Getting There By Water
The River Clyde cuts right through the city with Port Glasgow located west of Glasgow. Although the port was vital to its success in previous centuries, there are currently no national or international passenger services operating directly from the city. However, ferry services operate from Northern Ireland and the Scottish islands to various Scottish ports in the vicinity. These include Cairnryan and Stranraer, both approximately 100km (62 miles) south of Glasgow, Troon, Ardrossan and Wemyss Bay, all around 35km (22 miles) to the southwest and west of the city, and Greenock, some 30km (19 miles) west along the River Clyde.
Clydeport (tel: (0141) 221 8733; fax: (0141) 248 3167; website: www.clydeport.co.uk) operates four ports in its 1165sq kilometre (450sq miles) jurisdiction, including Greenock, Glasgow, Ardrossa and the Hunterston Bulk Coal Terminal. The company is largely involved in cargo and handles some 7.5 million tonnes of cargo per annum. Ardrossan is a major ferry port on Scotland’s west coast, with a marina complex and passenger ferry terminal, while Greenock is equipped to handle large cruise ships, with a number of facilities including seating, refreshments, toilets, telephones, baggage handling and porters.
Ferry services: There are ferries from Northern Ireland to a number of Scottish ports on the west coat. P&O Irish Sea (tel: (0870) 242 4777, website: www.poirishsea.com or www.poferries.com) operate a Larne–Cairnryan service (journey time – 1 hour to 2 hours 15 minutes), Seacat Scotland (tel: (01292) 319 103; website: www.seacat.co.uk) sails between Belfast and Troon (journey time – 2 hours 30 minutes) and Stena Line (tel: (08705) 707 070; website: www.stenaline.co.uk) connects Belfast and Stranraer (journey time – 1 hour 45 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes). Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries (tel: (01475) 650 100; website: www.calmac.co.uk) runs inter-island services up and down Scotland’s West Coast.
Transport to the city: Troon, Stranraer, Ardrossan, Wemyss Bay and Greenock are all connected to Glasgow by rail, with services operated by Scotrail (tel: (0845) 755 0033; website: www.scotrail.co.uk). At Greenock Harbour there are shuttle buses and taxis available to take passengers to the train station for connections to Glasgow. National Rail Enquiries (tel: (08457) 484 950; website: www.nationalrail.co.uk) provides 24-hour information for all train companies in the Britain. The A77 runs north–south between Cairnryan and Glasgow.
|
Getting There By Water