| Glasgow and West Central Lowlands |
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The large area covered on this page includes more than the title suggests. Glasgow is perhaps the major tourist attraction but the area as a whole, which includes Inverclyde, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire has a lot to offer as well. The area is both the industrial and, as far as Ayrshire is concerned, the agricultural heart of Scotland and is the most dense populated area in Scotland as well.
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and has a population of 580,690, the total metropolitan area has 2.3 million people. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian, which is also the name of the local dialect. Glasgow grew from the medieval Bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, which subsequently became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with British North America and the British West Indies. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of Heavy Engineering, most notably in the Shipbuilding and Marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period. Today it is one of Europe's top twenty financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses.
Glasgow is home to a variety of theatres including The King's Theatre, Theatre Royal and the Citizens Theatre and is home to many municipal museums and art galleries, the most famous being the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Burrell Collection. Most of the museums in Glasgow are publicly owned and free to enter. The city has hosted many exhibitions over the years, including being the UK City of Architecture 1999, European Capital of Culture 1990, National City of Sport 1995–1999 and European Capital of Sport 2003. In addition, unlike the older and larger Edinburgh Festival (where all Edinburgh's main festivals occur in the last three weeks of August), Glasgow's festivals fill the calendar. Festivals include the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, Glasgow International Jazz Festival, Celtic Connections, Glasgow Film Festival, West End Festival, Merchant City Festival, Glasgay, and the World Pipe Band Championships. Ayrshire offers magnificent golf opportunities with over forty quality courses, including three Open Championship courses. The area is home to numerous visitor attractions such as magnificent castles and country parks. Ayrshire is also one of the most agriculturally fertile regions of Scotland. Potatoes are grown in fields near the coast, using seaweed-based fertiliser, and in addition the region produces pork products, other root vegetables, cattle and summer berries such as strawberries are grown abundantly. The granite mountains, ancient stone circles and the sheltered waters of the Firth of Clyde attract walkers, cyclists, fishermen and sailing enthusiasts. Ayrshire is also the birthplace of world-renowned poet Robert Burns, and there are plentiful reminders of the man and his world to explore here. There are several seaside places worth visiting in Ayrshire such as Largs, Troon, Saltcoats and Ardrossan where the Calmac operates the ferry service to the Isle of Arran, which also belongs to Ayrshire but has a separate page in the islands section.
Romantic Culzean Castle is located on the south Ayrshire coast on a rocky promontory with superb panoramic views over the Firth of Clyde. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The clifftop castle lies within the 600 acres Culzean Castle Country Park, offering woodland and formal gardens, and is opened to the public. Some of the facilities are a visitor centre, gift and food shop, second-hand bookshop and plant sales. Renfrewshire, to the west and south of Glasgow, has some interesting tourist attractions such as the historic Castle Semple Loch at Lochwinnoch which is part of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Coats Observatory and Abbey in Paisley and the Weaver's Cottage at Kilbarchan, in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.
Inverclyde and Dunbartonshire are situated in the Clyde valley, to the west and north of Glasgow. Dumbarton Castle sits on Dumbarton Rock, at the east bank mouth of the River Leven, where it flows into the Clyde estuary. The Castle has an illustrious history and many well-known figures from Scottish and British history have visited it. The castle was a royal fortress long before Dumbarton became a Royal Burgh, its ownership went from Scottish to English and back again. The castle was an important place during the Wars of Independence and was used to imprison William Wallace for a short time after his capture by the English. It was also from here that Mary, Queen of Scots, was conveyed to France for safety as a child. Mary was trying to reach Dumbarton Castle when she suffered her final defeat at Langside. In later times, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II were also visitors to the castle. To the east of Glasgow is the county of Lanark, East and West Lanarkshire.
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