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Alness (Scotland)
by suz1584
If you have ever been to the North of Scotland you will know that anything North of Inverness is a just a small village. Alness is the largest town in Ross-Shire but many of you would still class it as a village.
Alness is about 20 miles North of Inverness and quite central to surrounding villages. I grew up in Evanton which ... is just 4 miles from Alness so I always knew the town well.
Recently I have moved to Alness so I am within walking distance to work and to be closer to family and friends. So far I am really enjoying living in the town and it's the first place I've lived that's actually got more than a paper shop.
What's In Alness?
There are several shops in Alness which are mainly small privately run businesses. It would take me to long to mention them all but my top 5 are as follows;
Wedding Belles - a fantastic Wedding dress shop with the personal feeling, the lady that owns the shop will arrange an appointment with you to try on wedding dresses. When you go in for an appointment she closes the shop to give you her full attention and help. If they don't have what you're looking for they will order in most things for you. Definitely worth a visit.
Tony's Sandwich Bar - This is a recently renovated shop that was previously a traditional sweet shop. It was the end of an era when the sweet shop closed down and no one could see this being anything else and especially nothing as good as the sweet shop. Nowadays though it is the most popular sandwich bar in Alness. They are well known for the home baked cakes and the freshest bread for sandwiches. It's absolutely fantastic at really low prices.
All Sorts - Just as the name says this store as all sorts of items to buy from stationary to bed linen. It's a small store but most time's you're looking for small items that you can't get in many other stores unless you go to Inverness I would recommend you try this shop first. I was looking for small glue dots and went here last because I really didn't think they would stock them......but I was wrong, not only did they have them but they had about half a dozen different types!
Patterson's - This was unsurprisingly run by a family with surname Patterson's, this was bought over a few years ago but has kept the name, I can only assume this is because it was so well known as Patterson's for so long. They sell a wide range of items also from pet food to kitchen utensils. There's a lot of traditional kitchen utensils in here that you can't find in many stores so for elder people set in their ways looking for something exactly like they bought 20 years ago then I'd advise to look here first. I love this shop for buying my cats some treats but also go in here for light bulbs, kitchen blinds and even paint. The shop isn't big but it certainly holds a lot of items, you would be surprised what you can actually get in here.
Dalmore Furnishings - This shop is highly recommended by so many people within the area. They sell great furniture that is mostly made from solid wood. Everything in here is fantastic quality and you could spend hours in here planning out a whole house of furniture just from this store. I will be the first to admit that the prices are slightly more expensive than you would get from large chains but I do find this shop has better quality items.
I'm not going to bore you with a list of all the shops in Alness as there are several more including many hairdressers, takeaways and restaurants. For a full list go to http://www.alness.com/Business-Directory.asp and it has all the business info you'll need.
What is there to do?
I'll be honest if you are looking for somewhere to go on holiday or even to live with a lot of activities and everything on your doorstep then anything North of Inverness probably isn't for you.
The main attraction to Alness is the walks around the area. There are some fantastic walks down to the Alness Point which is across the main road but it takes you right down to the Cromarty Firth where you have a view of the Black Isle and you can also see all the oil rigs that are in Invergordon.
There are also several other walks including Fyrish Monument which is an absolutely stunning walk and worth the trek once you get to the top.
There's also a golf course just at the back of Alness which I've heard (I don't play golf so I don't know) is a brilliant course and very popular.
My opinion
I was always unsure of Alness as a place I'd live as it is bigger than anywhere I've lived before and I assumed it would be busier with more noise. We were quite lucky to get a house on the outskirts which is a mile from my work and across the road from my partners main office. This was the reason we moved here and I was expecting it to take me a while to settle in but I now have to say I love it.
There is plenty of shops for me to get to compared to previous places I've lived and when you actually take time to look at Alness you will see that it actually looks very impressive. Year after year locals work at planting flowers throughout the whole town and every night you see them driving around watering them all. The town has won Britain in Bloom on many occasions and I have to say they deserve it with the amount of effort the put in.
It is a small town and there is no cinemas or bowling alleys in the area unless you go to Inverness but I am glad because it would just spoil the area. Definitely worth a visit
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Dundee in General
by BexxaG
Dundee...Shopping
Dundee is one of Scotlands largest cities. It also has it's fair share of shops. Which range from small independant retailers to large chain stores.
The shopping areas in Dundee are spread over different areas.
You have 2 shopping malls. The Wellgate Centre and The Overgate Centre.
The ... Wellgate Centre
It has had a couple of revamps over the past 30 years but could maybe do with a bit of a spring clean. It has BHS which is probably the biggest shop in the centre along with TGHughs. I would say about 60% of the centre is occupied by shop outlets. Shops are spread over 3 levels. It also has its oven car park linked to the centre, which makes it easier to get items back to you car especially when it is pouring with rain.
It is open 7 days a week.
Unfortunately the wellgate has a few food outlet and the centre has a bit of a "chip" smell about it. This I would say was the main down side of the centre.
Overgate Centre
The newest and most stylish centre in Dundee. Contempary in design and on 2 levels, offers a good range of stores mainly catering for younger customers. There are many shops including Debenhams, Argos, Primark, Boots, Next, New Look, River Island, French Connection, Lush, H&M etc
There are several coffee shops as well as Burger King and Baked Potato shop. Probably the best shopping centre in Dundee. It has its oven linked car park also.
The two shopping centres are located at different sides of the main shopping in the town it only takes 5 minutes to walk from one to the other. In between the 2 centres is the Murraygate.
Murraygate
Area linking the 2 main centres, this is open and pedestrianised area. Lots of different shops including a Tesco Metro, Marks & Spencers,Clarks, Thornotons, Disney and many mobile phone outlets.
The journey from the Wellgate to Overgate will take you past most of the main shops but there are streets which branch off and have other stores including a few independant outlets. I would say that majority of the shops are large named stores and very few independant ones. Which is a shame.
If you like supporting local business then shopping isn't going to be the one. If you want to do that you need to travel to Perth who have many many independants shops.
There are many other Retail Parks ~ Kingsway Retail Park and also Gallaghers Retail Park. This are located out with the main shopping area but both have good access and free parking.
Over all Dundee offers most of the large stores that you see around most cities. If you are looking for a good shopping experience then Dundee isn't really the place to go. You wont really find anything different here.
People and staff are friendly enough, the overall area is not stylish or modern or even old y world. It is just ordinary. It is a bit on the dirty side although a lot of money has been put into the centre and there are big plans for re devolpement of the water front. I hope this will encourage new business into Dundee.
At the moment it is a bit run down, but has protential.
Thanks for reading my review, Dundee has lots to offer but I just reviewed the shopping side of it. There are plenty of attractions for visitors which you will find very interesting. But if you enjoy shopping then Dundee isnt really the place to do it.
Thanks again
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Clydebank (Scotland)
by tangoman84
Clydebank is a town inbetween Glasgow and Dumbarton areas in Scotland and offers a variety of entertainments to please those not wanting to travel into Glasgow.
Clydebank has a huge amount to offer for those who are looking for a little day out with the shopping being one of the main attractions of the area. Most of the shops ... within Clydebank are under the roof of the Clyde Shopping Centre which includes the likes of Argos, Asda, Bodycare, Burtons, Deichmann Shoes, Game, HMV, Gamestation and many more with free parking available for 2500 vehicles. The centre itself recently underwent a huge improvement and refurbishment that has seen it become an exceptionally welcoming, modern feeling shopping centre to spend some time in.
Clydebank also offers a range of restaurants and take aways including McGonagles fish and chip ship and McDonalds.
The cinema is handily placed between the shopping centre and the large Asda allowing you to get all things done before heading home after a great day out.
One the biggest things about Clydebank is its all new college which underwent a huge overhall and a move to a new purpose built site offering a really top class education opportunity.
Positives:
- Excellent variety of shops on offer
- Well designed shopping centre
- Cinema
- College
- Good transport links
Negatives:
- Not the nicest of areas
Clydebank offers a nice and simple day out for those who don't want the fuss of Glasgow.
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