Ahhh, Portobello. Or rather, Porty. A quaint seaside town with a lovely community feel about it. Gorgeous buildings and a nice beach, Porty has it all (including great Montreal-style bagels)! Just outside of Edinburgh, Portobello is a great place to escape to for the day - especially if you're in Edinburgh and feeling slightly overwhelmed by tourists at this time of year. Once popular with smugglers and sailors, Porty is now home to commuters but worth visiting in its own right. For one thing: the beach; a lovely sandy beach looking out onto the Firth of Forth. On a sunny day, it's a great place to hang out and stroll along the promenade. If I could name only one other reason to visit...
Since moving to Glasgow from Canada 12 years ago, we have lived all over Glasgow: from Maryhill to Hillhead to Govan to yes, even Finnieston; we lived in Finnieston before it was named the hippest place in Britain. When we lived in Finnieston there certainly wasn't anywhere near as many bars/ pubs/ restaurants/ shops as there is now. We liked living in the area because the rent was reasonable and it was halfway between the West end and city centre. Back then you had the option of The Big Slope for drinks and food, Fanny Trollopes and Mother India for a nice meal, The Grove and Ben Nevis for decent pubs and MacCallums for lovely fresh fish (now Wilson's Catch of the...
R.I.P. Velvet Elvis Here at LAKE&LOCH, we're big fans of Partick - we lived in Partick for many years and have fond memories of our time there. For those that don't know, Partick is on the periphery of the West end of Glasgow, but not outrageously priced. Just yet anyway. Some of our greatest memories of Glasgow were formed when we lived in our one-bedroom flat on Peel street, across the road from Stumps pub. From strolling through the Farmer's Market at Mansfield Park (every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month) to hitting up Cottonrake Bakery for some amazing pastries (sadly now based on Great Western Road) to whisky sessions in The Lismore to rummaging through all the secondhand shops dotted...
In a series of blogposts, we'll be looking at the various movers and shakers in our beloved bits of Glasgow. Spotlight // Pollokshields Based in the Southside, Pollokshields was initially developed towards the end of the Victorian era as a leafy suburb of Glasgow. With wide avenues and Alexander "Greek" Thomson villas, townhouses and tenements, it's hard to believe it's only one stop on the train from Central station. Pollokshields has always inspired us at LAKE&LOCH with it's cultural diversity, gorgeous parks, plethora of cafes and really good independent shops. Here's just a few: Maxwell Park: Gifted to the city of Glasgow by Sir John Stirling Maxwell, a Scottish politician and philanthropist, in 1887 the park officially opened in 1890....
