How to get to Glasgow

Major information not much checked since June 1999 (though last changed 15 May 2013)
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This is a WWW document by Steve Draper, installed at http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/dirs/toglasgow.html You may copy it. Comments welcome (email steve@psy.gla.ac.uk).

Web site logical path: [www.psy.gla.ac.uk] [~steve] [dirs] [this page1] [this page2] [Inside Glasgow and the campus]
Similar / rival sites by: [the University] [the Geography dept.] [Mark Dunlop] [Mark Dunlop]

How to get to Glasgow

University's advice on getting here.

(A simple map)
(UK travel guide).
(Glasgow weather) (Glasgow weather 2) (Scottish climate) (Scenery / pictures)
(Weather now)
(Information about the city, not just how to get here: Here
(Scottish tourism web links: Tourist offices Celtic fringe Highlands tourist board Electric Scotland)
(Current webcam picture of the city) or (Another one)
(West of Scotland webcams)

My advice (out of date)

By road

See Mark's page, but when you reach Glasgow go not to Strathclyde university, but to Glasgow university.

Prices

Be aware that there are now a huge range of prices particularly on the London-Glasgow route (about 10:1 from cheapest to most expensive "standard" fare), and that rail and air prices from London now overlap a lot. For instance, a regular train fare single is now considerably more than even the more expensive single fares on easyJet (even after adding airport tax and the rail connection Luton-London). However, booking special fares early gets some very cheap prices on both rail and air. The coach is even cheaper.

By coach

Phone 0990 808080 or click here for National Express coaches.
Rather you than me.

By the way, enquiries about buses anywhere in the UK is through "Travel link" on 08706 082608

By railway train

Get a train to either of the two big railway stations (Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street). These are in the middle of town, about 2 miles from the University. Travel time from London in the 5 to 6.5 hour range.

Phone 08457 484950 or use one of the timetables now on the web: Railtrack's and the German one (also has all UK data, and in some ways a better interface). You can also buy railway tickets online

Don't forget to consider a sleeper.

By air

The basic idea is to fly to Glasgow airport (not Prestwick), which is a 15 minute (about £15) taxi ride from either the university or the city centre.

An hourly air service 7am-9pm from London Heathrow (page2) (West; 15 min. train to Paddington, Underground service, M25, M4; accessible from Reading) British Midland British Airways
Direct flights from the other London airports:
- Luton (page2) (page3) (North; 30 min. train journey from St.Pancras, and also direct Thameslink train to Elephant & Castle, London Bridge etc.; M1; also handy from Milton Keynes) easyJet
- Stansted (page2) (North-East; 40 min. train journey from Liverpool St.; also handy from Cambridge)
- Gatwick (page2) (South; 30 min. train journey from Victoria; also handy from Brighton)
- City (page2) (page3) (page4) (East/central; only a few miles from "the City" financial area.) (Suckling Airways 0870 606 0707)
Cheapest is probably EasyJet from Luton, and a good rail connection from central London makes it quite fast and convenient. (A summary of London airports is here and a map of them is here.)
Direct flights from Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Leeds, Manchester, Plymouth, Southampton.
Direct flights from Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, and some other European cities.
Some direct flights from North America (New York, Toronto); and supposedly good connections via Reykjavik (Iceland) by Icelandair (phone 0171 388 5599).
And of course to/from more interesting places in Scotland e.g. Shetland.

Prestwick airport also (here) is 32 miles from Glasgow. There is a fast train service that takes 45 mins to the centre of Glasgow. Flights to Stansted, Paris, Dublin, Boston, New York and others.

There are in general no flights to Edinburgh you want to use to get to Glasgow.

There is a timetable by BAA of ALL flights to/from Glasgow and this is important as airlines try to conceal better flights their competitors offer. It doesn't seem to be online, but it is free (try 0845 775 775 7).
British Midland 0870 607 0555
British Airways 0845 77 333 77
easyJet 0870 600 0000
Go 0870 607 654 3
Cheap flights: probably more use for holidays
(There are other airlines on the web: search for them yourself.)

Staying the night (or not)

First flights (from Heathrow) in the morning can get you here for a 9am meeting unless they are more delayed than usual. But it is not relaxing because of how early you have to get up to catch the flight, the way they are crowded with others (this is rush hour on this route), and the almost universal air traffic delays (same reason). The last flight leaves Glasgow at 9:40pm, so you can always manage that. Last London trains however leave at 6pm (8pm on Friday and Saturday), which may not suit you. Another option is to get a railway sleeper one or both ways: use the train as a hotel.

There are very acceptable Bed and Breakfast places within yards of the university, or in the university itself: visitors speak well of both. (Prices from £38.) Phone 0141 334 5385 either to book the university places, or ask for a faxed list of local accommodation. Here is A big list of Glasgow hotels etc.. Here is one a few yards from the university, and spoken very well of by a visitor in July 2001: The Heritage hotel. Here is the Scottish Tourist board's list.