I know what you're thinking: "Whit!? Clydebank?!"
Yeah, Clydebank. I LOVE Clydebank. Clydebank doesn't get enough love, in my opinion.
During the first few years of living in Glasgow, I had little to no disposable income (some things never change), so one of my favourite things to do was get on my bike and cycle out to Clydebank along the canal on route 754. Once there I would hit up all the bargain shops like TK Maxx, Lidl and my personal favourite, Wilko; seeing how much of a bargain I could score was like a kind of buzz back then. That being said, there is more to Clydebank than just discount shopping (although I heard they have a somewhat new Watt Brothers now)! Clydebank has a really interesting history as well.
Prior to 1870, Clydebank was largely rural, consisting of villages and farms mainly. In 1871, J & G Thomson set up a shipbuilding yard and rapid growth of industry and population followed shortly after. In 1882, Singer opened a factory in Clydebank, becoming the largest sewing machine factories in the world employing over 12,000 people. Sadly the factory closed in 1980 and the buildings were demolished in the 1990s. During World War II, Clydebank was heavily bombed by the Germans in March 1941 in what is known as the Clydebank Blitz: 528 people died with 617 seriously injured and thousands more homes completely destroyed and damaged.
Anyway, like I said: an interesting history that is worth learning about and you can at the Clydebank Museum in the town hall. After a stroll around the museum, you cannot go to Clydebank and not stop in at McMonagles for fish 'n' chips.
And then of course, get yourself up the Titan Crane like Dee Dee.
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