Visit Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle towers over Edinburgh city and is a fortress of a castle. It is one of the most spectacular castles ever built and should definitely be visited if you are near Edinburgh. It is over 800 years old and dominates the skyline over the city. It is also one of the most visited tourist attractions in Scotland. If you want to avoid long waiting lines you should book your tickets online so you can have a smooth day if your planning to visit. For full information and bookings you should visit the Edinburgh Castle website.

Gleniffer Braes Country Park

Now when spring is finally arriving, what could be better than a nice walk in the beautiful nature? If you are living in Paisley, and especially if you're living at Thornly Park, you have the nature just around the corner. Next to Thornly Park you will find Gleniffer Braes Country Park with a area of 480 acres. Here you can take woodland walks, enjoy the beautiful views, have a picnic, visit the waterfall or just enjoy the serenity.

Celtic Park

In scotland there's a lot of passionate football fans. Celtic is the best team in Scotland at the moment. Below video are from the game against Inverness 21/04/2013 when Celtic secured this season's title.

Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands are a beautiful landscape with astounding places to explore and see. The highlands are commonly known for their fascinating landscapes with an ancient history attached to them. The Highlands  is an inspiring region with a variety of options available for numerous activities. You can take your pick of what you want to do such as: Exploring famous lochs, visiting beaches, witnessing ancient monument, or experiencing almost any outdoor activity you can think of.

You can visit the highlands by any means of transportation. the stunning scenery provides you with new experiences whichever method of transportation you choose whether it is by train, by car, or with just your bicycle. For more information you should take a look at: Visiting Scotland

Day trip to Glasgow

If you would like to go to Glasgow over the day, getting there by train is the quickest way to go. With frequent departures you can take the train from Paisley Gilmore Street and be at Glasgow Central just 10 minutes later. The price for an off peak day return is £3.8.

Going there by bus is another option that will take you a bit longer time, the approximately travel time is 35 minutes. From Paisley you can choose between going with either McGill or First. McGill offer student discount and the price is £2.20. The price for travelling the same journey with First is £2.50.
A good thing if you choose to go by bus is that the ticket is valid the whole day, and therefore you can use it for other journeys during the same day.

Food stores

There is a wide choice of food store in Scotland. For those seeking a discount store Lidl and Aldi are for you! You can find almost all the products at very affordable prices. There are also stores like Tesco or Morrisons (slightly more expensive) where you can find fresh quality products. The advantage is that these stores are open very late hours (until 22/23h) from Monday to Sunday. For those who do not care about the price and prefer product quality, Marks & Spencer is a very good store for you. Despite fairly expensive price, the products are better quality than other food stores.

The grading system at UWS

The grading systems can differ greatly between countries. Here at the University of the West of Scotland you are required to achieve a mark of at least 40% to pass a module.

Easter break

If you're doing your exchange period in the spring, there's a perfect opportunity for you to do some travelling. University students in Scotland always have 1 week off due to the Easter holiday every year. A lionpart of all exchange students has at some point been to the highlands, and that would also be our recommendation to you. The picture below is from one of the most beautiful islands in the world: Isle of Skye.

Forever 21

Okay, this post is mostly for our female readers, but you guys might also find something of interest.
If you are eager to some shopping, why not visit the newly opened Forever 21 store in Glasgow? The store is located on the big shopping street Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow, so if you are in the area, the chance you will miss it is very small.
The impressive three floor store offers a massive selection of trendy and fashionable clothing  mostly for women, and at a very affordable price as well! They have also a huge department for accessories and shoes.
This is the only Forever 21 store in Scotland, so take the opportunity and pay a visit while your are here :)

Concerts, Live Performances and More...

If your a music fan, sports fan or just like seeing live performances then be sure to check out what is going on around Scotland. Scotland offers a wide variety of opportunities to go see bands live or watch a football match. The easiest way of knowing what is going on around you is by visiting ticketmaster. This website allows you to look for specific locations and displays all performances in that area. Or, if your looking for a specific artist performances then just fill in the search bar. All popular events are shown on the homepage, and ticketmaster is international so you can see where and when your favorite bands are playing. There is also an option to buy tickets through the website which then get mailed to you.

Armageddon, the strongest beer in the world!

The strongest beer in the world is Scottish!! And it is drank as slowly as a good whiskey. Called Armageddon, it displays the huge rate of 65% alcohol. More than ten times higher than usual alcohol content of most beers. It is all the same, sold 40 pounds (33 cl.)

Would you be willing to test it?

Low priced taxi company

Taking a taxi instead of the bus can sometimes be very convenient. But are you aware that the price for a specific journey may vary greatly between different companies?

One cheap taxi company that is recommended is Renfrewshire Cab Company. For the distance Glasgow-Paisley you will have to pay approximately £15. And between the University and the Airport the cost will be approximately £6.

When going with other companies you can be required to pay nearly the double.

After you have ordered your taxi you will receive a text confirming your booking. When your taxi is approaching you will receive another text telling you what the car looks like so that you easily can find it, perfect after a night out in Glasgow when several taxis are circulating at the same time!

The company have several phone numbers so visit their website to find out more.

Scottish high streets

It's not unusual that high streets in e.g. Glasgow and Edinburgh accommodate a lot of musicians. The music is  of course different from time to time, but something that's always a returning genre is the Scottish national instrument: bagpipe. Watch the video below so you get a taste of the Scottish high quality music.

Experience various food cultures

When living in student accommodation, your flatmates are often from different cultures than yourself. A great opportunity to get together and learn about other cultures, is to cook together. Cook a tradition meal of your country, and the next time someone else can cook a traditional dish of their country. This is a very appreciated activity and can be both fun and educational.

Scotland Railway

The easiest way to travel between Edinburgh, Glasgow and anywhere in Scotland is by train. Scottish railway options are plentiful and prices are good so you can get from A to B relatively cheap. If you like to visit Scotland then you should check out railway options in order to travel throughout Scotland as there are some excellent and breathtaking railway journeys. If you are looking for a simple ticket between cities you should go to scotrail for more information and ticket purchases if you wish. For some excellent railway pass options and a more travel orientated experience you should visit ScotlandRailways.

Nando's - Chicken restaurant

Looking for a chill restaurant to get a bite to eat?
If you love chicken and haven't yet tried Nando's, you must pay a visit as soon as possible.
You can choose from a selection of chicken dishes, and add up to 1-2 side orders. The next decision is how spicy you want your main chicken dish to be. The least spicy is called  "Plain...ish", (don't let the name fool you, it's is still pretty spicy). The most spicy is called "Extra hot", (only recommended to the ones who are used to eating spicy food, but can despite this be really spicy!)

There are several Nando's restaurants in Scotland, one of them is located in St. Enoch in the heart of Glasgow.
Since most of the Nando's restaurant don't take bookings and can be pretty busy, make sure you are there in time. You won't be disappointed!