Getting to Glasgow
By Train
During the day
Apart from reducing CO2 emissions, travelling to Scotland by train means travelling through great landscapes . Whether you are passing through the Lake District and the North Pennines on the West Coast route, or along the East coast through Berwick to Edinburgh, the views are stunning.
Trains on the West Coast line run via Birmingham, Manchester and Carlisle straight to Glasgow. If you are travelling on the East Coast line via Sheffield and Newcastle, you will have plenty of quick connections from Edinburgh (every 15 minutes at peak times) that take less than 50min to Glasgow.
Delegates travelling from the South can also change trains in Birmingham to get on to the West Coast line easily.
Tickets can be bought from many providers, including Scotrail.
During the night
If you are travelling from the South East and less keen on the views, but would like to save on your hotel accommodation, the Caledonian sleeper is a good option. Leaving London after 23:00, it arrives in Glasgow at 7:30am it maximises time you spend awake at either end. You can also join at Watford Junction, but after this it continues up to Carlisle and then Scotland without further stops. Offering comfortable cabins with beds, the experience is very different to any memories of trying to sleep in an uncomfortable plane seat. (They have seats as well.) If anyone wants to spend the weekend before the conference up North, the train continues to Fort William with numerous stops (Crianlarich, Aviemore, Tyndrum…)
Trains from the South will arrive at Glasgow Central, trains from Edinburgh at Queen Street. Both are located in the city centre, approximately 10min by foot from each other.
By Air
Glasgow International airport is about 20 minutes from the City Centre and there are regular direct buses: Airport Express 500.
There is a also a slower direct bus to the West End (where the University of Glasgow is located), but it stops regularly, so is much slower. View the route map.
Coaches that run between Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow city centre take about 1 hour, but go along the M8, the main motorway connecting the cities, so this can take a good while during peak hours. This might be necessary for international travel, but is not a good option for domestic flights. View the timetable for this service.
By Car
The journey by car also has lovely views, but the motorways only become much less congested after Lancaster.
Please note you cannot drive a vehicle into Glasgow city centre if it does not comply with the low emission zone (LEZ).
It is generally the case that diesel engine vehicles registered after September 2015, and petrol vehicles registered from 2006 onwards will meet the required LEZ standards. You can see if your vehicle meets LEZ emission standards by using Transport Scotland’s vehicle registration checker.Â
Getting around Glasgow
The University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University are located in the city centre of Glasgow. The University of Glasgow is in Glasgow’s West End, so delegates will be in both parts of the city.
Underground – the Subway (not accessible)
Please note, you must purchase a ticket beforehand for travel on the subway. You cannot use a contactless card.
Glasgow’s subway is the third oldest in the world and has not grown since it was originally built. (We do not have Victorian steam trains running on the tracks anymore though!). This means that it is not very accessible, but for those who are comfortable with stairs, it is an easy option to get from the city centre to the West End. Since it consists of 2 circles there is no danger of getting lost.
For Strathclyde: use Buchanan Street station
For Glasgow Caledonian University: use Buchanan Street or Cowcaddens
For the University of Glasgow: use Hillhead or Kelvinhall
By bus (accessible)
There are numerous buses that connect the city centre with the West End.
No. 4 stops directly in front of Glasgow University’s main building and the stop is a 3 min walk from the conference venue.
View the timetable.
Alternatively there are regular buses along Great Western Road (no 6/ 6A) that stop at Byres Rd (at the Botanic Gardens), which is 10min walk away from the conference venue (walking South along Byres Rd). There are also buses going along Argyll St, stopping at the Kelvinhall/ Kelvingrove museum, which is 5-10min to the South of the venue (No. 3 and 77).
View the Glasgow map.
By foot
The walk from the city centre to the West End through Kelvingrove Park is very nice (on a nice day!). Calculate around 40min and enjoy the views.
In the City Centre you can walk along Sauchiehall St, or walk through Garnethill, where the Glasgow School of Art is based. Once behind the M8, you could walk up to Park Circus for a lovely view before descending into Kelvingrove Park. For a less hilly and swifter walk, you could choose Clairemont Gardens as a quieter alternative to Sauchiehall St.
The 3 Universities
The University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is Glasgow’s Ancient, Russell Group university and was founded in 1451. Based in Glasgow’s West End, the University of Glasgow campus can be found primarily along University Avenue (G12 8QQ).
Conference events on Tuesday will take place in the James McCune Smith Learning Hub on University Avenue (near to Byres Road). The building is fully accessible from University Avenue, and there are numerous lifts and escalators within the building to reach upper floors.’
View The University of Glasgow campus map.
The University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde is a research university located in Glasgow City Centre. The original institute was founded in 1796 and became a chartered university in 1964. It is Scotland’s third-largest university based on student enrolment.
The Wednesday morning and lunch activities of ALDCon24 will take place in our award-winning conference facilities within the Technology Innovation Centre, 99 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD. View the AccessAble guide for the building.
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University is Glasgow’s post-92 university. It is located just behind Buchanan Bus Station on Cowcaddens Road.
Conference events on Wed afternoon will take place in the Centre for Executive Education (CEE) building (parallel sessions; no 7 on the campus map) and the Govan Mbeki building (no. 4 on the map).
View the Glasgow Caledonian University campus map.
Accessible entrance to the Govan Mbeki building is via a ramp to the right of the main stairs. The CEE building has a level entrance, from where a lift provides access to other floors.
Luggage Store
If you need to store your luggage at the conference venue, please visit the reception desk at the university venue.