University of Glasgow campus tour: the Cloisters and the West End

The University of Glasgow was founded in 1451 by a papal bull, which makes it the second-oldest university in Scotland and the fourth-oldest in the English-speaking world. For its first four centuries it stood on the High Street, near the cathedral. In 1870 it moved west to Gilmorehill, a ridge above the River Kelvin, and built the towered Gothic building that still defines the skyline of the West End. This guide walks through that campus and the neighbourhood around it.

Finding your way around Gilmorehill

The campus is compact and easy to read. University Avenue runs along the top of the hill. On its south side is the historic main building, looking out over Kelvingrove Park. On the north side are the library, the Hunterian Art Gallery, a large modern learning hub and the streets of terraced houses that hold many academic departments. Byres Road, the high street of the West End, is a few minutes' walk to the west.

The Gilbert Scott Building

The main building was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of St Pancras station in London, and it is one of the largest Gothic Revival buildings in Britain. It is laid out around two quadrangles, east and west, with the tower between them on the south front. Scott died before it was finished, and his son John Oldrid Scott added the open stone spire in the 1880s.

Walk around to the flagpole on the south terrace for the view: Kelvingrove Park below, the red sandstone museum beyond it, and the River Clyde in the distance.

The Cloisters and Bute Hall

Between the two quadrangles are the Cloisters, also called the Undercroft: rows of stone columns carrying a ribbed vault. They are the most photographed spot on campus. Directly above is Bute Hall, the grand hall where graduation ceremonies and examinations take place.

The Hunterian

The Hunterian is the oldest public museum in Scotland. It opened in 1807 to house the collections of William Hunter, an anatomist and physician who had studied at Glasgow and left his specimens, coins, books and paintings to the university. The museum occupies a galleried hall inside the main building.

Across University Avenue, the Hunterian Art Gallery has a notable collection of works by James McNeill Whistler, and attached to it is the Mackintosh House, a careful reconstruction of the interiors of the home of the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the artist Margaret Macdonald.

The chapel and the Lion and Unicorn Staircase

On the west side of the main building is the Memorial Chapel, completed in 1929 in memory of members of the university who died in the First World War; the names of those lost in the Second were added later. Beside it, the Lion and Unicorn Staircase is a piece of the 17th-century college on the High Street, taken down and rebuilt here when the university moved. Pearce Lodge, at the north-east gate, was put together in the same way from the old college's gateway.

Libraries and newer buildings

The university library is the tall concrete tower on Hillhead Street, with a dozen floors of study space and wide views from the upper levels. On University Avenue, the James McCune Smith Learning Hub is named after a Glasgow graduate who, in 1837, became the first African American to earn a medical degree.

Not everything is at Gilmorehill. The veterinary school and the main sports grounds are at Garscube, a few kilometres to the north-west.

Student life and the two unions

Unusually, Glasgow has two student unions, each with its own building, bars and events: the Glasgow University Union, founded in the 1880s and known for its debating, and the Queen Margaret Union, which began as the union for women students. A separate students' council represents students to the university, and a sports association runs the clubs.

University residences are spread around the West End and the north of the city; the largest, the student village on Murano Street, is about twenty minutes' walk from campus. After first year, most students rent tenement flats in Hillhead, Partick, Woodlands and Kelvinbridge.

Kelvingrove and the West End

Kelvingrove Park drops down the hill from the university to the River Kelvin, and paths follow the river in both directions. At the foot of the park is the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the city's best-loved museum. In the other direction, at the top of Byres Road, the Botanic Gardens have Victorian glasshouses and lawns that fill up on sunny days.

Byres Road and the lanes off it are where students eat, drink and shop. Ashton Lane, a cobbled lane strung with lights, has bars, restaurants and a small cinema.

Glasgow's graduates and staff include the economist Adam Smith, who studied and later taught here; James Watt, who worked at the university as an instrument maker while developing his improvements to the steam engine; and the physicist Lord Kelvin, a professor for more than fifty years, who took his title from the river below the campus.

Seeing the campus for yourself

The grounds are open, and visitors can generally walk through the quadrangles and Cloisters during the day. The Hunterian's museum and art gallery are open to the public on most days. The university holds events for prospective students and offers tours; days, times and booking arrangements change, so check the university's official visitor pages for current details.

Getting there and around

• Subway: Hillhead station, on Byres Road, is the closest stop on Glasgow's small circular Subway; Kelvinbridge and Kelvinhall are also within walking distance.
• By train: Glasgow Central has trains from London Euston, taking around four and a half to five hours, and Glasgow Queen Street has frequent trains from Edinburgh, taking about fifty minutes. From either, the Subway or a bus reaches the West End in ten to fifteen minutes.
• By air: Glasgow Airport is west of the city, with an express bus to the centre.

Where families usually base themselves

• The West End: closest to the university, with small hotels and guesthouses around Byres Road and Great Western Road.
• Finnieston: between the West End and the centre, known for its restaurants, and a walk through Kelvingrove Park from campus.
• The city centre: the widest choice, near the stations and the shops.

If you are looking at more than one Scottish university, see our guides to the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews. Glasgow is also the usual starting point for a Scottish Highlands road trip.

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Cover photo: Twospoonfuls, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons