Streets AHEAD
Byres Road is still on top for eating, shopping and great nights out
IN a city renowned for lively, individual communities, Byres Road can still claim to be the best-known street which automatically conjures up a vision of a fabulous place to live, work and play. This area is home to students, families of all ages, young professionals and many people who’ve made their working lives here and are now enjoying a busy retirement in the same place. At this time of year it’s even busier than usual as students start university and a new batch of enthusiasts discover all the delights it has to offer. It’s within easy walking distance of Kelvindale, Partick, Dowanhill and Maryhill, making it a popular place for shopping, eating and partying the night away. Tenement and modern flats, mews cottage and the occasional house provide an interesting selection of housing options around the street. At the top of Byres Road the Botanic Gardens has been a major attraction for nearly 200 years, with its mix of beautiful walks, glasshouses full of exotic plants and stunning plots and flowerbeds. There are regular book sales and cultural events here, including Bard in the Botanics, with many people in the area seeing it as the perfect example of Glasgow’s dearly beloved green spaces. There’s considerably more to Byres Road than the main thoroughfare, though that has every kind of shop and business needed to give it a sense of completeness. Whether you want to meet a friend for coffee, ‘There’s considerably more to Byres Road than the main thoroughfare’’ get your eyes tested, buy a flat or do some research in a library, it’s all there. The added detail comes in the warren of smaller streets beside Byres Road, especially Ashton Lane, Ruthven Lane and Cresswell Lane. A narrow cobble lane takes you into Ashton Lane, where you have a wide choice of bars and restaurants, alongside a cinema with wonderfully comfy seats and the option of bringing in your drinks to make a night of it. The clientele in Ashton Lane is a great mix which reflects those who use and enjoy Byres Road and is particularly evident at festivals and other celebrations, as it’s bursting with enthusiasm and general good cheer. Ruthven Lane is on the other side of Byres Road, with the focus here on great restaurants with a wide range of small independent businesses, from preloved clothes to all sorts of beauty and pampering possibilities. This area has always been renowned for welcoming and nurturing small and unusual businesses, which is evident in Cresswell Lane and its De Courcy’s Arcade, which is a quaint, two storey arcade which has a selection of tiny boutiques offering vintage clothing, art, homewares, comics and jewellery. It’s a fabulous place to shop if you’re looking for something just a little different and like the rest of Byres Road, simply a great place for a meander. Byres Road has always been known as a kind of work in progress, with the possibility of
something new and exciting popping up every minute, though also with the possibility of someone else folding up their tent and disappearing into the night. No-one really worries about change here, as there will always be something new along in a minute. However, there are a few stalwarts here, with the perfect example in the lower half of Byres Road, the University Café. This much loved landmark is celebrating 100 years of happy customers, in a setting which looks like it’s changed very little in all those decades. The food hasn’t changed, in terms of quality and nostalgia, and it’s still one of the most popular destinations in the West End for a reviving breakfast, a poke of traditional Scottish sweeties or even that 70s classic, a knickerbocker glory. Over the years, Byres Road has been known for its individuality, creativity and sense of standing out from the crowd. It gives the people who love it community, a warm welcome and a constant promise of something different and very special.