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CS East Kilbride Car Hire
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Located eight miles southeast of Glasgow city centre, East Kilbride is Scotland’s first ‘new town’ (more of which later) and the largest town in South Lanarkshire. Whatever your reason for visiting, it provides some unexpected treats! Prior to its most recent incarnation as an overspill town for Scotland’s biggest city, it was the site of a sacred well dedicated to the Celtic goddess Brigid. The settlement’s first parish church was built here and even the current church standing in this spot dates from way back in 1774. Another notable site in the town is the statue of Sir Walter Scott, while Calderglen Park is of further interest to history fans as it contains the ruins of Craigneith and Calderglen castles. The 20th century architecture here is complemented by the older pubs and restaurants in the old town (known as ‘The Village’) and there’s a decent shopping centre as well as an ice rink and several good golf courses. Meanwhile, if you like splashing around at your leisure (or fitting in a few bracing lengths to keep fit), don’t miss the Dollan Aqua Centre – it was Scotland’s first championship-sized swimming pool, and its architecture is inspired by the complex built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and Pier Luigi Nervi’s Rome Olympics complex. There are around 30 churches in East Kilbride for all Christian denominations and an Islamic centre which opened in 2018, along with a college, three high schools, several primary schools and a small but superb selection of museums and art centres.
East Kilbride is perfectly placed for exploring Greater Glasgow and the rest of Scotland’s east coast and Enjoy Travel makes car hire here easy. Book ahead of time and hiring an economy car like a Peugeot 208 here costs around £11 a day, a compact Ford Focus is just £12.50 a day, and an intermediate-sized Skoda Octavia is around £25 a day. Arrange hassle-free East Kilbride car hire and explore this unusual town and its surroundings in the comfort and security of your own vehicle.
Guide to East Kilbride
History
So what put the ‘East’ into East Kilbride? The answer is the post office, which added the compass marker to the town’s original name of plain old ‘Kilbride’ in the 1830s to avoid confusion with West Kilbride in Ayrshire. As mentioned, this was Scotland’s first New Town – built after WWII to accommodate houses and commercial buildings neighbouring Glasgow no longer had capacity for. This project continued apace over the next few decades and is characterised by distinctive architecture you’ll see in the newer areas of the area. East Kilbride’s industries today include manufacture, light engineering and food processing.
Culture
East Kilbride Arts Centre was established in 1994 and quickly became the town’s cultural hotspot. The building boasts a gallery space, studio theatre and café, and is used for professional and amateur theatre productions, live music nights, private gatherings and the varied calendar of art and music classes offered all year round. Meanwhile, East Kilbride Village Theatre opened in 1978 – located in the Old Village, it is the beating heart of the town’s amateur dramatics scene and hosts excellent productions by the EK Rep Theatre Club and East Kilbride Amateur Dramatics Society.
Famous East Kilbride faces
In terms of residents that have had a disproportionate influence on the world, East Kilbride has its fair share. Firstly, George Orwell wrote a portion of his dystopian classic 1984 while he was a resident of Hairmyres Hospital from 1946-48 (being treated for TB), and Scots playwright James Bridie lived here (at Rose Mound), as did poet and historian John Struthers. Meanwhile, other famous faces include the 18th century surgeons and anatomists John and William Hunter. Famous bands with links to the town include The Jesus and Mary Chain and Aztec Camera.
Things to do in East Kilbride
Swing into action
Fancy an active family day out in East Kilbride? You’ll love Aerial Adventures at the East Kilbride Shopping Centre, where there are high ropes, climbing walls, obstacles and slides aplenty. There’s a supervised climbing wall which older kids and adults can tackle, while kids adore the expansive, multi-level, play area which is packed with tubes, roller, ball pits and much more. With no less than 8 different courses onsite, you’ll never be bored!
Immerse yourself in rural history
If you’re a fan of all things farming and country, you’ll love East Kilbride’s National Museum of Rural Life, where you can get your hands dirty as you discover how life on a working farm has evolved over the generations. Fun for all the family, there are combine harvesters and tractors as well as cute chickens, sheep and Tamworth pigs. Furthermore, green-fingered visitors will appreciate the Garden Detectives display – an interactive sensory garden which brings the sights, sounds and smells of nature to life!
Enjoy the nightlife
There are a few nice options if you want to unwind over a few drinks in East Kilbride – Glasgow doesn’t have a monopoly on nightlife! Downtown Nightclub plays a mixture of chart and retro hits and it’s always a good place to bust a move while enjoying competitively priced drinks, while the Exchange Bar serves tasty food as well as a wide range of alcohol and soft drinks. Other options include Hudson’s and The Village Inn – you’re sure to find the right ‘local’ for the duration of your visit.
Eating out in East Kilbride
Amazing Asian dishes
Fancy some jaw-droppingly delicious Asian cuisine? The Wee Gurkha Curry House on Hunter Street serves perfectly prepared goat curry, fish curry and chilli chicken, Tandoori king prawn, Bhojpuri chicken, and funky fusion sides like haggis naan. If you’ve always wanted to experience the heady delights of Himalayan cuisine in a sumptuous central Scotland setting, look no further! Pro tip: be sure to book in advance, especially at weekends.
American classics
Transport yourself to a classic Americana setting in this diner-style restaurant. Filling Station serves US classics like deep dish pizzas, barbecue wings and stacked burgers comprised of succulent patties complemented by cheese and practically any topping you can imagine. Wash it all down with your choice of ice cold beer (if you’re not driving) or a selection of soft drinks. If you’ve always wanted to dine like a stateside gourmet, you’ll love tucking into the menu here – be warned though, the main courses are so filling that you might not have room for dessert!
Pub grub with passion
Yearning for a restaurant that combines laid-back bar vibes with a sophisticated menu? Number 38 Bar & Grill Restaurant is right up your culinary cul-de-sac. The a la carte menu boasts brilliant dishes like Moroccan spiced lamb cutlets, sublime seafood linguine, and sea bass fillet, while the comprehensive grill menu includes ribeye steak, fillet steak, and chateaubriand served to share, with hand cut chips, your choice of sauce and two glasses of wine. Fancy something sweet to top it all off? Treat yourself to white chocolate panna cotta, sticky toffee pudding or Sicilian lemon cheesecake.
Transport in East Kilbride
Airports
The closest airport to East Kilbride is Glasgow (GLA), which is 12.2 miles away, while Prestwick (PIK) is 24.6 miles away and Edinburgh (EDI) IS 34.1 miles away. If you’re flying into any of these Scottish air hubs and onwards to the town, arranging convenient airport car hire pickup is simple with Enjoy Travel. As Scotland’s two biggest airports, Edinburgh and Glasgow have a particularly good choice of vehicles from top car rental partners.
Local transport
East Kilbride’s local transport provision is supported by buses and trains. You’ll find the bus station at 7 Olympia Way, with services to destinations across the town and beyond. Meanwhile, East Kilbride train station is accessible from Torrance Road and offers a swift connection to Glasgow Central and onwards to the rest of the Scottish and UK rail network.
Driving
Driving in East Kilbride isn’t significantly trickier than elsewhere in central Scotland and the town has excellent road connections to Glasgow and other major cities and towns. It’s also perfectly placed for road trips to Lanark (in particular the New Lanark site), borders towns like Peebles and Galashiels, and attractions in Fife like Falkland and Culross. Hire a car right here for your East Kilbride trip and find the best model and deal for your travel party and itinerary.