GLASGOW WEST END

With its trendy nightlife, quirky shops and desirable homes, the west end of Glasgow is the perfect location for house hunters

Glasgowís west end is home to many of the cityís finest addresses and districts, holding appeal with single professionals, students, families and the elderly alike. The west end has expanded its boundaries as a combination of rising prices and new developments has drawn in formerly separate areas such as Partick. Glasgow Harbour, one of the largest new build developments in Britain, is one of several apartment based projects attracting new house buyers with contemporary flats in dramatically designed buildings, yet until recently, the heyday of property construction for the west end was the height of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Many of the elegant suburbs west of the M8 and north of the Clyde are characterised by red sandstone tenement flats and bow windowed townhouses, and the names roll off the tongue ñ Hyndland, Woodlands, Dowanhill, Jordanhill, to name but four.

As most of the cityís 65,000 students will testify, the west end has long enjoyed an intoxicating atmosphere of vibrancy, with hotspots such as Ashton Lane and Byres Road developing an entirely different character at night. During the day, the Botanic Gardens, Transport Museum and Kelvingrove Art Gallery all provide a cultural contrast to the eclectic shops and restaurants of the Great Western Road, with an abundance of green open space typified by the Botanic Gardens.