Carlisle to Glasgow drive: Best road trip stops, distance & time
By car, the distance from Carlisle to Glasgow is 96 miles, with a 1h34m driving time. The best stops to add to a Carlisle to Glasgow road trip itinerary are Gretna, Strathclyde Country Park and the M&Ds theme park.
Planning a Carlisle to Glasgow road trip
The Carlisle to Glasgow drive takes you from North West England to Scotland’s largest city. But the route crosses a surprisingly large swathe of Scotland along the way.
Good Carlisle experiences include birds of prey encounters and Coniston Water cruises.
For top Glasgow activities, try excellent food tours, street art walks and Tennants brewery tours. You can also use the city as a base for day tours to Loch Ness, Stirling Castle and Oban.
Carlisle to Glasgow distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Carlisle to Glasgow is 96 miles. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and 34 minutes, with most of the journey along the A74(M) and M74.
The best road trip stops on the Carlisle to Glasgow drive are Gretna, Strathclyde Country Park and M&Ds – Scotland’s Theme Park.
Carlisle to Glasgow road trip stops: Gretna
Gretna, just on the Scottish side of the border, is traditionally where young English lovers would elope to in order to get married without their parents’ permission. The Famous Blacksmiths Shop in Gretna Green still conducts these weddings and is otherwise extremely kitsch.
These days, most people visit Gretna for the Caledonia Village open air outlet shopping mall, however.
Carlisle to Glasgow drive: Strathclyde Country Park
Strathclyde Country Park in Motherwell hosted several events in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Along with the walking trails through the 400 hectares of preserved countryside, there is bike hire available, plus adventure playgrounds and a lake with bumper boats, pedalos and speedboat trips.
Of the 10 miles of walking trails, the most popular route is the easy-going walk along the loch shore.
Attractions between Carlisle and Glasgow: M&Ds
Also in Motherwell is M&Ds, which brands itself as Scotland’s theme park. It is by no means the most incredible theme park in the world, but it’ll do a job for most of the family. There’s a log flume, a runaway mine train and a clutch of fairground-style thrill rides.
Also thrown in at M&Ds are adventure golf, a soft play centre and a bowling alley.
