Byres Road
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Byres Road is at the commercial and social hub of Glasgow's West End.
Stretching from Great Western Road at the Botanic Gardens in the north to Dumbarton Road at Partick Cross in the south, the road originally ran through an area called the Byres of Partick (also known as Bishop's Byres). The oldest pub in the area is the 17th century Curler's, originally sited beside a pond used for curling and, legend has it, given a seven-day licence by King Charles II. The legend, 'Victoria Cross', on premises at the junction of Byres Road and Dowanside Road recalls a later attempt to rename the street Victoria Road in honour of Queen Victoria. The plans were cancelled following objections by the residents.
Byres Rd is now a mixed commercial, shopping and residential area consisting largely of traditional sandstone tenements with retail premises on the ground floor and three floors of residential flats above. Its proximity to Glasgow University has meant that the surrounding West End of Glasgow is very bohemian, with a large student, academic and artistic population that includes Alasdair Gray, whose mural and ceiling paintings adorn the Ubiquitous Chip and the Oran Mor bars.
Nearby lanes and by-ways, notably Ashton Lane, have benefited from the business of Byres Rd and now contain a variety of small businesses from tapas bars to second-hand record stores. In recent years, however, the number of estate agents, fast-food outlets and bars has grown at the expense of traditional amenities such as bookshops and butcher's shops.
