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Milngavie

United Kingdom / Scotland / Milngavie /
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Milngavie, pronounced "Mill–Guy" or "Mull–Guy", (Gaelic: Muileann Dhaibhidh) is a town on the northwestern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies approximately seven miles northwest of Glasgow city centre in East Dunbartonshire. Politically it is within the East Dunbartonshire constituency for the Westminster Parliament and the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency for the Scottish Parliament.

The town is part of the Glasgow urban area (officially the Greater Glasgow Metropolitan Settlement Area) which includes the city and its surrounding towns. Postal addresses are commonly given as "Milngavie, Glasgow" as the town has a Glasgow based postcode.

Milngavie is a commuter suburb, with much of its working population travelling to Glasgow to work or study. The town is served by Milngavie railway station on the North Clyde Line of the SPT rail network, which links it to Central Glasgow. The town is also a very popular retirement location, with an unusually high proportion of senior citizens. In the 2001 census the town had a recorded population of 12,795 in 5,256 households.

Currently the town is perhaps best known as the start of the West Highland Way long distance footpath which runs northwards for 95 miles to the town of Fort William. A granite obelisk in the town centre marks the official starting point of the footpath.

Milngavie is located to the north of the neighbouring town of Bearsden. Although the two are in close proximity, the social histories of these two towns differ significantly. Bearsden grew almost exclusively as a dormitory suburb of Glasgow for the wealthy and professional classes. In that sense both towns now fulfil a similar role. The two became a single local authority district in 1975, before Scottish Local Government reorganisation in the 1990s re-integrated them with Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs to form East Dunbartonshire, although transport and social networks link the town much more closely with Glasgow itself.

Certain properties in the locale can command some of the highest house prices in the greater Glasgow urban area. This has led to its reputation as an exclusive residential area and an aspirational destination for home buyers.

Governmental and tax raising boundaries separate Milngavie and Bearsden, along with other wealthy dormitory suburbs like Newton Mearns and Giffnock, from the City of Glasgow unitary authority area. These concentrations of the city-region's wealthy residents outside Glasgow's boundaries, while working and using facilities in the city but not contributing to the city's coffers, has prompted some [validate please] to call for tax redirection, however local identity and political forces are strong and any calls for inclusion within Glasgow's boundaries have been rebuffed.
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Coordinates:   55°56'28"N   4°18'58"W
This article was last modified 13 years ago