Greenock
Greenock Grianaig | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
Custom House, Greenock | |||
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County | |||
Renfrewshire | |||
Highway Authority | |||
Inverclyde | |||
Forward Destination on | |||
A8, A78 | |||
Next Primary Destinations | |||
Irvine • Paisley | |||
Greenock is a large town and port near the mouth of the River Clyde. It is part of a much larger urban area which includes Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east, and can almost be considered as part of the Glasgow urban area, although there are a few miles of open country separating the two. The town grew up around the docks, as did Port Glasgow, although Gourock is a more genteel place with elegant Victorian villas overlooking the Clyde coast, and is the first of a series of resort towns that grew up as day trip destinations from Glasgow, and later as commuter belt for the well off.
The town lies at the western end of the A8, latterly a Trunk Road, forming part of the main route from Edinburgh and through Glasgow. It comes to an end at the Bullring Roundabout, where the main road south is the A78, crossing to the coast a few miles to the south and then continuing to the Ayrshire towns of Ardrossan, Irvine and ultimately Ayr. The A770 heads west from the roundabout, curving around the coast through Gourock to rejoin the A78 near Inverkip. Along the way, it passes the linkspans for the Gourock to Dunoon Ferry, which crosses the Clyde to the Argyll resort town. Passenger ferries also run north to Kilcreggan from the Station Pier at the end of the short A771.
The A8 and A78 originally met further west in Gourock, with the A742 taking the short route south to Inverkip. However, there have been various re-routings and a rebuild of Greenock Town Centre, since the war, leading to the current layout. Much of the A78 is dualled to the south, where possible, although some of the route through the town itself is too narrow to be widened without demolishing houses. The A8 is also dualled eastwards, with a bypass of Port Glasgow through the former docks and shipyards, as far as the M8 terminus.
The only other classified roads in Greenock are the B7054, which provides a link through the south eastern part of the town, and the B788, which heads south east into the hills, eventually reaching the A761 near Kilmacolm. The A761 itself has climbed out of Port Glasgow, and also heads south east to Paisley.
Routes
Route | To | Notes |
Paisley, Glasgow (M8) | ||
Irvine | ||
Kilmacolm, Bridge of Weir, Paisley | From Port Glasgow | |
Gourock, Inverkip | Coastal Route | |
Strone | ||
Dunoon | From Gourock |
Links