GREENOCK , west of Glasgow, was the site of the first dock on the Clyde, founded in 1711, and the community has grown on the back of shipping ever since. Despite its ranks of anonymous tower blocks and sterile shopping centres, the town still retains a few features of interest. From the Central train station in Greenock (also served by hourly Citylink buses from Glasgow's Buchanan Street station), it's a short walk down the hill to Cathcart Square , where an exuberant 245-foot Victorian tower looms high over the elegant Council House. A small council-run local information service operates from the building opposite the Council House, which houses the central library (Mon-Fri 8.45am-4.45pm, Fri 8.45am-4pm, Sat 9.30am-12.30pm; tel 01475/712555). On the dockside, reached by crossing the dual carriageway behind the square, the Neoclassical Custom House has an informative museum (Mon-Fri 10am-4pm; free) featuring the work of the Customs and Excise departments, with a display on illicit whisky distilleries and a computer game in which you search a ship for contraband. Clyde Marine Cruises (mid-June to Aug; tel 01475/721281, ) operates from Victoria Harbour, a few minutes from Central station, with daily sailings on a 1938 Clyde-built vessel which take in various Clyde coastal towns, including Dunoon, Rothesay, Tighnabruiach, Tarbert and Lochranza on Arran.

A hundred yards from the well-proportioned George Square, close to Greenock West station, the McLean Museum and Art Gallery in Union Street (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; free) contains pictures and contemporary records of the life and achievements of Greenock-born James Watt, prominent eighteenth-century industrialist and pioneer of steam power. The small art gallery on the ground floor contains work by Glasgow Boys Hornel and Guthrie plus Colourists Fergusson, Cadell and Peploe.

The best place to eat is the Port and Harbour Restaurant at Custom House Place (tel 01475/730370), which serves both a bar menu and finer-dining in a "Dutch brown bar" atmosphere. Morgan's brasserie on West Blackhall Street, west of the shopping centre, serves a decent selection of bistro-style food.