In my first year at Strathclyde, I did my own little tour of the campus to find my lecture halls and classrooms before classes started. I did this because I was anxious and exceptionally bad at navigating, a fabulous combination. To help new students feel more at ease, I have compiled some helpful tips for getting around campus.
Use Google and Apple Maps
Though the StrathApp does have its own campus map, it doesn’t plot routes.
Google and Apple maps do do this and will often supply you with shortcuts through buildings.
However, some of these routes might only work if you have a physical student card that allows you through certain entrances, such as this route from the James Weir Building to John Anderson.
Avoiding Stairs
Strathclyde campus has many stairs and steep hills; the best way to avoid these is to take shortcuts through buildings.
When going to levels four or above in the Royal College Building you can enter through the James Weir building reducing the flights of stairs you might have to take.
Graham Hills
The Graham Hills building is notoriously awful to navigate. It has two entrances, one on George Street and another on Richmond Street. To access levels one to three it’s best to enter via George Street, and for levels four and above it is easier to enter via Richmond Street.
Google Maps has a feature which allows you to scroll through the floors on buildings and see the layout of the rooms. This is helpful when it comes to Graham Hills as it gives you a sense of where you are going.
If you are trying to get to from one side of Graham Hills to other, the easiest way to accomplish this is to take one lift up to floor eight and then take the other lift down, as floor eight acts like a connection between the two sides.
Accessibility Around Campus
Many buildings have orange signs pointing to accessible routes; however it should be noted that not all of these have automatic doors so they aren’t fully accessible and you may need to a pass to get through some. Building access information is also available via the AccessAble website.
The University’s official guidance on accessible entrances into the library can be found through this link: Access to Strathclyde Library which also provides the resources to get a lift pass which is necessary for the some library lifts.
Anyone who has disability/access needs can speak to the Disability & Wellbeing Service about class locations and accommodations that can be made.