I've had my eye on this thread for a little while and I think it's time I spent my tuppence...
You'll forgive me for rattling about West Country matters; I spent 39 years there and I've been in Glasgow for a year. There'll be a Bristolian bias to my recollections for a time until things even up at about the time I'm 78.
I haven't explored enough of Glasgow yet to know what's down the Clyde, but I see a tall ship beyond the armadillo which I believe has been restored having been rescued from afar.
The idea of retiring the QE2 to the Clyde is a mouth-watering prospect. Looking down on the city, the most conspicuous man-made object is Hampden Park. (see the "floor-mat" in the Kelvingrove if you don't believe me.) The QE2 is roughly the length of three football pitches and she probably takes up as much space.
Let's look down the coast to Bristol...
Isambard Kingdom Brunel stamped his authority on the hub of the West Country in no uncertain terms and the city celebrates him. He brought the railway down from London and built Temple Meads station; he designed the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge (completed after his death) and was the artist responsible for the SS Great Britain (for artistry she is.)
The SS Great Britain was launched in 1843 in Bristol Harbour. She was the first iron-hulled ocean going liner in the world and could reach New York in two weeks, a revelation to the well-heeled of the time as well as the third-class passengers desperate for a fresh start in the New World.
By one turn or another, she ended up in the Falklands from where she was rescued in the seventies and brought back to the very dock in which she was built. She has been the subject of a loving restoration ever since. She'll not put to sea again, the wheel having turned full circle.
She vies with Concorde as the pride of the city (the tour guide will compare their record-breaking times to New York...) and I recommend you pay her a visit if you're in town.
The SS Great Britain is licensed for weddings and two of my friends tied the knot there. Who'd want to go to church after that? She's the dominant feature of Bristol Harbour. She's got a little mate called The Matthew, a replica of John Cabot's ship in which he went exploring way back when:
Glasgow's shipbuilding output is legendary and it would only be fitting to have the QE2 as the jewel in the crown.
There's a Bristolian view and I hope it chimes.