Rolling green hills and lush forests surround this beautifully-kept castle harboring over 40 acres…read moreof gardens, a bicycle museum, art gallery and gift shop. Built of pink sandstone, the "Pink Palace" has 120 rooms, 17 turrets and 4 towers. In season, dozens of marriages are performed with the magnificent backdrop of the castle and its surroundings. Thankfully, we weren't in season. Commissioned in 1691 by William Douglas, first Duke of Queensberry, it represents one of the first and most important Renaissance buildings in the country. The art collection ("one of the finest private art collections in the UK"), contains works by Rembrandt, Holbein and Gainsborough and share space with Kneller, Netscher and Van der Meer. In addition, check out the period furniture, tapestries, silver, carvings and precious objets d'art. The Castle Tearoom (the original kitchen of the Castle with its copper pots and flagstone floor), serves home baked goods using local produce, freshly brewed tea and coffee, cold drinks, light meals and their own Estate-reared meat and Drumlanrig herbs. Mountain biking is extremely popular here (http://www.drumlanrig.com/drumlanrig-outdoor-activities/mountain-biking) and their four world-class trails offer several levels of expertise. I like mine hairy (Black Route) but the hills here don't compare to the dry, rocky granite mountains of So Cal. My home mountains aren't near as pretty as the verdant trails here as it can rain a lot in season and the trails are more like "Oregon-moderate" trails. In fact, some of the trees here came from seeds from the Pacific Northwest coast! You might think you're in a Scottish Sequoia. Taking the Tree Trail, one can find many interesting trees including a Red Oak (Quercus rubra) planted in 1971 by Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, when he stayed at Drumlanrig. If you can find this tree, feel free to repeat his "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" (change the gender as appropriate).

This wee shop was a life saver as I needed a lovely 50th birthday present for my friend…read more I had been wandering around aimlessly in Hamilton not having a clue what to buy for someone who looks nowhere near 50 and acts like a 20 year old. Hmmm?! It was only when I was heading for a wee bite to eat I saw this lovely looking shop. It was like a ray of light hit me, and I knew as soon as I walked in I would be able to find "something special". The lady was absolutely lovely and a great help. I explained what it was for and she came up with a candle beautifully wrapped with a personalised tag with my friend's name and saying happy 50th. It was perfect! The shop was beautifully laid out with lots of varied gifts for all occasions you can think of. Upstairs I found out was a wee coffee shop, but it was shut the time I got there, it's only opened for a while from 9.30am - 4.30pm. The lady told me they have lots of homemade goodies and their coffee is sourced from Matthew Algie. I will definitely need to stop by for their coffee shop next time. My friend was absolutely delighted with her present, so much so, she asked me where I had got it as she wanted to get something similar for her friend's birthday. Result! I cannot wait to go back, guess who's gonna be trying out a mocha?!

This lovely wee shop stores all kinds of unique gifts which you tend not to find anywhere else, the…read morestaff are very pleasant & very helpful. Certainly worth a visit if you are looking for something special for a loved one.

This is an absolutely gorgeous little shop full of beautiful things! I had a browse around here…read moretoday and was very impressed by the professional window dressing and eye-catching colourful lay-out of all the tantalising goodies inside. There is a delightful range of decorated diaries which caught my eye, exquisite jewellery, elegant handbags, Arran Aromatics, soaps and lovely scented candles something in every price range. There's a large display of top quality Christmas decorations and ornaments too. The young man who was serving there today was friendly, chatty and helpful. Definitely a place to visit to buy some gorgeous and unique Christmas gifts!

What a superb little shop, absolutely packed full of the most beautiful gifts of many kinds in all…read moreprice ranges. I loved the jewellery and bought an exquisite necklace for a friend for under £10. The girl who served me was very pleasant and she gift-wrapped the necklace beautifully for no extra charge. I wish I'd had more time to browse - I would certainly have bought more gifts and maybe something for myself too!

This is a brilliant little card shop which I almost passed by the other day. Something in the…read morewindow caught my eye so I went in to have a browse. I'm glad I did because I found some good quality greetings cards and gifts, thus solving some birthday and Christmas problems for me in one fell swoop!! The cards are gorgeous and nicely categorised. There are many super little gifts to buy including delightful cuddly toys. As you'd expect, you'll also find beautiful gift bags, tags and wrapping paper. Best of all, the lady in there is lovely, very cheery and friendly. I have put this shop on my list of places to revisit the next time I'm in the town!!

What a lovely wee shop - without Jennie & Taco's reviews, I never would have found this place. It'd…read morebeen sitting in my bookmarks for a while and yesterday made for the perfect opportunity to finally visit. As the others have said, it's off the main road in Shawlands but it would take less than 2 minutes to walk there, so it's worth a diversion. It's a sweet gift shop with a focus on sewing stuff too - you can learn how to make your own cushion covers, for example. I was in looking for a little housewarming gift and card for a friend and loved having a nosey around while the woman working offered me helpful suggestions and showed me some of the new stuff they had in. They have a big range of stuff; from jams and fudge, to candles, prints, kids clothes/toys, lovely fabrics and cushions, bunting and some jewellery bits and bobs. I liked how it's all presented and easy to find something nice without too much bother - I ended up just grabbing a card (The Grey Earl batboy card) and a wee tote bag as a present which was under a tenner. Definitely pay this shop a visit next time you're in the area!

This place is worth finding - it's tucked away off Shawlands main street but once you know it's…read morethere I'm sure you'll go back. It's a nice wee shop which sells locally-made crafts and things. Everything from bags and ornaments to candles and jam (including some red pepper and chilli jam which I had to buy). Great place to look for nice crafty gifts for people.

Lovely gift shop with some beautiful and unique gifts for yourself or for someone special like…read morecards, prints, crystals, books, teddy's ornaments and keepsakes but it's expensive.

I don't walk along this part of Argyle Street very often - in fact this is possibly the first time…read moreI've ever walked along here instead of driving past. Unfortunately, Herself had the inside track on this flyby, and before I could do anything I was unceremoniously yanked into the shop as she had been seduced by some trinket in the (admittedly very attractive) window display. Before five minutes had passed, she had grabbed several items from the clothes rail by the door and was heading rearwards to the changing room to try them on, while I mooched around like the long-suffering husband I am, trying not to look like a shoplifter as I browsed the goodies on display. Both the ladies on duty were very chatty and friendly, which makes all the difference in these small gift shops - although the sample dish of tablet on the counter also helped it must be said. They have a great selection of Scottish- and Glasgow-themed knick-knacks on display as well as more generic items, so you'll have no trouble in finding a gift for that special person in your life. However, although I was impressed with several items and earmarked them for future gift purchases (I particularly liked the hanging jam jar lights), on this occasion I managed to escape with my wallet intact. Not so my good lady, who came away feeling very pleased with herself and her purchases.

Imaginative gift's for everyone. Beautiful wood work. Great jewellery. Paintings and so much more…read more Well worth a visit to Lanark for a look around. They are now in a fab new shop on the High Street.