Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow

Greater Glasgow

Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...

 conurbation.

It is a small, affluent area, population 4,778 (in 2001). The district borders the other Eastwood suburbs of Giffnock

Giffnock

Giffnock is a wealthy, dormitory suburb of Glasgow in the East Renfrewshire Council area, within the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

, Busby

Busby, East Renfrewshire

Busby is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Busby's close proximity to Glasgow effectively makes it a suburb of the city, though remains administratively separate. It lies on the White Cart Water south of Glasgow City Centre.-History:...

 and Netherlee

Netherlee

-Education:There is one non-denominational primary school in the area, Netherlee Primary School. It was opened in 1933 to serve the growing population and was extensively modernised and expanded in the 1990s. It currently has 25 classes and a roll of around 730. It is one of the highest ranked...

, and is served by Clarkston railway station

Clarkston railway station

Clarkston railway station is a railway station in the small town of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Glasgow South Western Line.- History :...

 on the Glasgow South Western Line

Glasgow South Western Line

The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.- History :...

 branch to East Kilbride

East Kilbride

East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...

.

On 21 October 1971 the shopping centre was the scene of the Clarkston explosion

Clarkston explosion

The Clarkston explosion was a disaster that occurred on 21 October 1971 at a shopping centre in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, near Glasgow, Scotland. The death toll has been stated variously as 21 and 22....

, which killed 22 people and injured around 100.

In 2006, plans were, despite numerous objections, approved to build a public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 by Clarkston toll, putting an end to the "dry area" which has made Clarkston unique.

Greenbank Garden

Greenbank Garden

Greenbank Garden, Clarkston, near Glasgow, Scotland is an 18th-century house and garden owned and operated by the National Trust for Scotland and open to the public. The house is situated about six miles from the centre of Glasgow. The house has sixteen rooms, and also barns, stables and a walled...

, a National Trust for Scotland

National Trust for Scotland

The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...

 property, is located on the outskirts of Clarkston.

Geography

Notable people

Pop musicians associated with Clarkston include former Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...

 and Motörhead guitarist Brian "Robbo" Robertson who was born locally. Stuart Murdoch

Stuart Murdoch (musician)

Stuart Lee Murdoch is a Scottish musician, and the lead singer and songwriter for the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian. The majority of his childhood was spent a stone's throw from the birthplace of Robert Burns in Alloway, Ayr until he left school and attended university in...

 and David Wilde, of Glaswegian bands Belle and Sebastian and Altered Images

Altered Images

Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...

 respectively, grew up in the area. Opera director David McVicar

David McVicar

David McVicar is a Scottish opera and theatre director. He attended Netherlee Primary School and then Williamwood High School. He studied as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1989...

 also comes from Clarkston.

Novelist Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean

Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, all three having been made into successful films...

 lived in the area before moving to Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 as a tax exile.

Co-founder of Interflora

Interflora

Interflora is the most commonly used name for a group of organisations worldwide, providing florists with a brand under which flowers can be purchased and delivered to 140 countries, most with their own partnership, or unit.- History :...

Joe Dobson lived in Eaglesham Road, Clarkston from 1927-1942 in a house called "Kings Down".

External links

• Information on the Clarkston gas explosion