Le Scottish cities and major centers are bustling with shops and little tourist stores, full of sweaters, kilts, Scottish scarves, tweed hats, and accessories. Their quality is undoubtedly good, but prices tend to be higher. The best approach would be to also scour the slightly out-of-the-way areas and shop at factories, wool mills, and artisan workshops. This is where the real bargains are found and where you learn to distinguish the various types of warps and yarns. The symbol of quality shopping is also the department stores, a true institution.
In Edinburgh, for example, the Jenners at 48 Princes Street are unmissable, a historic store founded in 1838 and one of the oldest in the entire United Kingdom. In Glasgow, the Buchanan Galleries on Buchanan Street are very popular; while in the Borders, land of lambs and kids, it is very pleasant to visit and shop at the Old Blacksmith’s Shop Centre in Gretna Greens, whose low white houses open onto shops selling knitwear, Scottish gastronomy, golf and sports articles. Here there is also the Gretna Gateway Outlet Village, with clothing from the best brands at very discounted prices.
Those who want to go back to the origins, to traditional factories and wool mills, can try, in Elgin, in the Highlands, the Johnstons Cashmere factory, which turns wool into quality fabrics and clothing; or, in Lerwick, in the Shetlands, Anderson&Co, famous for handmade garments with the typical island design. Other shopping highlights include handmade jewelry (don’t miss a visit to the Argyll Arcade on Buchanan Street, in Glasgow), glass (whisky glasses and decanters are very popular, and you can watch the production, for example, at the Visitors Centre of the Caithness Glass company, in Perth), and the Highland Stoneware, traditional ceramics, sold in the best shops throughout Scotland or at the factories on the waterfront in Lochinver.
