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.

13. Gourock
Gourock is a lovely wee spot on the Firth of Clyde. Check out the Gourock Outdoor Pool in the Summer, which recently featured as an album cover for Blur. | Contributed Photo: John Devlin

14. The Kelpies
New and exclusive tours of The Kelpies are being offered in the tenth anniversary year. If you fancy checking out some massive metal horses, now is the best time to do it. Photo: Michael Gillen

15. Ardrossan
Ardrossan is great for a lovely wee seaside walk. It's underrated compared to a lot of the other seaside Ayrshire towns, so if you want to get away and miss the crowds, choose Ardrossan. | Canva/Getty Images

16. Stirling Castle
Who needs Edinburgh when we have Stirling right on our doorstep? Get involved with the history with a tour of the ancient castle, they even have actors who play timely roles, what a concept. | Canva/Getty Images