A dog-friendly guide to Glasgow
Its very name alone is tempting: ' Glasghu ' in Gaelic means 'dear green place', and green it is – in parts.
Dogs will love sniffing about Kelvingrove Park, where a rushing river flows through its centre – ideal for doggy paddles on those rare hot days – and bandstands and statues make excellent perching places for picnics.
Those who need a good game of fetch will enjoy the wide open lawns of Glasgow Green, set right on the Clyde in the east side of the city, and if you're feeling adventurous, get out to Pollok Country Park for longer walks amid woodlands and manicured gardens.
With diverse neighbourhoods from trendy Southside with its neat rows of tenement houses to buzzing Finnieston with its student population, and the city's thronging centre around Merchant City, here's how to spend a great weekend in Glasgow with your dog.
Things to do
Glasgow is famous for its arts and culture, with a healthy roster of free museums and art galleries to explore. Sadly, dogs with a nose for the arts can't enjoy the vast majority of these, as pets aren't allowed in these spaces.
However, bringing the dog means you can go a little off piste and see a side to the city many don't. These are the best dog-friendly things to do in Glasgow.
Take a walking tour
Desperate to see some art but can't take the dog into Glasgow's galleries? Glasgow Walking Tours offer a fine solution to your problem: street art abounds in Glasgow, as does fabulous architecture by the lauded Charles Rennie Mackintosh. See plenty of both on a 90-minute exploration of the city, which takes in its history and geography for an all-round excellent orientation. Tours begin in George Square right by the regal City Hall, and they finish in Merchant City beside the Duke of Wellington statue, where you'll learn just why he wears traffic cone (or sometimes three) on his head at all times.
Daily tours from £12 per person; private tours start at £95
Police Museum
Forget the Met – Glasgow's police force was the very first in Britain to attempt to keep law and order on the mean streets of this city, and now there's a museum dedicated to its long, 225-year history. It's a tiny, low-key exhibit put together largely by volunteers and passionate collectors, but it's fascinating and has some deeply entertaining tales of grave robbers, tavern brawls and the UK's first ever police dog unit, whose first working dog was an Airedale-Collie-Retriever cross called The Executive. A fine hound, indeed.
Free
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow's 'tenement time bomb' needs action now
Labour MSP Paul Sweeney describes the state of the tenements as a powder keg. 'It is a time bomb across Glasgow,' he says. 'Mainly because when something goes wrong, people are caught out.' Glasgow is home to around 77,200 properties dating back before 1919. The tenements are home to more than a quarter of the city's population, and many of them are situated within conservation areas. But though many of the buildings are listed, the city lacks a cohesive strategy for maintaining their upkeep. Real fears have emerged that Glasgow's tenements will soon be facing an existential crisis unless something radical is done to protect them. Glasgow would cease to be Glasgow without its iconic sandstone and redstone tenement blocks. They make up the defining character of the city with their honey blonde or rusty red bricks forming the basis of each neighbourhood. In the 1970s, Housing Action Areas (HAAs) pumped in grant funding and strict oversight to save thousands of buildings but those schemes ended nearly three decades ago. The tenement stock is quietly sliding back into crisis. Mr Sweeney would like to see the HAAs brought back. A 2018 survey of Glasgow's tenements found that around 46,600 of the properties need structural, weather-tightening and restoration work. One third of the blocks lacked a factor and 5% were in serious disrepair, with roofs in particular in need of attention. The properties are more than 100 years old, and major components, like stonework and drainage, are reaching the end of their lifespan. Blocked gutters, leaky roofs and failing stonework lead to dampness and rot. Climate change means Glasgow is only going to get more rainfall, accelerating the deterioration. Since 1969, the council has had the power to step in on repair issues thanks to the Housing (Scotland) Act, and the focus has always been on the older, pre-1919 tenements. Big money was poured into the buildings in the 1980s to keep them standing, but now, 40 years on, major parts of these blocks, like the roofs, are hitting the end of their natural lifespan. And roof repairs can cost owners as much as £20,000 each. (Image: NQ) Councillor Jon Molyneux has represented the Pollokshields ward for the Green Party since 2017. The scene at this street corner earlier this month was all too familiar. The tenement across the road had been gutted by a fire in 2019. He says his inbox has been flooded by people who have been directly affected by the collapse, those forced from their homes. But he has also seen a huge spike in emails from homeowners who fear what might happen to their own tenement building. 'You have got people living in a block who do really care about maintenance and work, but it's hard to bring people together to get things agreed and moved forward,' Councillor Molyneux says. 'It only takes one owner to not be forthcoming, to not engage in the process, to then start to create problems.' Patchwork ownership of tenements means that while each flat owner is responsible for their share of common repairs, without a mandatory owners' association, it only takes one person to stall progress. There are currently no legal requirements for sinking funds, and absentee landlords can make the process even more challenging. Understanding your insurance coverage before tragedy strikes is paramount to ensure you don't get hit by any pricey gaps in your coverage. 'None of it is straightforward,' he adds. 'There is an opportunity for people who think they might be in a similar situation to understand what the situation is. And people have a legal right to request sight of building insurance.' The flat in Pollokshields that crumbled in July was already in a serious state of disrepair, its dramatic crash to the ground had almost been expected. But it sent alarm bells ringing for any other homeowner whose property was a tenement. Attempts to safeguard the collapsed tenement (and the other across the street) had been caught up in a bureaucratic quagmire with owners, insurers, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government all having to be consulted. And still, the issue went unresolved five years on from the initial blaze. The Scottish Parliamentary Working Group on Tenement Maintenance was set up in 2018 to bring experts and MSPs together in a cross-party effort to fix Scotland's crumbling tenements. The group's three key proposals were: five-yearly building inspections, mandatory owners' associations and a sinking fund for repairs. But five years later, the law has yet to change. 'The task of actually developing the legislation has been punted off to the Scottish Law Commission,' Councillor Molyneux says. 'It's obviously not going to happen in the current parliament. It just feels like it's not being given the political priority that it should.' The Scottish Law Commission is currently working on a final recommendations report for its project on tenement law and compulsory owners associations, which they are aiming to deliver to the Scottish Government by next spring. Councillor Molyneux says that in the meantime, Glasgow City Council should be considering a type of emergency resilience fund for those displaced by major damage that forces traumatic evacuations. 'It would be really beneficial, just to be able to make things a bit easier for people when life has been really tough,' he says. 'We should be thinking, how can we better support citizens in those situations?' Mr Sweeney says that Glasgow's community-based housing associations already provide a good 'skeleton' to implement common repair funds. A more refined process to help tenement owners finance repairs would go a long way. But what if the work needs to be done immediately? 'Rather than having grants, we could have a patient loan scheme,' Sweeney says. 'It could recycle the money into a common fund. It would make the money stretch further.' The council could also put together a building maintenance team, he says. A team to go around in a cherry picker with a hacksaw and some weed killer, destroying the ever-present buddleia and clearing the gutters while the street sweepers tackle the roads below. 'This year, we're celebrating 50 years of community housing associations in Glasgow,' he adds. 'That was a big intervention that was made to save the tenements that time around. We're now reaching a point where we need another big wave of activity around that scale.' Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
19 mid-priced bags our fashion editors can't stop lusting after
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more In the last 15 years, handbag prices have risen faster than those of jewellery. Today designer bags from fashion's biggest names (Prada, Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Gucci) start in the thousands. At Hermès, its famous Birkins don't go for less than £10,000. On the other end of the scale, high-street iterations may be trend-driven and cheap, but often they're made from synthetic materials, most commonly polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), rather than real leather. Unsurprisingly, they don't wear well or last under the weight of laptops, phones, your lunchbox and the rest. So let me introduce you to midi-bags: luxury designs, with quality that rivals designer craftsmanship – without the stratospheric price tags. They're not as cheap as the sort you'd find in M&S, but they won't totally blow the budget, sitting between £200 and £585. And best of all? They're made to last a lifetime. Edinburgh 's answer to quiet luxury at affordable prices comes from Strathberry, a bag brand fronted by the husband-and-wife duo Guy and Leeanne Hundleby, worn by the Princess of Wales, Meghan Markle, Margot Robbie and Katie Holmes. Their winning formula for creating sought-after midi-bags? 'Making products at the accessible end of the luxury space, but with the quality you'd expect from much higher up,' says Leeanne. This seems to be a common theme for the brands that occupy this space in the market, and it's a compelling reason to get involved. These are the midi-bag designers to get to know now. Elleme Founded in 2015 in Paris by self-taught designer Jingjing Fan, Elleme (derived from the French 'elle aime', meaning 'she likes') has garnered star-studded support for its simple, yet unique leather pieces, all made in Italy. Fans include Gigi and Bella Hadid and Beyoncé. If it's good enough for Queen B, then it's good enough for you and me. From £325, Courrier Tote Leather Cognac A structured tote bag with magnetic flap £365.00 Shop Dimple Tote Leather Cognac Trousse Woven Leather Butter Mini Boomerang Suede Cognac Chylak This Warsaw-based brand, founded by former art historian Zofia Chylak in 2014, draws on Polish heritage for inspiration. The stripes in its latest collection (see the hobo bag, left) are inspired by folk costumes of Urzecze, a region near the capital. Expect whimsical details: romantic bows, pearl embellishments and shell-shaped silhouettes. Bags are made in Poland, all from leather. From £125, Patchwork tote, £350 Small Hobo Bag 'striped python' Shell Bag Cream Small Basket with Bows Limone £360 Shop Liffner Sweden is a hotbed of new designers and Liffner, founded in 2012 by Paulina Liffner von Sydow, heads the trend. The brand combines creative minimalism with Italian artisanship – its bags are made in small batches at an atelier near Florence. I like the elevated Scandi takes on classics, such as the belted bucket and mini woven basket. From £233, Belted Bucket Bag Large Dark Brown £584 Shop Sprout Tote Micro Herb Suede £411 Shop Midi Leather Basket Light Brown Pillow bag Strathberry One of Edinburgh's finest exports, the brand was founded by husband and wife Guy and Leeanne Hundleby in 2013. Its signature? Elegant, clean lines and metal hardware, with bags designed in Scotland and handcrafted in Spain. Its Mosaic bag has achieved cult status; I count dozens on the front row each fashion week. From £195, Mosaic bag Osette Shopper £495 Shop Mini Tote bag Polène Founded in 2016 by three siblings, Polène is noted for its sculptural, organic-shaped bags. These are designed in Paris and produced by luxury leather specialists in Ubrique, Andalucia. Bestsellers include the Cyme and the Nodde in delicious neutrals. From £160, Cyme tote Nodde bag £490 Shop Tonca bag
Times
21 hours ago
- Times
Class snobbery is at heart of NHS gender war
Outside the tribunal in Dundee, Jane Russell KC, stopped to pet a border collie. 'Would that be a female dog or a male dog?' asked a mischievous Scot. Russell laughed nervously. 'Ha-HAH! Well, I don't know. How would you know?' she mumbled, then darted into the building. Does Russell, a keen horsewoman who celebrated taking silk by galloping through London on a steed called Jupiter, really believe biological sex is 'complicated', that babies — and, presumably, dogs and horses — are randomly 'assigned' male or female at birth by a midwife/vet? Or is this just fashionable sophistry she deploys to defend her clients NHS Fife and the trans-identified male doctor Beth Upton? Certainly for Sandie Peggie this postmodern conceit is no joke. A nurse for 30 years, she was suspended, put through internal disciplinary hearings and at this tribunal has endured scrutiny of every intimate matter, from her menstrual cycle to whether she loves her lesbian daughter, just for upholding a basic truth: sex is real. Of all such cases — and I've followed many — none encapsulates the shibboleths, snobberies and magical thinking of our age so well. Day after day we heard doctors and managers of Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, relate how they unashamedly closed ranks against a working-class nurse, whose rights, feelings or even basic humanity fell beyond their #BeKind purview. It started on Christmas Eve 2023, when Peggie rushed to the female changing rooms, fearing that a sudden menstrual flood — a common occurrence around menopause — had soaked her scrubs. When Dr Upton entered, Peggie says she told him he was making her feel uncomfortable and asked him to leave. But this incident, which sparked almost two years of litigation, isn't the most shocking. Twice before, Peggie had come in to change, seen Upton, turned around and waited outside until he left. She'd said nothing, just declined to undress in front of him. But Upton reported her anyway and — amazingly — his line manager Dr Kate Searle took his side: 'Beth felt uncomfortable with someone behaving differently like that.' Even silent dissent wouldn't do. The only acceptable course of action was for Peggie to tamp down her embarrassment and strip — only then could a six-foot-tall man's belief that he is a woman remain intact. Did Searle ask Peggie how she felt? 'I didn't make that approach.' Instead, after Christmas, Searle sat down with Upton and filled in an official complaint in which (she has admitted on oath) she incorrectly asserted that Peggie had compared him to the trans rapist Isla Bryson. Then, against all disciplinary protocol, Searle emailed other doctors to rally support for Upton, telling them to avoid 'foot in mouth' misspeaks which might stop Peggie, who was instantly suspended, being punished. Each day we learnt new ways in which senior hospital staff had persecuted a nurse with a flawless record. Jamie Doyle, head of nursing, wanted Peggie reported to the police. Upton claimed to have noted earlier incidents in which Peggie's hostility towards him had endangered patients. But no one corroborated these grave claims and an IT expert who analysed Upton's phone testified that these were not contemporaneous notes but added after the Christmas Eve row. (Peggie was cleared of these and other allegations in a separate hospital disciplinary inquiry.) Why did all of these senior people fall over themselves to take Upton's side, even at the expense of truth? Because trans identity tops an all-important oppression hierarchy and the purest form of virtue is being a 'trans ally'. To prove this, both the head of diversity, Isla Bumba, and Searle, an A&E consultant, claimed neither knew Upton's sex, or even their own. 'I've never had my chromosomes tested,' said Bumba. Does Searle do this before prescribing the correct drug dosage for a female patient? Of course not. No one really believes such absurdity: they mouth it out of religious obeisance. At the base of that purity pyramid are women like Sandie Peggie: boring, menopausal, the ancillary people who confront biological sex in every backside they wipe. Working-class Peggie doesn't hold the received opinions: Russell scoured a seven-year-long private Facebook group of nurses Peggie had holidayed with to find that she'd reposted horrible jokes about the Pakistani floods, is against sharia and illegal migration, and was initially upset that her daughter was gay. The notion was: this 'bigot' doesn't merit rights. But just as a black person who makes antisemitic jokes or a trans woman who posts 'Die in a fire, TERF' still deserve protection against discrimination or violence, Peggie, whatever her views, has the right to undress at work without being watched by a man. Now the Peggie tribunal evidence has concluded, the judgment will come later this year and she is predicted to receive a substantial payout. But the case of the Darlington nurses — who also objected to a man changing with them — is scheduled for a full tribunal in October; a similar case involving a Muslim nurse is pending, while Jennifer Melle, a black nurse who was racially abused by a trans-identifying male paedophile in police custody because she referred to him as 'Mister', is still suspended by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust. Four months after the Supreme Court clarified the meaning of sex, it is an outrage that public money is still being squandered while women fight for basic rights. Why does the Health and Safety Executive not remind employers of 1992 workplace laws which mandate single-sex changing? Why are NHS England and the NHS Confederation allowed by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to drag their feet? The ludicrous joke that sex is an unfathomable mystery has worn very thin.
