A Nerdy Guide To Glasgow

Are you a Nerd looking for a place in Glasgow where you can feel like you have found a second home? If yes, then great but if no, then surely by the title of this post you should have guessed this is not for you. Unless you plan to show it to a friend or relative whom happens to be Nerd, then you are welcome to continue reading. Though the interests of  Nerd-kind  reaches a notable length, a lot of these interests are shared with the majority of Nerds, which makes it easier for myself to compose this Nerdy Guide to Glasgow. Every destination that has been included in the list, are places that I feel are at the top of the  must see list, for a Nerd in Glasgow. 

Waterstones- Any Nerd that is in a dire search for a book shop as magical as Hogwarts (in the muggle word at least), or as comforting as hearing some mad man say "trust me, I'm the Doctor" then your search is at an end. Waterstones is a fantastic book shop with hundreds of books at reasonable prices. The pictures of Waterstones to your left, are both in Glasgow Central; the top one is literally a couple of minutes outside of the train station at 174- 176 Argyle Street and the bottom one is at 153-157 Sauchiehall Street. The interior layout of the shops are just lovely and well thought out. Not only do they sell an excellent range of books, . but also some stationary as well as kindles. If you still require some convincing, I should probably mention that inside the shop, is a costa cafe! So you shall be able to enjoy the luxury of siting in a comfy chair, with maybe some tea and biscuits at your disposal, whilst you are lost in the imagination of the writer and are surrounded by a multitude of books. What else you could ask for?


CEX- This stands for "Central Entertainment Exchange", a second hand goods shop that buy, sell and exchange a range of technology and entertainment products. These include: mobile phones, video games, DVD's, Blu-ray movies, computers, digital electronics, TV's, monitors and music CD's. For a second hand goods shop, the quality of their products are considerably higher than you might initially think. The shop is located, literally a few seconds away from the Waterstones in Argyle Street. Any gamer who is looking for all of the most recent games in CEX, you may be out of luck. Though it is surprising how recent some of the products they sell are;  some of their products in their stalls are ones that have been released in the current year, depending on what time of the year you visit the shop, but more likely the year before that.  There are also many games or DVD's from a number of years ago and remain to be of good quality. One of the main reasons that sealed CEX a place on my Nerdy Guide to Glasgow. was the fact that you are able to donate to a good cause through the shop, when selling a product to CEX either in store or online. Whether you wish to donate the full value of the product or just some of it, it will be donated to the charity of your choice. Though if you give 100% of the value of items in one transaction, then CEX will add 10% on top of that to your chosen charity. It is a brilliant shop and I would recommend it to anyone.

Forbidden Planet-   A science fiction, fantasy and horror bookshop. As well as books, Forbidden Planet sells  comic books, graphic novels, manga, posters, a variety of toys and other collectibles.The only thing about the shop that I would consider a "problem" is that it is quite a small, cramped shop; especially if there are a lot of people inside it. Otherwise, it is a very good shop with merchandise based on a varied amount of our favorite hero's from Doctor Who, Star Wars, DC, Marvel and so much more. Located at 168 Buchanan Street, it is very close to the Glasgow Royal Convert Hall, almost directly opposite from another place in this list, and ins't that far from the Waterstones in Sauchieall Street. It is definitely worth a visit.                                                
Game- From the title, you should already have deducted that this shop sells games; video games to be precise. Along with consoles and accessories. Game is another shop which allows you to buy and trade in your items. In return you are given a voucher to match the value of the products that you have traded in. So it is quite useful when trying to save money. In Glasgow there are three Game shops; one is found in the St Enoch Center on the ground floor, the second is on the first floor of the Buchanan Galleries (a couple of seconds up from Forbidden Planet) and the last one is situated across the road from CEX. It is the place to go for gamers who are looking for the most recently released games as well as some good prices as well.

Hamleys- Please understand, that it was not my intention to include Christmas trees into the top picture of Hamleys.  Therefore making you all depressed, by reminding you it is still five months and twenty four days until Christmas. It was the best one I could find. Yes I did count how long it is until Christmas! Why shouldn't I, it's a wonderful time of the year that goes away so quickly. Anyway, this shop is one of the worlds best known retailer of toys and in Glasgow, it is located on the third and top floor of the St Enoch Center. With two entrances, one of them is seconds away from the Waterstone   in Argyle Street and the other is right beside some of the seating areas for the food courts. For children of any ages, or for anyone who is still a child at heart  but cannot get the Kids Go Free train ticket. Any type of toy you can think of, Hamleys will most likely have it. Whether it's action figures, arts and craft, soft toys, outdoor stuff, vehicles, dolls, build it, or preschool toys, you'll find it here. A place as fun as Willie Wonkers Chocolate Factory (though I would advise that you don;t eat any of the products as I do not believe that they are edible).                              

Mr Ben- Here we have a lovely vintage shop, located at King Court, 101 Kings Street. Within contains a diverse amount of items of both time and fashion. Such as old fashioned cameras, kilts, skirts, trousers, shoes, dresses, jewelry, etc. It certainly is a shop full of stylish clothing and other interesting items. I have only been twice, but it certainly is a place that I would suggest to someone who is in search for old looking, but stylish clothing. You wont regret paying a well worth visit to the wonderful Mr Ben's.

Paperchase- Almost directly across from Forbidden Planet, Paperchase is the perfect for the stationary nut or arty person to go to. Full of stationary, gifts, gift wrap, cards (as well as personalized cards), art materials and  collections. Beautifully laid out with a great cafe upstairs. The shop is a great place to go to if you are starting you ambition to become an artists, looking for stationary for your first day
back at School, College or University and if you were just hoping to sit down and have a nice cake.  Speaking of cake, *leaves room to get cake then returns ten minutes later*. Anyway, what was I talking about... Ah yes, it is a fantastic shop and it is very difficult for any Nerd to just leave Paperchase.

Riverside Museum- Previously known as the Transport Museum, before being moved to the River Clyde, at 102 Pointhouse Rd; the museum is known as Scotland's Museum of Transport and Travel. Winner of the European Museum of the Year Award, when moved to it's new destination, it was given a brilliantly unique, quirky design. Inside all the cars, trains and other examples of history in the museum are well laid out and a great place for people to visit for fun and educational purposes. With a  wonderful cafe as well as outside food stalls and seating areas. Behind the museum is a Tall Ship in fine condition after being refurbished by the Clyde Maritime Trust; inside they have created a wonderful cafe and gift shop, as well as some play areas for children. All over the ship are some information points, giving you an idea f what sailors lived like in their day. I myself have visited it many times ever since I was very young, when it was at it's original place. I enjoyed it so much, that I decided to do my fourth year work experience there this November. It is a great place to visit.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum- Since the 2003-2006 refurbishment, the museum has been the most popular free-to-enter visitor attraction in Scotland and the most visited museum in the UK out with London. Located within Argyle Street in the West End, on the banks of the River Kelvin. It is a wonderful place with examples of history spanning over hundreds of years. Different types of old art can be found, as well as to size modals of different animals (including dinosaurs). As well as models of war airplanes, with many examples of British history and Egyptian history.  Not forgetting the "floating" heads. There seriously is so much interesting stuff that I can't simply describe it all too you, you need to see it for yourselves. It's that good.

Thank you so much if you bothered to read this whole thing, and I sincerely hope that this has helped at least one person in some way or form. So that this hasn't just been a complete waste of time because that would be quite depressing. These are all wonderful places, you must visit them!

Geronimo! 

Stephen