Northern sights

AS THE globe gets smaller and standards of living improve, so too come fresh challenges. Previously untouchable destinations now lie within easy reach and in the new Millennium the world really is our oyster.

But with more choices come more decisions and picking the right vacation or short break is no holiday.

I like lying on a beach, soaking up sun, as much as anyone. But after three days, boredom sets in and the need to savour new experiences and find out more about our chosen destination sets in.

The same goes for weekend breaks; an increasingly popular way of dipping your toe into a new culture without breaking the bank.

I can just about manage a day traipsing the streets of a new city before the desire for wide open spaces and the tranquillity of the countryside takes over.

Rather like everything in life, holidays and short getaways are about finding the right balance.

Last autumn, I found the perfect mix in Glasgow. It may not be quite so glamorous or alluring as say Barcelona, Rome or Prague, but Glasgow remains one of my favourite destinations.

Brimming with culture and entertainment, it is brash, energetic, gritty and fashionable with less airs and graces than London, less resigned or reserved; a spikier version of Dublin, but softer than New York.

Unlike many men, I don't mind a bit of retail therapy.

All the designer names you can think of are available in Glasgow and there are plenty of independent boutiques, hidden treasure troves off the beaten track that make you feel rather clever when you stumble across them.

Dubbed Scotland's shopping capital, it must run London close as Britain's purchasing paradise and in a space much more compact than London.

If shopping isn't your bag, then Glasgow has more than 20 museums and galleries to contemplate. From the £75 million Science Centre opened in 2001 to the Scottish National Football Museum, there really is something for all tastes.

To cap it all - especially on a weekend visit when the plastic has taken a hammering - they are all free.

Of course, to really savour the atmosphere of a place it is best to just hit the streets, and simply wandering around Glasgow is a treat in itself.

It has been a glorious renaissance for a city which in the latter half of the 20th century had gained a somewhat unsavoury reputation.

But by the 1990s, its image had been cleaned up as the Victorian buildings were restored and the old warehouse of the Merchant City transformed.

Home to local hero Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow really is an architectural dream, a mixture of red and honey sandstone with the glass and steel of a contemporary city.

If nothing else, as the ice cold wind whistles down the pedestrianised Buchanan Street, you certainly know you're alive.

But if Glasgow was the ying of our weekend break, a short-drive, no more than 45 minutes, south-east of the city we found our yang and the world heritage site that is New Lanark.

After the go-go of Glasgow, we needed something a bit more slow-slow and New Lanark was the perfect antidote.

For those who yearn for a more gentler age, it is a perfect destination; a pertinent reminder of how life used to be. As you descend down a dramatic gorge into the village you really get a sense of entering 'the valley that time forgot'.

New Lanark Mills were founded more than 200 years ago, and were once famous as a model community under the enlightened management of Robert Owen.

Owen believed the key to a better and fairer society was education and used the profits from the mills, at the time the largest cotton-manufacturing centre in the country, to fund his ideals,

In an age characterised by 'dark satanic mills', he provided decent homes, fair wages, a village shop selling good food cheaply, free health care and schooling for youngsters, including the world's first infant school and evening classes.

It has since been restored as a living community with a population of around 180 people living in beautifully renovated sandstone tenements, and is an award winning tourist attraction.

Visitors can see a restored millworker's house, the village store has also been refurbished as has Owen's house where details of his life before and after New Lanark are detailed.

In the main visitors' centre there are working textile machines and a Jorvik Centre-type ride called the New Millennium Experience, where you can experience time travel and discover Owen's vision of a better future.

The latest attraction is the newly restored School for Children, where the 'ghost' of Annie McLeod, a ten year-old mill girl, tells of her life in New Lanark in the 1920s.

Without wanting to go over the top in praise, New Lanark really has something for all ages and interests.

Another building chronicles how the village on the verge of demolition at the end of the 1960s was transformed into a World Heritage Site within 30 years - a story in itself.

And to cap it all is the beautiful riverside setting of the village with pleasant and not over strenuous walks through the Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve.

During our autumn visit, it was as if someone had turned up the contrast button on the television just a little bit too much so striking were the colours.

We were fortunate too that on our arrival a family of otters had decided to make the stretch of river running by the Mills their new home.

To make the most of your visit to New Lanark, a full day is required at least. We stayed in the centre's hotel, which, perhaps not surprisingly, was previously an 18th century cotton mill which has now been imaginatively converted, keeping many of its original features such as Georgian windows.

Staying in the hotel ensured we were able to come and go as we pleased, at our own pace.

Having succumbed to the materialistic delights of Glasgow, a visit to New Lanark kind of cleansed the soul.

Anyone with a slight interest in social justice and, don't say it too loudly, socialism will come away with hope renewed.

The perfect package, not quite Owen's version of Utopia, but for a weekend break it comes pretty close.

Fact file:

Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board, 11 George Street, Glasgow, G2 1DY

Tel: 0141 204 4400

Website: www.seeglasgow.com

The Glasgow International Comedy Festival (March 20-April 5)

Website: www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com

New Lanark World Heritage Site

Tel: 01555 661345

Website: www.newlanark.org

Lanark Tourist Information Centre,

Horsemarket, Ladyacre Road

Lanark ML11 7LQ

Tel: 01555 661 661

WHERE TO STAY:

Glasgow

Bed and breakfast rates start from only £19.50 pp

For more details, telephone 0141 014 221 0049 or visit www.seeglasgow.com

We stayed at the Novotel Glasgow Centre

181 Pitt Street, Glasgow G2 4DT

Prices start from £30 pp

New Lanark

New Lanark Mill Hotel

Tel: 01555 667 200

B&B rates from £40pp

Website: www.newlanark.org

Updated: 08:57 Saturday, April 12, 2003