Chryston

Cuningar Loop

Westthorn · 5.6 miles

The former water-supply meander on the River Clyde has been reshaped into a woodland park that offers a range of outdoor pursuits. Situated on the boundary between Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire and the Glasgow City area, the site lies directly east of Dalmarnock and is closest to the town of Westthorn. In the early nineteenth century the Glasgow Water Company secured an act to draw water from the Clyde, and a series of reservoirs—designed under the direction of Thomas Telford and James Watt—were built to lift water to a secondary store on Sydney Street. After the Victorian Loch Katrine aqueduct took over supply in the 1850s, the area fell into disuse until a mid-2010s regeneration turned the derelict land into a public park, overseen by South Lanarkshire Council. Visitors can follow riverside boardwalks, climb on purpose-placed boulders, or ride the BMX track that runs alongside the water. A children’s play area includes a zip-line “flying fox”, while several public-art installations, including a 23-metre sculpture by Steuart Padwick, add visual interest. The footbridge completed in 2016 links the western side of the park with the Legacy Village in Dalmarnock and joins the Clyde Walkway and National Cycle Route 75, providing easy access for walkers and cyclists. A common green space accommodates events, and a weekly parkrun has been held since March 2025. Admission is free and facilities are maintained by the council.

Possil Marsh Nature Reserve

High Possil · 6.2 miles

Possil Marsh Nature Reserve lies on the north-side of Glasgow, directly adjacent to the High Possil and Lambhill districts. Covering roughly 31.4 hectares at about 50 metres above sea level, the triangular basin sits between the River Clyde and the River Kelvin, its northern edge abutting Lochfauld Farm and its southern and eastern limits shielded by the Forth and Clyde Canal. The western perimeter follows the A879 and borders Lambhill Cemetery. The site is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a bird sanctuary, and it has been under the custodianship of the Scottish Wildlife Trust since 1982, following earlier stewardship by the Scottish Society for the Protection of Wild Birds from 1950. The reserve’s landscape is a mosaic of habitats: a shallow mesotrophic loch occupies about 15 % of the area, while extensive fen (≈10 ha) and swamp (≈6 ha) dominate the central zone. Damp grassland, dry meadow, and birch-and-willow scrub complete the mix, providing a setting for a range of plant communities such as Typha beds, Potentilla palustris meadows and Carex rostrata swamps. Notable flora include the nationally scarce Lysimachia thyrsiflora and Sphagnum riparium, as well as locally rare Carex diandra. The marsh supports up to 150 wintering bird species, with 22 recorded as breeding, and hosts two nationally scarce invertebrate species. A monument commemorates the High Possil meteorite that fell in 1804. Access is most convenient from the nearby High Possil settlement, with the canal towpath offering a pedestrian approach. As a protected nature reserve, the area is open for wildlife observation and walking, though no specific visitor facilities or admission charges are detailed in the available information.

Finnieston Crane

Finnieston · 7.5 miles

The Finnieston Crane or Stobcross Crane is a disused giant cantilever crane in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is no longer operational, but is retained as a symbol of the city's engineering heritage. The crane was used for loading cargo, in particular steam locomotives, onto ships to be exported around the world.

The Clydeside Distillery

Kelvinhaugh · 8.1 miles

Located on the River Clyde’s quayside in Glasgow, the Clydeside Distillery occupies the former pump house that once managed water levels for the Queen’s Dock. The site, refurbished in 2017, lies just west of the SEC Centre and is linked to the Kelvinhaugh and Yorkhill neighbourhoods by a footbridge that passes beneath the Clydeside Expressway and the Argyle Line railway. Vehicles reach the distillery via Stobcross Road, which connects to the expressway at the Finnieston and Pointhouse exits. Water used in production is drawn from Loch Katrine in the nearby Trossachs. When production started in 2017, Clydeside became the second active distillery in Glasgow after a century-long gap. The enterprise is operated by Morrison Glasgow Distillers Limited, with Tim Morrison as principal owner and Andrew Morrison as operations director; the family’s historic ties to the dock date back to John Morrison’s 19th-century construction of the original pump house. The distillery’s facilities include two two-tonne Forsyth stills and a capacity of up to 500,000 litres of spirit per year, producing a Lowland-style single malt that entered the market in 2021 under the Stobcross label. Visitors can join interactive tours that showcase the production process, and the premises house a shop and a café. Pedestrian access is provided by the footbridge, while parking is available in the adjacent SEC car park. The location’s industrial setting and proximity to cultural venues such as the SWG3 arts space make it a distinctive point of interest along Glasgow’s waterfront.

Glasgow Science Centre

Stobcross · 8.1 miles

Located on the south bank of the River Clyde within the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area, the Glasgow Science Centre serves as a science-focused museum near Stobcross. The complex comprises three distinct structures – the crescent-shaped Science Mall, the rotating Glasgow Tower and an IMAX cinema – each wrapped in a different metal skin. As a registered Scottish charity it attracts visitors who pay an admission charge, and it also oversees the visitor centre at Whitelee Wind Farm. The attraction carries a five-star rating from VisitScotland. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 5 July 2001, the centre formed part of the Pacific Quay redevelopment that followed the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival. The architects Building Design Partnership designed the Science Mall, while the tower’s original concept came from Richard Horden with engineering by Buro Happold. Inside the Mall, three floors host more than 250 interactive exhibits, a planetarium with a 15-metre dome, a children’s area called The Big Explorer, and themed galleries such as Powering the Future, Idea No59 and BodyWorks. The ground floor houses ticketing, cafés, a gift shop and a cloakroom, together with flexible spaces for education and events. The Glasgow Tower, intended as the world’s tallest freely rotating tower, was closed from August 2010 until July 2014, and the IMAX cinema – Scotland’s first – seats 370 patrons before a 24 × 18 metre screen capable of 3D presentation. A 2021 “Connect: Outer Space” project added a two-way cycle lane, expanded greenspace and outdoor science exhibits along the waterfront.

Antonine Wall

Hillfoot · 8.1 miles

Across the Central Belt of Scotland a line of Roman turf fortifications marks the former northern frontier of the empire. Ordered by Emperor Antoninus Pius around AD 142, the barrier stretches roughly 63 kilometres from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth. Built on stone foundations, the wall stood about three metres high and five metres wide, with a deep ditch on its northern side and, according to archaeological inference, a wooden palisade topping the turf. Lidar surveys have confirmed its length and the Roman distance units employed in its construction. Although intended to supersede Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall was abandoned after only eight years, when its garrisons retreated southward. The line was defended by sixteen forts and a series of smaller fortlets, linked by the Military Way road. The best-preserved of these is Rough Castle Fort, while the most visible fortlet is Kinneil near Bo’ness. Decorative distance slabs, of which twenty survive, originally bore bright paint; copies of some, such as the Bridgeness Slab, are displayed in Bo’ness. Remains of the wall and its associated forts now fall under the care of Historic Environment Scotland and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. Classified as ruins, the site lies close to the village of Hillfoot, providing a reference point for visitors seeking the surviving fragments of this second-century Roman frontier.