Greetings fellow travelers. Three of use are traveling to Scotland for the first time in May 2026. We will be staying and doing day trips from Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow. We have three of our four days in Glasgow planned and have one full day free. We would like to explore areas south of Glasgow (out of the city) but haven't found any day tours going in that direction. We like ruins, history, scenery and small towns. Thinking we might have to rent a car for the day. Are there any suggestions on destinations south of Glasgow that allows for a easy drive. Is Brig O' Doon worth the drive and are there any other places on that route (or on the return route) that might be of interest? Thanks!
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8219 posts
If you rented a car, you could drive down to Hadrian’s Wall, or visit the border abbeys (Melrose, Dryburgh, Jedburgh, and Kelso). They may be further than you’d like to drive for a day trip.
Posted by
Chicagoland
1518 posts
If you prefer an organized tour,
Rabbie's Scotland
offers a day tour to Ayrshire and Culzean Castle as well as another tour to the Isle of Arran.
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1696 posts
New Lanark, which is a World Heritage Site! Built as a social experiment to improve the working conditions of Millworkers in the Industrial Revolution. It includes workers housing, some are used for accommodations now, and a Factory Tour. It is sited in a spectucular river valley location...that looks like AI but is real! We thoroughly enjoyed it! It is not that far from Glasgow.
Posted by
London
998 posts
Agree with the suggestion for Culzean Castle. Regarding Brig O'Doon, there's not loads to see in Alloway but there's a nice walk that takes you around different Burns-related sites (including the bridge) and there's of course the Burns museum itself, tho I haven't been inside beyond the gift shop so can't comment on that. New Lanark which has also been mentioned is somewhere I've been hoping to visit but haven't made it yet.
Posted by
Oregon 🌲
484 posts
Brig O' Doon is in Alloway which is also the birthplace of Robert Burns. His birthplace, Burns Cottage, is part of a museum. South of there on the coast is Culzean Castle.
Posted by
United States
893 posts
If you find yourself not wanting to venture that far away from Glasgow, there is a beautiful park about a 20 minute bus ride away. Pollok Country Park offers a variety of things to do. The pastures for the Hairy Coos are there, the Burrell Collection, the Pollok House mansion- the major refurbishment may be completed by the time you go, lovely pathways along the river. We spent a half day there and could have stayed much longer. Just a thought.
https://burrellcollection.com/visit/pollok-country-park-glasgows-largest-green-space/
If you’re driving you could also add on a second place and head to Paisley Abbey, which is close in to the park and Glasgow, too.
So many options!
Posted by
Minnesota🌲
11021 posts
Jean has a good idea. The Isle of Arran is wonderful and it's not that difficult to get to, either. It's a favorite spot of Glaswegians for weekend or day trips. You could take a Rabbies tour but it's relatively easy to do on your own. Just take the train from Glasgow to Ardrossan and get a ferry to the island from there (the ferry port is about a 2 minute walk from the station). Arran has very good bus service and it would be relatively easy to get around. The island is often called "Scotland in miniature," as it has all the features of Scotland; mountains, beaches, history, ruins, a castle and so on. https://www.visitarran.com/
It would take a few hours to get there and back but it's worth it in my opinion. I was there for three nights two years ago and absolutely loved it. It's a small island though so you could see a lot in one day. You could also rent a car for the day and drive to the island and then just take the car over on the ferry, which is a very easy process.
Posted by
New York City
258 posts
I took the Rabbie's tour that others have mentioned (Culzean Castle and Burns Country) in May 2024 and can enthusiastically recommend it! We chose it after our initial plan to take the Isle of Arran tour fell through due to a change in the ferry schedule.
The photo album linked at the top of my trip report includes pictures from the tour: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-glasgow-and-edinburgh-with-day-trips-and-lots-of-great-food