Today Braehead is primarily associated with shopping and leisure, with the Braehead Shopping Centre and Xscape as major draws for visitors.
However, the ship building history of the area is still
apparent.
The King George V Dock (map reference 3) survives as a
working dock at the east end of the site, though it can only be
seen from the north bank. It was constructed in 1931, the last
major dock to be developed on the Clyde. It had an open entrance
for the benefit of increasingly large vessels.
Opposite, on the north bank,was the Scotstoun yard of Charles
Connell & Co, founded in 1861 but which closed in 1971. To the
west are the massive grey early 20th century engineering sheds,
originally set up to manufacture heavy gunmountings for naval
warships. Later this became Harland & Wolff's Diesel Engine
Works. Beyond these, you can see the working Scotstoun shipbuilding
yard established by Sir Alfred Yarrow in 1906.
View Braehead on Google maps (opens in new
window).
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Clyde View Park includes sculptures by the artist Kenny Munro who worked with local school children to create pieces that would commemorate the shipbuilding history of the area.
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George V dock was the last dock to be built on the Clyde and is still in use today.