We love Glasgow. We love Glasgow even more in the summer - but there’s only so much time you can spend in Kelvingrove, Queen’s Park, or any other of our great green jewels until you start experiencing wanderlust.
We asked Glaswegians for their thoughts on the best places to journey from Glasgow for a day trips. We then put together this list with some of the best and most common responses - many of which are less than two hours away.
Get away from these crowded tenement blocks and city streets and escape into the great outdoors - seeing some of the best beaches, beauty spots, camping grounds, villages, towns, and more.
The good news is, there’s so much to do in the surrounding area around Glasgow - so many beautiful places to visit that are often overlooked by those of us living in Glasgow. So much so that we had a hard time narrowing it down to 12 of the best.
That’s why we put together this list - to put our readers on to some of the best spots to enjoy the summer outside of the city. Nothing quite beats a day trip, whether it be with friends or family, it’s an amazing way to make some beautiful memories.
From beach and loch front towns to beautiful nature spots and historic towns, here’s 20 of the best spots for your next day trip this summer.

5. Troon
Troon - every self-respecting Glaswegian knows it well. It might be a little old-hat by now but hey, if it's not broke don't fix it. It’s been a summer favourite of Glaswegians for generations for a reason Photo: Jeff J Mitchell

6. Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle overlooks the Firth of Clyde in South Ayrshire. While it is owned by the National Trust for Scotland today, it is well-known for being the ancestral home of the Marquess of Ailsa; chief of Clan Kennedy. Photo: matte0ne on Flickr

7. Helensburgh beach - 45m
Helensburgh Beach is well-known for being one of the most picturesque and most-visited beaches near Glasgow. | Shutterstock

8. Ayr Beach, Ayr
Need to get to a beach in a hurry? (who doesn’t?) - you can get a train directly from Glasgow Central to Ayr in just under an hour then walk from the train station to the beach in about 5 minutes. It’s the second year in a row that the beach has been awarded the title. | Visit Scotland