Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
16
The Science Centre is also home to a planetarium and the silver-skinned
IMAX
Theatre.
The planetarium and theater charge separate admissions.
50 Pacific Quay.
&
0141/420-5010.
www.glasgowsciencecentre.org. Admission £9.95 adults, £7.95
students and seniors; additional £2.50 for IMAX or tower. MC, V. Daily 10am-5pm. Underground: Cess-
nock. Train: Exhibition Centre and walk across the footbridge over the Clyde. Bus: 89 or 90.
Scotland Street School Museum
Another of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's
designs, this building, commissioned by the local school board, celebrated its cente-
nary in 2005. Given that it is surrounded by light-industrial parks and faces the M8
motorway, it seems an odd location for a school. But that's only because all of the
surrounding apartment buildings were torn down, which is why the school had only
about 90 pupils when it closed in 1979. The museum that occupies this admittedly
lesser but still fascinating work from the great architect is devoted to the history of
education in Scotland, with reconstructed examples of classrooms from the Victo-
rian, World War II, and 1960s' eras. It also has displays of Mackintosh's designs for
the building.
225 Scotland St.
&
0141/287-0500.
www.glasgowmuseums.com. Free admission. Mon-Thurs and Sat
10am-5pm; Fri and Sun 11am-5pm. Underground: Shields Rd. Bus: 89 or 90.
Maritime Glasgow
The Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour
Restored in 1999, the SV
Glenlee
is one of
only five Clyde-built sailing ships that remain afloat. Built in 1896, it circumnavi-
gated Cape Horn 15 times and a video offers black-and-white film showing just how
rough the journey could be. Check out the logbook in the poop cabin. It offers a
more grim picture of life onboard as the captain's diary documents how one particu-
lar sailor was taken ill, recovered, and then died. You can explore the ship and, while
onboard, take in an exhibition detailing cargo-trading history.
100 Stobcross Rd.
&
0141/222-2513.
www.glenlee.co.uk. Admission £5.95 adults, £4.65 seniors, stu-
dents, and children. MC, V. Mar-Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov-Feb daily 10am-4pm. Train: Exhibition Cen-
tre. Bus: Tour buses.
GARDENS & PARKS
Botanic Gardens
Glasgow's Botanic Gardens are not as exemplary as the
Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh (p. 101), but they nevertheless cover some 11
hectares (28 acres). There is an extensive collection of tropical plants in Kibble
Palace, the Victorian cast-iron glasshouse, which has been restored. The plant col-
lection includes some rather acclaimed orchids and begonias. This is a good place
to unwind and wander, whether through the working vegetable plot or along the
banks of the River Kelvin. The Botanic Gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk.
The greenhouses are open 10am to 4:45pm (until 4:15pm in the winter).
Great Western Rd.
&
0141/334-2422.
Free admission. Daily 7am-dusk. Underground: Hillhead. Bus:
20, 66, or 90.
Glasgow Green
This is the city's oldest park by some distance and dates in
part probably to medieval times. Running along the River Clyde, southeast of the
commercial center, this huge stretch of green had paths laid and shrubs planted in
the middle of the 18th century but formally became a public park some 100 years
later. Its landmarks include the People's Palace (p. 200) social history museum and
