Glasgow/Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is at the top of the hill with the railway station at the bottom, and not that long a walk, well less than a kilometre. There is also a bus. The views from the battlements across the plains of the Forth are almost worth the admission alone. In a short time scale, Stirling is probably a better choice from Glasgow than Edinburgh if you are relying on public transport. Going to Edinburgh it is worth looking at availability for the Festival, Festival Fringe and the Military Tattoo.

If your son is interested in cars and trains there is the Waterside Museum of Transport in Glasgow and there are other museums dotted around the city, and there is museum at the National Stadium at Hampden but you might have football fever by then and Parkhead has a good one for Celtic FC. The one for Rangers has, I believe, been repossessed ;-) (actually I am a Glaswegian athiest, I don't support either team).

With Glasgow as a base you are well placed for Loch Lomond, the Clyde isles, Stirling, Lanarkshire (David Livingstone's birthplace is just a short walk from one of the suburban railway stations in Blantyre), and New Lanark. It really depends what you want to see and do in addition to the fitba'.

Unless they have changed the name since last year, the museum MC is referring to is the Riverside Museum. It covers all sorts of transport - ships, cars, bicycles, planes, trolleys, etc - and has a tall ship anchored outside, as well. There is also Kelvingrove. It is part natural history/part art museum but has plenty to interest kids - and it is free. In Balloch (about 30 min. by train) you can get boat tours of Loch Lomond.

On our Scotland trip this past August, we didn't make it to Glasgow, but we did pass thru Stirling (saw the impressive castle from below, but it was late in the day and we were leaving for home the next morning), and visited Doune Castle, in Doune, a bit northwest of Stirling. We had a rental car, so not certain how doable that is by public transportation.

Doune is a proper castle in its own right, smaller than Stirling's and less "modernized," and was where the Monty Python gang filmed their Holy Grail movie . . . but I'm not sure whether today's 12-year olds are up for Something Completely Different . . . :-)

Nancy it is indeed the Riverside! The Waterside is a local programme on STV made at the studios opposite at Pacific Quay. One thing in Glasgow, no body knows the real name for half the places in the city, only their nicknames:

The Kingston Bridge on the M8 = The Kamikaze
The Clyde Auditorium = The Armadillo!

To the Kelvingrove, there is the Gallery of Modern Art, St Mungo's, the Burrell, all are (at least until Glasgow City Council realises it is skint) free. As is the Riverside.

Here is link to the Riverside: http://www.clydewaterfront.com/projects/greater-govan--glasgow-harbour/leisure/riverside_museum

Kim , have look just down the page at " Stirling Heads " the two short videos will tempt your interest

Down which page, steven?

Sorry , Nancy , The Scotland page --- I am only marginally literate with dealing with the computer . The page on Scotland and scroll down a bit ,there are links to two short videos that explain the restoration of the renaissance palace at Stirling entiled " Stirling Heads " Nine minutes ( total ) that will explain the wonderful work done there . Please enjoy these , and let me know if you have difficulty All my best , Steve