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September 11, 2005
Travel to Glasgow
How to get to Glasgow
Car
There are a number of roads into Glasgow, which is handy. In general, aim for the M8, which runs through the city and right past the city centre, you can get onto it from the north or south. Junction 18 or 19 are closest to Tut's, but beware, the City Centre is a one-way system from hell. Dump your car in the west end for free parking. Buy a Road Map of Britain.
Bus
Bus is probably the cheapest, but slowest way to get anywhere.
Megabus is pretty cheap, incase you didn't know, and you can travel from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Inverness, London, Manchester, or Perth.
Citylink has some cheap tickets as well, and an extensive network throughout Scotland so have a look there.
National Express may be a bit more expensive, but has the biggest network throughout the country, and is usually cheaper than the train.
Train
Glasgow has 2 main train stations, Queen Street with lines to the north and Edinburgh, and Central Station with lines to the south and Edinburgh. The stations are right in the city centre, a short distance from each other, and Tut's.
An hourly service to/from Aberdeen, Dundee, and Perth runs from Queen Street. A single to Aberdeen is £30. The last train is at 21:42, so you'll need to stay the night.
There are 4 trains an hour to/from Edinburgh from Queen Street during the day, the last train is at 23:30, so you'll need to leave Tuts about 11pm. Tickets would be less than £10.
Central Station has a train, pretty much every hour, to/from England. Virgin Trains run into London down the West Coast, and Virgin Cross Country cover a few places including leeds/york and trains to the South West and Cornwall. GNER run from central station too, to London, via Edinburgh and the East coast line. Trains from London take around 5 and half to 6 hours. An Apex Return ticket is £62, Supersaver Return £74.
Train Tips
*Book early. Train ticket prices vary alot. You can save 50% by booking a few weeks in advance. Look for supersaver or Apex tickets.
*Get a Young Persons Railcard. These last for one year, and save 33% on most journeys. They cost £20, and you need to be 16-25 and a full time student. However, if you get one, it will earn its cost back if you spend more than £60. Plus you can use it for other biffy trips over the next year. Visit your local train station.
*Supersaver returns. The best kind of tickets. They cost as much as a single, but you they give you a return - half price really. Only restriction is you can't travel on a Friday. No need to book in advance, buy them at the station. You can use the return on any day within one month.
Any railway journey can be booked on thetrainline.com. They have timetables and sort out changes, just put in where and when you want to go.
Air
The fastest and most stylish way to travel to Glasgow - you don't get free peanuts on the megabus! However it could be the most expensive. In general, flights from major airports (London and Manchester) will be reasonably cheap, but flights from smaller regional airports (ie Cardiff) can be pricey.
Glasgow Airport is about 15 miles from Glasgow, a regular bus service runs giving access to the city centre for £3.30 single, £5 return. A taxi would be about £20.
Bus Airport Bus Timetable
British Airways - regular flights to/from loads of places, but mainly London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, and Southampton. Prices start from around £70 for a return, including tax, which is pretty good value, and you're much less likely to be up the proverbial if something goes wrong.
British Midland - Flights to Leeds Bradford, London Heathrow, and Manchester. Prices similar to British Airways, perhaps cheaper.
EasyJet - fly to Glasgow from London Luton, Stanstead, Bristol, and Belfast. Tickets from London are around £13, one way, excl taxes and fees (so nearer £35).
Ryanair - fly into Prestwick Airport, about 35 miles from Glasgow, but not Glasgow. A train service runs to Glasgow central, takiong about 45 minutes, so if you can get a cheap plane ticket this is just as good as flights to Glasgow itself. Ryanair fly to Glasgow from Bournemouth, Stanstead, and Dublin.
FlyBe - flights to Birmingham, Norwich, Exeter, Belfast, and Southampton. Some flights can be pricey, but others are free (just tax). Could get some bargains.
Other
There are many other forms of transport, including walking, horseback, hot-air balloon, and hiding in a friend's suitcase. If anyone turns up to the gig dressed as a suitcase, Chris will buy them a drink.
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How to get to Tut's
Tut's is pretty much in the centre of glasgow, and is really easy to get to. Its around 15 minutes walk from Queen Street Station and Buchannan Bus Station, and 5-10 minutes from Central Station. Use the map above to find St Vincent Street, and walk west-ward (ie uphill). Just past the top of the hill, King Tut's is in a basement on the right hand side. It's just past stereo stereo, a nice upmarket hi-fi shop.
Posted by Beatspete at September 11, 2005 08:49 PM