Mathematically Structured Programming Group

Computer and Information Sciences

University of Strathclyde

Accommodation and travel information

The MSP group is located in the University of Strathclyde, on the 13th floor of the Livingstone Tower. The entrance is on the north side of the building, on Richmond Street. The University of Strathclyde is in central Glasgow, near all of Glasgow Queen Street train station, Glasgow Central train station, and Buchanan Bus Station.

The following map shows several key locations (click on the link below the map for a larger picture):


View a larger map. There is also an official university map.

Travelling to Glasgow

By train. See National Rail for trains within the UK. Note that if travelling together with someone, it might be cheaper to get a Two Together railcard (or a 16–25 railcard if you are a (PhD) student). Both Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street Station are within walking distance of the University of Strathclyde (see map above). Trains from London take 4.5 hours. Another option is to travel overnight on the Caledonian Sleeper from London, which arrives in Glasgow just after 7am. If you are arriving from the continent, you can take the Eurostar to London, and then take another train to Glasgow (see The Man in Seat 61 for more information).

By plane. The closest airports are Glasgow International Airport (30 minutes bus connection (bus 500) to George Square), Edinburgh Airport (1 hour bus connection (Citylink Air) to Buchanan Bus Station) and Glasgow Prestwick Airport (40-50 minutes train connection to Glasgow Central).

By car. Parking in Glasgow city centre — where the University of Strathclyde is located — is expensive and hard to find. The cheapest and possibly easiest option is to park and ride.

Getting around

The city centre is quite compact, so walking is not a bad idea. Otherwise your options are suburban trains, the subway, bikes for hire, buses or taxis. You will need a separate ticket for each mode of transport.

Hotels

Budget. The cheapest nearby option is Eurohostel. It is also worth considering using Airbnb.

Medium. A convenient place to stay is the Glasgow City Centre Premier Inn, literally across the road from Livingstone Tower. (There are several Premier Inn locations in central Glasgow; the closest one is "George Square", but several others are also within walking distance.) Other decent hotels nearby include the Z Hotel in North Frederick Street and the Brunswick Hotel in Brunswick Street.

Fancy. The Moxy Hotel is also right next to the University of Strathclyde campus. If you want even fancier, there is the five-star Blythswood Square Hotel still within walking distance.

Renting a flat

Here are a few tips for MSP newcomers looking to rent a flat in Glasgow.

Generally, it can be a bit hard to find a place to live in Glasgow, especially for popular areas. Book many viewings, and try to be quick when you find a flat that you like. Viewings are often fully booked one or two weeks in advance, so you might want to start searching before you arrive in Glasgow. Most websites give you the option to receive alerts by e-mail when new ads come up — that is usually a good idea.

Areas. A good rule of thumb is to not look north of the motorway, east of Alexandra Park, west of Whiteinch or south of Mount Florida. The following areas are popular:

Websites. Most flats are advertised on Rightmove with a large intersection with Zoopla. It might also be worth looking at Gumtree for private landlords not using an estate agent.

See and do

Murals: there are murals scattered all over Glasgow that are well worth seeing. The city council has put together a mural trail (PDF with map) for finding them.

Glasgow Cathedral: an 800 year old church, with beautiful stained glass windows, less than 10 mins walk away from the venue. Right next door is St. Mungo's museum of religious art and life and Provand's Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow (the cathedral is not a house, but a building).

The Necropolis: a large cemetery on a hill overlooking the East End of the city. Impressive views, impressive tombstones.

Tennent's Brewery: Tennant's is the most popular beer in Scotland, and its all produced in Glasgow. You can go on a tour, which of course finishes with a tasting session. For a more hipster experience, the Drygate Brewery next door (part-owned by Tennant's) makes a nice selection of craft beers, and also puts on brewery tours.

Glasgow Green: this is Glasgow's oldest public outdoor space, and the larger park closest the city centre. It contains the People's Palace, a kind of socialist museum, and the West Brewery, which is a German-style microbrewery. The river Clyde borders Glasgow Green, and following the riverbank makes for a nice run or walk.

Pollok Park: probably the easiest way to see some Highland Cattle from Glasgow. Get the train from Central to Pollokshaws West.

Museums. All museums below are free, except for the House for an Art Lover.

Whisky distilleries. The following distilleries are more or less in Glasgow, and all offer tours.

Of course, if all you want to do is to drink whisky, then pubs such as The Pot Still or Bon Accord, or shops such as the Good Spirits co will sort you out.