Glasgow 2014: A guide to getting around the Commonwealth City

With only a couple of weeks to go until the official opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the finishing touches are being put the array of venues across Glasgow and the surrounding area.  If you are lucky enough to be heading to the city for the sporting extravaganza then you will no doubt want to know the best and quickest ways to get around.  Unlike the Olympics (where most of the venues are within a closely confined area) the events will be taking place in all corners of Glasgow and beyond.

Public Transport

If you have an event ticket this allows you to use public transport services within a predefined area when travelling to and from your event. The coverage of the ‘Games Zone’ varies, depending on the location of the event you are travelling to, as detailed below.  All of the official venues are also served by local bus services.  The Games Zone covers access to ScotRail services, Subway services and the majority of local bus services within the city. Glasgow is a fairly compact city so getting from A to B on public transport is generally pretty quick and easy.  The Subway is a great way to get from the city centre (hop on at Buchanan Street or St Enoch) to the west end (Hillhead), this takes less than 10 minutes.  Subway is also the best option if you are heading to Ibrox Stadium for the Rugby 7’s events as there is also a station right outside.

Car

Various road restrictions will be in place during the games and there will be no official parking at any of the venues (with the exception of blue badge holders) so using the car to get around the city centre is probably not the best of ideas.  It may however be a shout to travel further afield with some events like diving taking place in Edinburgh.  Don’t forget your breakdown cover from the AA if you are driving though, going all that way to miss the action would be a nightmare!! Glasgow is lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK.  Only 30 minutes drive from the city centre you will enter the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park which I highly recommend if you fancy getting out of the city and exploring some of Scotland’s postcard landscapes.

Bike

Glasgow City Council recently teamed up with Nextbike to bring a bike hire scheme (similar to Boris Bikes) to the streets of Glasgow. Currently, you will find bike stations at 36 locations across the city.  Up to four bikes can be hired by anyone registered user at a time, and they can be picked up from and dropped off at any of the hire points.

Walking

Walking is one of my favourite ways to soak up the culture and buzz of s city.  Walking to your venue during the Games will give you the chance to do both.  Many of the venues activity zones are all within short walking distance from Glasgow city centre.

Glasgow boasts some of the finest examples of Victorian architecture in the UK and there is no better way to view this than by walking around the grid system of streets.  Just remember your umbrella…even if it is sunny when you leave your hotel the rain is never far away…it is Glasgow after all!