Very nice castle and the staff is very friendly as well. We happened to go by on a day they had an…read moreevent which made the cost of tickets double. We weren't there for the event which I hated how the tickets were for both. The castle was very nice and architecture was amazing. Downside was if you hate stairs you may not enjoy it as well. Views from the top were great!

It's always such a joy to come back to dumbarton & taking a trip up to the castle is always a…read morehighlight. My family emigrated to Brooklyn NY from from dumbarton when my grandmother was a child in the 50's. She never forgot where she was from and took us back to visit many many times when I was growing up. The castle is the dominating feature of the town, as most Scottish castles are. Sitting between two mounds on the river Clyde the the structure looks as old as the hills themselves. Walking to the top of the mount is not for those who don't like heights as the walkway is nothing more than a staircase over a valley at points. The view from the top is nothing short of breathtaking, and makes me proud every time of my Scottish roots. If you happen to find yourself in Glasgow and have some free time, do yourself a favor and take the 20£ cab ride into dumbarton (trains even cheaper). Make your way to the castle and enjoy one of the great treasures of Scotland.

Beautiful accommodations, friendly staff and convenient location! Dinner with live music was…read morewonderful....gorgeous art deco vibe!

Feel like being royalty for a night? Then this is the place. We stayed in the Clark room which…read morewas on the top floor and absolutely huge. You are treated like you are the most important person while you are here. We chose to book dinner here as well as we were celebrating my wife's birthday early. The attention to detail that this staff puts into place is extraordinary! It was our best stay while in Scotland by far.

Free museum that gives a sense of the history of Glasgow, more from the perspective of the working…read moreman. Sure, we do learn that Glasgow has the world's 3rd oldest subway system - yet a lot is geared around the jobs people had, the lifestyles over time, the impact of wars, housing, and the neighborhoods. Took about 45 minutes for me to cover the 3 floors. I didn't do the interactive stuff though. Better for adults than kids.

I enjoyed my visit to the people's palace located in the wide open space of Glasgow green with the…read morebeautiful Doulton fountain outside and various other sculptures. The people's palace showcases exhibits of the times of the steamie, life in the old tenements of Glasgow and the achievenments of boxer Benny Lynch. There were exhibits about alcohol and its effects, prison and what it would be like in a cell, the famous Barrowland and what it was like back in the day, there were even exhibits about the war and a real air raid shelter i was able to sit in and other fascinating pieces in this museum. The museum however seems a little stale, some things were a bit tatty and exhibit doors falling loose and the cafe could use a bit of TLC and be a bit more modernised but as a whole it's a great place to visit.

For a real flavour of how Mackintosh and his wife Margaret McDonald so radically transformed the…read moreart scene, I would recommend a visit to The Tenement House in Garnethill (which will show you what Glasgow tenements were like in Victorian days) before coming here. It is near-impossible to imagine that this interior started out as a typical Glasgow tenement on nearby Southpark Avenue, such is the transformation that they wrought on it. Moving from the typical dark Stygian Victorian décor to this wonderful temple of light that they created was a quantum leap in interior design that still resonates even today. The actual house was demolished as it was thought to be unstable when the University were building next to it - however it turned out to be not as bad as was originally thought and could have been saved, which leaves the University in something of a questionable position to say the least. It is rather ironic then that this specially-built extension to the Hunterian Art Gallery, constructed solely to house the interiors of the Mackintosh house, is now in such a parlous state of disrepair itself that it is going to have to be dismantled and moved to the new Kelvin Hall museum extension where it is not going to enjoy the wonderful natural light and east-facing views that it currently has. Mackintosh's interiors are all about the light - how it can be introduced and channelled into the space. He installed extra windows in the south wall of the house and in the hallway used a mirror to spread the light around the otherwise dark wooden walls. Little arrays of square stained glass pieces (something of a Mackintosh trademark) catch your eye when the light is behind them. In the main living area, the transom in front of the bay window is dropped to just above head height, which seems very counter-intuitive until you see how this matches up with the height of the doors, the dropped picture rail, the new side window, and the opening knocked through to the back room (yes, this is not a modern idea!). It completely changes the proportions of the space and focuses the light where it is needed. The house contains the Mackintoshs' own furniture - all to their design of course - and there are some wonderfully quirky pieces, such as the small wooden chair with the heart- (or buttock-) shaped depression on the seat that looks so inviting. The large high-sided box chair (surely inspired by Orkney chairs) looks as though it would be very cosy on a draughty winter's day. I also loved his personal writing cabinet in the rear space, which with its doors open looks almost like a small Japanese lady in a kimono; Mackintosh, along with several other of his fellow artists, at the time, was heavily influenced by Japanese design that was just starting to make an appearance in the West. I could continue to wax lyrical about the Mackintosh house as I love it so much, but there is also the main Hunterian Art Gallery to consider. Personally I find this rather overshadowed by the Mackintosh house, yet it is a fine collection and there are some notable works by Rubens, Rembrandt and Chardin as well as the Scottish Colourists and Glasgow Boys. It also has the largest collection anywhere of works by American artist James McNeill Whistler. The Art Gallery is free, although they sometimes charge for special exhibitions, but there is a small charge (£5) for entry to the Mackintosh House. Get there early on a sunny morning (it opens at 10am, 11am on Sundays) for the best experience.

I visited today to see the excellent Ingenious Impressions, an exhibition of some of the earliest…read moreprinted books from the 1400s onwards. It's on until 21st June 2015 and I think I'll be back again because it was fascinating and there were so many books to look at. The University of Glasgow has an outstanding collection of paintings, books, artefacts and many many other things. Much of it is from William Hunter's collection hence the Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum but there are many other collectors who have sold or gifted amazing things to the uni. And now we get to see it all FOR FREE! This is what blows me away about the art galleries and museums in this fine city. The Hunterian Art Gallery has a wonderful collection of paintings with many works by Whistler. I'm not very knowledgeable about Art History but I love wandering round here in the afternoon, it's peaceful and interesting. It doesn't attract many children or families in the way that Kelvingrove does so you can get around without dodging hectic toddlers! The Mackintosh House is a must see and they run regular short tours throughout the day. I would quite like to live in the White Room if that could be made possible?! The only thing I don't like about the Hunterian is that the building is a bit dated, I think it opened in the 80s and hasn't changed much since. Other than that it's a great place to visit if you're in the area and interested in art and painting.

Love it! This is a regular haunt for me in the winter, when it's free, but it's included in the…read moreNational Trust membership if you're there for a summer visit. This is a stately Georgian home that was maintained in the spirit of stewardship--like the earl of Grantham on Downton Abbey. The Maxwell family lovingly and carefully curated the place so that every addition, change, piece of art and situation of the furniture would compliment and reflect upon what already exists. Each room is rich with detail and a wonderful combination of magnificent beauty that still feels like the kind of place you'd want to come home to. The cafe is quite good, if a wee bit pricey. There's also a regular and a food-only gift shop. Definitely make your way over to this other fabulous bit of art, history and architecture when you're in Pollock Park.

As a member of The National Trust for Scotland, my recent trip to Pollok Park inevitably included…read morePollok House. That being said, it is free this time of year anyhow and this was reflected in the high number of people there. It was a gorgeous house, with a maze of rooms and an impressive garden that has been very well kept. Some of the paintings and art inside were suitably impressive, with recent pieces and some vintage paintings on huge canvasses. I couldn't help but feel like I was navigating my way around the house in Cluedo, looking for a candlestick and corpse in the Library. There were some really elegant pianos. The books in the Library were numbering in the thousands, and all concerning historical Scotland. The highlight for me was standing in the very room where initial meetings were held that ultimately led to the formation of The National Trust for Scotland. There was also a packed cafe and funky giftshop that included paper made out of elephant dung. Never seen that before. Not sure if I wanted to though, to be fair. It wont be on MTV Cribs, but it's a nice big house that offers a nice addition to a stroll around Pollok Country Park.

Hands down a must visit in Glasgow! Free admission!…read moreLocated in Kelvingrove Park, West End. This is a popular museum and art gallery with the likes of Dali and more. It's a large space and it's divided up by fine art, natural history, etc. I wandered through all of the rooms and believe that I saw almost every exhibit. I spent hours and just took my time taking it all in. Stopped by the cafe' for a cuppa tea too. Fantastic museum.

The museum is one of the top attractions in Glasgow. It was established in 1901- 125 years ago. The…read morearchitecture of the building itself is a marvel. I'm not much of a museum person, but entrance is free. The expansive museum's west wing focuses on "Life" (natural history/prehistory), while the east wing focuses on "Expression" (fine art). There are 22 galleries with 8,000 objects. Salvador Dalí's "Christ of Saint John of the Cross" is one of their most famous works of art. I was most interested in "The Floating Heads" installation by Sophie Cave. We spent most of our time viewing Scotland's Wildlife, where most of the kids were. While we were there, we also enjoyed an organ recital- 1:00pm Monday-Saturday and 3:00pm on Sunday.

It's very sad to see this ruin when you've looked at the old photos and paintings from its days of…read moregrandeur. It was originally a fabulous and immense castellated Gothic mansion, built in sandstone for the Earl of Eglinton and his family between 1797 and 1802. It included a central 100 ft high round keep and four 70 ft towers; it really was very grand and was surrounded by a moat. However, the castle gradually fell into disrepair and the family was unable to finance any renovations. They deserted their home in 1925 and all the contents were sadly all auctioned, including many (priceless and irreplaceable) historical artifacts, and then the roof was removed a year later and even the lead sold. During World War II the castle was greatly damaged during army training there another appalling sacrilege. When it was decided to open the country park to the public in the 1970s, even more of the castle was demolished as it was considered unsafe. Only a small part of the walls and one tower has survived to this day. I give only four stars, not because so little of the castle remains, but because there is no information about it at the site. When you visit the castle there isn't even one sign giving the history (unless, somehow, I missed it!), only a general overview at the Visitor Centre itself, and I really think much more could be made of this fascinating old ruin that was once the very impressive seat of the Eglinton family.

One of last years trends for me (before the weather kicked in) was going to as many museums and…read moreparks as possible in and around Glasgow. Partly because its inexpensive and because it's a good way to see Scotland with my Finnish girlfriend. Our National Trust for Scotland memberships served us well in here, a place I haven't been for around 15 years. It's terrifying how much I can still remember. As well as the museum of the Scottish explorer David Livingstone, which houses alot of his own personal belongings, there is a play park and gorgeous woodland garden that is a joy to stroll around. My luck being my luck, it wasn't the warmest day on record so we spent more time indoors than out. If I ever have kids, I will bring them here and tell them stories about when my Dad took me here oh so many years ago. Free to all, with an admission charge for the museum itself. National Trust for Scotland members go free.

Nice looking place at the bottom of Blantyre, The building itself is impressive. With a huge statue…read moreof Livingstone outside being attacked by a lion. however the museum itself inside is quite boring. Certainly not worth the entrance fee. There is some interesting stuff about the abolishing of slavery, and a replica of his tomb. There is also some of Livingstones diaries and medical equipment on display, (and a disturbing looking thing for cutting holes in skulls!!) The tea room is well priced and and has a good menu. A lot of the building seems shut off the the public, like old classrooms and stuff and they could maybe make more of this. His red shirt he wore when he met HM stanley is on display. ( I presume its not a replica!!!) The surrounding area is nice and a lovely park to walk in , but the asking price of £6 is bit steep for what this museum offers if you ask me.