Finding a gift for someone that loves Glasgow history can be a bit of a challenge with so many websites listing irrelevant gifts. Glasgow is steeped in history and it isn’t surprising that history gifts and activities are becoming more and more popular. I thought I would put together an evergrowing list of Glasgow history gifts and experiences that I would recommend, as a history buff myself!
#10 Glasgow Ghost Walk

Edinburgh is well known for their fun and friendly ghost walks through the city and the vaults of the city, but we decided to try out one of the Glasgow ghost walks and found it quite a lot of fun indeed! The Glasgow ghost walks are full of Glaswegian banter and great wee stories from history.
I should mention that it wasn’t quite as good as the Edinburgh tours for the fact that you don’t actually get to go into any ‘secret buildings’, but the interesting stories from Glasgow’s gruesome past made it all worthwhile!
These tours are usually on deal sites like Groupon at Halloween, but you can also view and book on TripAdvisor here.
#9 The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is Scotland’s Centre for design and architecture located just off of Buchanan Street. This visitor centre offers a great tour detailing the history of Charles Rennie MacKinosh’s first public commission. The tour is led by very knowledgable staff that make the trip quite memorable.
There is a great view from Glasgow when you climb straight to the top of the building. Certainly is something that everyone interested in Glasgow history should visit.
Click here to find out more.
#8 Waverley

Have a great day out with a 1940’s paddle steamer that has been fully restored to the original 1940’s style. The Waverley sails from over 50 ports all across the UK so if a fantastic day out for the whole family! There are special events throughout the year to keep an eye out for and there is even a souvenir shop to grab some memorabilia and help support the paddle steamer.
Check out their website here for more information.
#7 Tenement House

Take a peek into what Glasgow life was like in the early 20th century with a trip to a Tenement house that has been frozen in time. This authentic tenement is a fantastic experience for anyone that would love a nostalgic trip down memory lane or if you are too young to know what life was like then, a great opportunity to step back in time for a while!
The tenement has that familiar hiss of working gaslights and lots of bits and pieces that were left by the original owner.
Click here to find out more
#6 Necropolis Tour

The Necropolis is one of Glasgow’s gems of the East-End and one of my favourite places in the whole city. The 37-acre cemetery is a fantastic walk through time with very old tombstones and mausoleums, a true peek into the history of Glasgow’s past. When you reach the top of the necropolis, you will have a magic view of the city.
The ‘Friends of Glasgow Necropolis’ run the official tours of the necropolis are the most knowledgable group on the subject and deliver a fantastic tour of the area. Their website also offers tour guide books if you would prefer to walk around by yourself.
Visit the official website to find out more.
#5 Tennent’s Brewery Tour

Arguably one of the most famous lagers to come out of Scotland, Tennent’s has been a regular drink in Glasgow for over 130 years! The Wellpark Brewery has a fantastic history with very interesting owners, each with loads of fun stories. The tour guides are enthusiastic and happy to answer any questions that you have and are quite knowledgable about the brewery.
The tour concludes in a small bar on-site that has a selection of Tennent’s lagers to try and a gift shop that sells memorabilia. A great accompaniment to your day out would be to visit the Drygate restaurant located just around the corner from the brewery.
Visit Tennent’s website to see more details.
#4 Glasgow History Books

Probably one of the easiest Glasgow history gifts would have to be a local history book. Just because it is an easy gift, doesn’t mean that it isn’t a great gift! History buffs love a good history book, so this gift is a win-win. Of course, no history book selection would be complete without mentioning Glasgow Pubs & Publicans and Up & Doon the Gallowgate. Both of these books are bursting with knowledge of Glasgow’s oldest boozers and the publicans that ran them. There is also a selection of great local Glasgow history books available at Waterstones. You can view the selection of books from Waterstone’s website here.
#3 Family History DNA Test

If you have ever wondered where your ancestors came from, but haven’t had the time to research your whole family tree yet, this is a fantastic service that gives you a breakdown of what country your family comes from as well as identifying your family tree matches.
We recently had one of these gifts in the family. It was really easy to use and the anticipation of the results kept us all guessing what country the distant family members were from. The guessing game was almost as fun as the actual results! Click here to learn more on the MyHeritage Website.
#2 Glasgow Central Station Tour

Get an exclusive look into Glasgow Central Station’s history with a guided tour of this fantastic train station. You are transported into the past as you climb down and explore some of the newly discovered Victorian platforms that have been discovered, untouched for decades! If you have been on this tour before, you will know how exciting this experience is and the best part is that the team are continuously exploring the platforms to find new areas, so you can go on the tour again and again to learn new things!
You can visit the Central Station Tours website here to book your experience or purchase gift vouchers too.
#1 Old Glasgow Pub Membership

No list of history gifts would be complete without mentioning one of the most unique Glasgow history gifts you can receive. An Old Glasgow Pubs membership gives you access to over three thousand of web pages of history, pictures and memories all about Glasgow’s pubs and publicans as well as an exclusive digital publication from history every month!
The great part of this membership is that by becoming a member of Old Glasgow Pubs, you are showing your love for Glasgow’s history and are personally supporting the continued research of Glasgow pub history.
The membership is currently available in a rolling monthly membership or as a one-off annual membership. Click here to read more about this membership.
I hope this list has been helpful in helping you pick some gifts or finding something for yourself! If there is anything you think should be included in the list, leave a comment below!