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Renfrew
Town in Renfrewshire, Scotland

Renfrew

Renfrew is a town and royal burgh in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Plan a trip to Renfrew→From Prestwick, South Ayrshire

It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland, and is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. The town had a population of 23,809 in 2022.

Get in

Getting to Renfrew

Renfrew is on Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway), about 90 km west of Ottawa, at the junction with Highway 60. Shortly before Arnprior to the east, the highway becomes a freeway and is renamed Highway 417, and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. Ontario Northland, toll-free: +1-800-461-8558. Operates primarily in Northern Ontario.

See

Worth seeing

A historic downtown and many small parks, including Stewart Park behind the Presbyterian Church on Smith's Creek, and O'Brien Park, featuring the Swinging Bridge and a beautiful view of the museum and dam.

  1. 01
    McDougall Mill Museum

    A former grist/flour mill that was run by John Lorne McDougall on property brought from Sir Francis Hincks.

  2. 02
    Birthplace NHA/NHL Museum

    1 Ma Te Way Park Dr, nhabirthplacemuseum@cogeco.net.

  3. 03
    O'Brien Theatre

    The theatre offers popular current films, and a series of art, independent and foreign films in a restored 1930 theatre.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Logos Land Resort

    Water park with 3 large slides, a zipline course, and golfing.

  2. 02
    Renfrew Fair

    Midway rides, exhibits, demolition derby, musical acts and livestock showcase.

Eat

Where to eat

  1. 01
    Blackbird Cafe

    1694 Burnstown Rd,.

  2. 02
    Bonnechere Bakery and Bistro Fine Food

    A family-owned bakery, bistro and fine food emporium.

  3. 03
    Rocky Mountain House

    409 Stewart St, toll-free: +1-866-372-2210.

How locals move

Getting around Renfrew the local way

  • Get inThere's a range of long-stay parks off-site, with transfer minibuses.
  • Get in(The airport is in "Local" zone, so the "City" zone fare isn't enough.) McGill's Bus 757 trundles every 30 min to Paisley Gilmour Street railway station, which has very frequent trains to Glasgow Central, and outbound to Gourock (for Dunoon ferry), Wemyss Bay (for Bute ferry), Ardrossan (for Arran ferry) and Ayr.
  • Get inThe fare is the same by any route: in 2024 a day trip is £15 and an open return is £20.
  • Get inFor a day trip, park up at one of the outlying railway stations, if you can find a space among all the commuter vehicles.
  • Get inThe crossing takes 2 hr 30 min, with almost a dozen car ferries a day.
  • Get inFrom Europe the nearest ferry port is Newcastle upon Tyne, with overnight ferries from IJmuiden near Amsterdam.
  • Get inFerries from the Clyde islands and Argyll peninsula sail to ports "doon the water" at Gourock, Wemyss Bay and Ardrossan.
  • Get inIn the twentieth century paddle steamers ran between Glasgow and other Clyde ports, this continues with occasional sailings of the PS Waverley but these are only a realistic option for a day trip from Glasgow.

From Wikivoyage: Glasgow, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: DXR (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.