Watch: I took a trip on Glasgow’s open-top bus tour for the first time

The red open-top city sightseeing buses have graced Glasgow’s roads for as long as I can remember - though I automatically associate them with a tourist experience. They are part of my daily life only passively, I rarely even acknowledge the sight of them when I walk home from work.

Last week I was tasked with with the best way to see Glasgow and I’ve come to learn, the beauty of the city lies in its details; the people, the neighbourhoods and buildings. 

What better way to capture this than to drive through the streets and explore them on ground level. So suddenly this transport service became useful to me - mentally upgraded from a visitor commodity to a tool that may help me understand the city a bit better. 

Off I went then, I purchased a ticket online (£18 for an adult all day) and travelled to the meet up point on George Square, just outside The Alchemist bar. There was a bus there when I arrived so I jumped straight on and up to the top deck, scooping the final seat on the back half that was unroofed. It was a lovely day and the bright deck was a sun trap. 

I had joined the red tour which has 21 stops and visits the East End, City Centre and West End, going by the main landmarks on route (Glasgow Cathedral, People’s Palace, Clydeside Distillery, GOMA, Riverside Museum, Kelvingrove) and you can pick up some ear plugs that attach to a monitor at your seat which plays a live tour, giving a history of these attractions, in a language of your choosing. 

The bus is ‘hop on hop off’, meaning you can prolong the 90 minute tour and get off and explore the sites for yourself. When you wish to return to the bus find a stop with the City Sightseeing logo and one should be with you in no longer than 30 minutes. You can track how far away the next bus is through their website. 

Later this month the company is launching a Yellow Route which visit the Southside for the first time.