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    Recommended Reviews - Tolbooth Steeple

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    Duke of Wellington Statue - Perfect traffic cone Duke of Wellington with a seagull landed at the right moment

    Duke of Wellington Statue

    (14 reviews)

    City Centre

    Banksy has declared this as his favorite work of art in the UK and it matches that artist's own…read morestyle and humor. The statue of the Duke of Wellington on a horse was sculpted in the late 18th century but has been famous since the 80s for the cone on its head. It's public, guerilla, and collaborative. Different "special cones" have been placed on the head to commemorate events such as Olympic gold wins but the one you will typically see is the orange traffic cone. There are other statues nearby with scarves and hats added by the public but this is the most famous. A friend from Glasgow told me how he got the cone on and despite the height I can see how locals could easily get a cone on the head when no one is around around. The tradition on has spread and I saw it on some statues in Edinburgh, but nothing beats the original. If you go in for a closet look there are stickers slapped on and little doodles. Lots near the horses rear :)

    I knew that when I visited Scotland I would make a point to stop by the Duke of Wellington Statue…read more The statue was placed in honor of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. It was erected in 1844 and stands on the Royal Exchange Square. For over 140 years the statue stood untouched but by the early 1980's a jokester placed a traffic come on his head. Since it's first occurrence the Glasgow City Council and the police have exhausted themselves attempting to permanently remove the traffic cone. For over thirty years each time the cone is removed a new one appears within days. The council not only did not want the cone on the head of this statue but they also worried about someone getting hurt or cause damage to the statue while replacing the cone. In 2013 they came up with the bright idea to double the height of the statue to put an end to the shenanigans. This caused a "Keep the Cone" movement. In the end everyone agreed that the placing the cone on the statue is not an act of vandalism. The statue with the cone on his head is a representation of local culture. The cone is allowed to stay and is on a list of the top ten most bizarre monuments on earth. I think that this is a great story and shows off an awesome sense of humor and the ability for the government to stand down and allow the people to express themselves.

    Royal Exchange Square

    Royal Exchange Square

    (7 reviews)

    City Centre

    4.5 star rating on yelp I am not convinced…read more In my mind this really was a square you would walk past without hardly even noticing it if I am being honest. So I have had to have a think as to what would bring it such high ratings. Plus points for me are of course the duke of Wellington statue. For some reason like many Glaswegians I love the cone on his head, just says something about our sense of humour I think. But... It has its own yelp listings so can be rated highly on its own. I'm struggling to think of anything much else. It's got some nice shiny Christmas lights that hang over it at night and look pretty ........ Ohhh and there are some bars and restaurants as well that could be worth a wee look .... And that's about it. Average square. Average 3 star rating.

    Royal Exchange Square is one of those breathtaking places in Glasgow that you can wander into and…read morefeel like you've been transported back in time, or to a city on the continent. It is a really gorgeous space, with welcoming archways from Buchanan Street. One of the archways (the more southern one) has scaffolding on it just now to repair it, but I believe the other one is just as beautiful as ever. I love the fairy lights they have up here during the winter, I just wish they'd leave them up year round. Yes, I know that Glasgow doesn't get dark til 11pm in summer but they're still so beautiful. We had our wedding photos taken in this square and the photos are a really gorgeous reminder of what a wonderful city is. We even got a photo with the Duke of Wellington statue with a cone on his head (a daily occurrence in Glasgow).

    Tolbooth Steeple - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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