Curious things to do in Glasgow
Author: Jools Stone
Glasgow is celebrated for its lively nightlife, culture, industrial heritage and dining. There is no shortage of flagship attractions, alongside more offbeat sights including street art, quirky museums and even religious relics . Prime yourself for an immersion into some weird and wonderful discoveries.
Got your spooky fix at the Glasgow Necropolis? Try the Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre for size.
The Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre is a unique collection of elaborate mechanical moving exhibits set to eerie music and narration which tell tales of subjects including Russia’s communist past. The theatre is the brainchild of Russian-born sculptor and mechanic Eduard Bersudsky and theatre director Tatyana Jakovskaya. Within its walls a gaggle of strange creatures and figures lurch into life clinging from gears and cranks, revealing a phantasmagoric world.
Top tip: There are two daily showings six days a week which must be booked at least a day before. One show is suitable for children and one is for adults.
Already ticked off the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum? Visit the quirky collections of the centuries-old Hunterian Museum.
Once you’ve exhausted Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum make time for the Hunterian Museum. Open since the early 1800s, it’s Glasgow’s oldest museum. The Hunterian is home to a diverse collection of items based on the collection of William Hunter, brother to John Hunter whose collection similar collection has a dedicated museum in London. Among the many oddities here are animal skeletons and fossils, Roman relics, coins, medical specimens and death masks.
Top tip: The collections are spread across two main buildings in Glasgow University. One lives at the Gilmorehill campus while the Zoology Museum resides in the Graham Kerr Building.
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Visited the Tenement House museum? Spy some stunning modern-day masterpieces at the Glasgow City Centre Mural Trail.
Glasgow is awash with high culture of course, but you can take in some dynamic art at street level. Glasgow’s City Centre Mural Trail takes in a series of eye-popping artworks, many of which now adorn abandoned or derelict buildings that speak to the area’s fading industrial past. The first mural was created in 2008 and the easily walkable trail has spread ever since. Today there are 32 artworks covering a broad range of subjects, such as badminton, animals, spacemen and prominent former Glasgow residents.
Top tip: You can follow a self-guided tour of these striking artworks by downloading an app or picking up a brochure.
Exhausted the Glasgow Botanic Gardens? Watch the spectacular natural phenomenon that is the Loup of Fintry.
Glasgow may be a densely populated urban environment, but you don’t have to wander far to take in some stunning natural wonders. One of these is the Loup of Fintry, a spectacular waterfall on the River Endrick near the village of Fintry and 18 miles north of Glasgow. From a height of 94 feet, water cascades down various levels towards the valley below.
Top tip: To experience the majesty of this waterfall it’s best to visit after heavy rainfall or when the snow is melting.
Once you’ve discovered the charms of the Glasgow Women’s Library, pay your respects to a famous patron saint at the Corpus Valentini Martyris.
The ‘Corpus Valentini Martyris’ lay undiscovered in a Gorbals church for over a century before it was moved to the Blessed St John Duns Scotus church, where it now takes pride of place by the entrance. This small wooden box, bequeathed by a wealthy French family in 1868, is said to contain relics of St Valentine. Several legends exist as to St Valentine’s identity, including that he was a priest executed during the reign of Roman emperor Claudius Gothicus. In AD496 Pope Gelasius I declared 14 February a feast day to honour the saint.
Top Tip: Celebrate an offbeat Valentine’s Day here at the church when the box is adorned with flowers and friars say prayers for lovers.
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