What's on inRenfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of local government in Scotland and is located in the western / central region. Along with two other council areas it sits within the boundaries of the historic Renfrewshire County or the County of Renfrew. The name is also used to refer to the region both as a lieutenancy area and as a registration county.

Although the traditional county town of Renfrew is within the council area, the town of Paisley, the main settlement, is where the local government is based. Renfrewshire is bordered by Glasgow, containing many of the villages and commuter towns of the city, and it sits on the south bank of the Clyde River.

Though a strongly metropolitan area containing towns such as Paisley and Greenock, Johnstone, Bishopton and Erskine and a number of large industrial areas it also features some stretches of quite beautiful countryside and unspoiled coastal walks along beaches and dunes, cliffs and coves. One highlight is Paisley Abbey, a Church of Scotland Abbey that was founded in 1163 when the High Steward of Scotland, Walter Fitzalan, signed a charter at Fotheringay to build a Cluniac monastery on his land in Renfrewshire. William Wallace was supposedly educated there and though it was destroyed by fire in 1307 it was restored in the 1400s. Another highlight is Paisley itself, a historic town and home to the sumptuous Paisley Pattern. In addition there are hundreds of walking, biking and riding trails and more than a dozen exceptional golf courses in the region.