and working gaslights to jars of jam made in 1929 – have been lovingly preserved and the house has been restored to provide a rare glimpse into a bygone age.
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By becoming a National Trust for Scotland member, you can help us protect the places you love so they can be enjoyed now and for generations to come.
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Free* places to visit
From days spent enjoying the fresh air to free cultural events, there’s lots of things to do near Glasgow to keep the costs down.
11. Fresh air is free (and great for the soul), so why not take the family out for a picnic? You can roll out the rug in the grounds of one of our castles or country houses, where there are plenty of pleasant spots to choose from. Or you could work up an appetite by hiking up to a stunning hilltop view of Loch Lomond.
12. We host hundreds of events every year, many of which are free. For anyone in Glasgow, entry to our exhibition at the Tenement House – celebrating the women of Glasgow – is free. Be inspired by these humble Scottish heroines.
Don’t forget, members benefit from free access to all of our places. Find out more about how to join.
*There may be a small car parking fee for non-members at some of our places.
