Glasgow Necropolis in the snow (http://www.glasgownecropolis.org)
Looking for something unusual to do in Glasgow? Of course, I would recommend going to see Kelvingrove Museum, taking in a film at the Glasgow Film Theatre, buying some counterfeit cigarettes at the Barras market (just kidding), wandering up and down Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night admiring the ability of Glaswegian females to brave the weather in shorts. But I also recommend these slightly offbeat things to see and do, and special Glaswegian places to eat, drink and stay in.
Glasgow Necropolis
50,000+ bodies buried here since it first opened in 1832, this Victorian cemetery lies adjacent to Glasgow Cathedral in the East End and contains 3,500 monuments. Guided tours are held, run by the Friends of Glasgow Necropolis ? here?s a list of Necropolis walking tour dates
As well as the gravestones, this second largest green area in Glasgow is home to roe deer, four different types of ladybird, drifts of bluebells in the spring and lots of different bird species. Interestingly, the necropolis is built on a ?dolerite sill? formed by volcanic activity many, many years ago. It?s open from 7am to dusk daily.
Address
70 Cathedral Square
Glasgow
Glasgow G4 0UZ
Website http://www.glasgownecropolis.org/
What to see
North and South Rotundas
These two circular brick buildings on either side of the Clyde contained entrances to three sixteen feet tunnels beneath the Clyde, the Finnieston tunnels. One of these was kept decent for pedestrian access and the other two for horses and carts. Hydraulic systems in both rotundas brought the cart traffic up and down. The North Rotunda is now the Yen teppanyaki restaurant with hot plate cooking as a form of entertainment (and gets very good reviews) and the southern one has been developed into office space. The two vehicle tunnels have now been filled in and the pedestrian one closed to the public in 1987 ? it now houses a water mains.
There?s a lot more detail on the tunnels at Hidden Glasgow and this is where this quote comes from:
I was in the tunnel about 1985-6 it was derelict then but me and a friend had heard about it from relatives and as 2 curious teenagers wee set off to explore after a hard climb on the north rotunda we made our descent down a ramshackle cast iron staircase to the lower level and indeed the tunnel was there alongwith plenty furry inhabitants.
We then wlked the tunnel in pitch blackness until my mate Brian found out the wooden beamed floor was incomplete i can still smell the mud he had up to his thighs to this day and had a chuckle when i found this page.
Goober
Billy Connolly?s Big Banana Boots at the People?s Palace (http://www.bbc.co.uk)
People?s Palace
Social history is this museum?s raison d?etre ? Glasgow leisure, people and places, education and working life, and more, are covered. The collection includes Billy Connolly ?s big banana boots, Elton John?s just as over-the-top platforms (not really sure why they?re there) and an old Barrowlands sign. It?s actually quite difficult to find out what else is in their collection as for some reason Glasgow Museums have decided to lump all their museums together in one complicated website and their search engine doesn?t work if you?re looking only for exhibits from just one. (I?m hoping someone from?http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk?reads this.)
Here?s a nice story from Wikipedia about the Palace:
During the 1980s, one employee gained local fame when she became a member of the General, Municipal and Boilermakers Trade Union, after?NALGO?refused her admission as a blue collar worker. This was?Smudge, the People?s Palace cat, who ensured the building did not become home to small, unwelcome visitors. Glasgow?s?Lord Provost?made press appeals and police searches were carried out when she disappeared for 3 weeks in 1987, eventually re-appearing none the worse for wear less than half a mile away.
?Clockwork Orange? Glasgow Subway train in 2010. Newer stock has stripes of grey and white in the design. (http://www.glasgowroadclub.co.uk)
Glasgow subway system
Glasgow?s subway system is the third oldest in the world after London and Budapest, opening up in December 1896. Also known as the ?Clockwork Orange? due to its very cute, formerly all orange carriages, the track is just 6.5 miles long (London has 250 miles of track) so it is quite small, as are the carriages. It runs from north to south in a loop and someone?s even come up with a pub crawl, with one pub at each of the stops Glasgow Subway Pub Crawl
In common with underground transport systems the world over, there are a good range of ghosts to be seen or heard in Glasgow?s subway, including a child ghoul and a blue, blind beggar. Lots more information on those and more at British Paranormal?Watch your back!
Tenement house museum
Tenement House Museum
Owned by the National Trust but too small to have been National Trustified, this is a 19th century tenement flat which was owned by a lady, Miss Agnes Toward, who didn?t do anything very much to it and didn?t throw anything away: gas lamps and an beautiful old range are still present. ?There are two parts to the place ? the flat itself on the ground floor, and an exhibition on the floor above.
Address
145 Buccleuch St
Glasgow, G3 6QN
Website:?http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/Tenement-House/
Ben Nevis pub (http://www.twofatladdies.co.uk)
Where to eat and drink
Ben Nevis pub
This dark wood, fire-lit cosy pub sells around 180 different brands of whisky as well as a decent range of beers and a multitude of Sunday papers (if you?re in there on a Sunday ?) They have live traditional music sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 9pm. I?ve seen it described as having a ?hip Old West Saloon vibe? by a Texan on yelp.co.uk.
Address
1147 Argyle Street
Glasgow G3 8TB
Website http://thebennevis.co.uk/
Mother India (http://glasgowfilm.org)
Mother India
Glasgow is big on curry restaurants and Italian restaurants and you?ll find plenty of both. A special mention goes to ?Mother India, however, even though it?s a bit out of the quirky remit. Simply because ?they make the best curry myself and husband have ever had (we haven?t been to India yet). ?They?re now a small chain, and have a cafe branch which serves Indian tapas style meals, but if you?re in the original then try their chicken spinach leaf ?- best ever and I?ve tried many, believe me. ?Don?t go if you fancy an insipid chicken korma ? Mother India doesn?t serve them.
Address
Mother India
28 Westminster Terrace
Glasgow
G3 7RU
Mother India?s Cafe Glasgow
1355 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G3 8AD
Website:?http://www.motherindiaglasgow.co.uk
Cafe Cossachok
Cafe Cossachok is an excellent little Russian restaurant cum entertainment venue cum art gallery. I very nearly bought a quite expensive painting of a lost girl in snowy woods here and have always regretted not doing it ? or maybe it was just the frozen vodkas tempting me! From their own website, they serve:
Borscht?- Russian country soup,?Golubtzi?- Ukrainian stuffed cabbage,?Chakhokhbili?? Georgian spicy chicken,Musaka?? Armenian vegetarian oven-baked dish,?Tzimes? traditional Yiddish duck with apricots, carrots and dumplings,?Plov?? Uzbek lamb pilaf,?Gouvetch?? Moldavian vegetable ragout ?
? plus they?ve a great range of those frozen flavoured vodkas. The decor is primarily a rich red and the music can be violins, jazz accordions or more, all with an Eastern European twist.
Address
10 King Street Merchant City,
Glasgow G1 5QP
Website:?http://www.cossachok.com/
Where to stay
Cathedral House hotel
Cathedral House Hotel
Some of the rooms in the Cathedral House Hotel overlook the aforementioned Necropolis, and ghost tours?take place that end with a meal in the hotel. Great for a spooky evening. Even if you?re not interested in all things ghostly, this is an atmospheric, cosy hotel that?s full of history and character. If you?re not enamoured with looking out onto a graveyard, there are other rooms with a view to the Cathedral square. Food is very good and of reasonable value.
Address
28-32 Cathedral Square,
Glasgow, G4 0XA
Website:?http://www.cathedralhousehotel.org/Pages/default.aspx
Any recommendations for off the beaten track things to do in Glasgow? Add them below!
Source: http://www.quirkytravel.com/cities/quirky-city-guide-glasgow/
ronnie montrose melissa gilbert dancing with the stars cnn cough dandelion wine matt groening brandon phillips
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