The Overgate is the larger of the two main shopping centres in Dundee, with the other being the…read moreWellgate across town. It offers some of the city's larger shops, hosting the likes of Debenhams, Primark, New Look and Topshop. Half of the mall is really bright and airy as there are windows running down the entire wall. It kinda reminded me of an airport (but nicer, of course). There is parking but we didn't use it. From what I've heard it is pretty expensive. We used Gellatly Street which was £8 for 24 hours. Considering the Overgate charges something similar to this for 5 hours and closes overnight, it looks like we made the right call to go somewhere else. The public toilets in the mall are clean and well serviced so we're all good there. I would definitely recommend coming here instead of the Wellgate - the Wellgate is a horrible, dark dungeon.

Like the Wellgate centre that I recently reviewed, the Overgate in Dundee has the famous big name…read moreshops, the Santas grotto at Christmas and the places to eat and drink but what this shopping centre lacks is the atmosphere of the Wellgate. It may be because it is a brand new shopping centre and therefore lacks some of what makes the Wellgate so good but whatever it is there is just something missing from the whole experience of shopping here. That said it does have some wonderful shops such as Sports world, Gap and baby Gap, The Gadget shop, Debenhams and the amazing Lush shop which sells all the wild and wacky soaps and lotions and potions you could imagine. You can smell the wondeful scents coming from the Lush store throughout the building and they are rivalled only by the aroma from the Starbucks coffee shop on the same floor. If you are in Dundee then you must visit here as well as the Wellgate, they both have something different to offer.

The Howgate Centre is a small, indoor shopping centre off Falkirk's main highstreet. These days it…read moreis, unfortunately, starting to look a little run down. Several businesses are standing empty and the whole centre could probably do with a little sprucing up. Mostly what's available here is at the lower budget end of the high street, however large branches of M&S and Debenhams can be found here too. Probably the most interesting section is the food court, which has several cafes and eateries that look pretty great - including milkshake, pizza, hot dog and ice cream places, as well as a general cafeteria-style cafe. It makes sense to come shopping here for basics, or to get out of the rain, and the idea of stopping for some lunch when your shopping is done is pretty appealing with the options available here.

This is a large shopping centre with a good variety of shops to suits everyones needs. They have 2…read morebig department stores, M&S and Desire by Debenhams, both well know for their great products. There is a good variety of womans, mens and children's clothes shops. There is Argos, Woolworth's and ELC for toy shopping. There is a large car park attached to the shopping centre which has many disabled and family spaces on the 3rd floor. There are two main toilet areas which are kept clean and well stocked. There is also a good baby changing area which has a toddler sized toilet, breastfeeding cubicles and baby changing mats. The centre in general is always clean and the floors are regularly swept and moped.

House of Bruar was one of those unexpected road-trip delights. My spouse had been told we had to…read morestop, while our third travel companion and I were... let's say, skeptical. But we ended up pulling in for breakfast and a browse, and we walked out grinning. There's both a coffee bar and a sit-down cafe; we opted for the cafe, which was perfectly fine for a quick bite before wandering the shops. But the real fun was exploring the place itself. House of Bruar is part country store, part upscale gift shop, part museum of Things You Didn't Know You Needed. You can find everything from cashmere to kitchen tools, with price points ranging from impulse-buy to aspirational. We mostly window-shopped, but it was genuinely enjoyable - lots to look at, and beautifully presented. We did, however, make sure to raid the food section. They have an impressive selection of snacks, condiments, sweets, and treats, and picking out a handful of goodies to nibble on for the rest of our road trip was one of the highlights of the stop. In the end, the skeptic duo had to admit: this recommendation was a good one. If you're passing through, House of Bruar is well worth a visit - even if you just come for breakfast and a wander.

Fantastic place to stop for some upscale gourmet market finds, high end clothing shops and outdoor…read moremarket stands. The cakes are beautiful, a wide variety of gluten free options. They had just about every kind of cake and tart you can think of. Very fresh and delicious. Coffee bar, ice creams, fresh milk dispenser, fresh pressed orange juice. Beautiful setting in an all glass atrium. I tried the gluten free lemon and elderflower cake with a flat white. It was amazing. I would recommend stopping for brunch or lunch. There is a waterfall within walking distance that you should check out.

Loch Lomond Shores is a small shopping complex mainly aimed at tourists so you will find an…read moreoverload of tartan and shortbread on offer here. There's a few stores including; -Jenners -Catherine Kinloch -Misty Glen -Edinburgh Woollen Mill -Thorntons -Julien Graves ...So it's not the kind of place you could go on a shopping spree but it caters for tourists and is a pleasant place to browse. In addition to the shopping centre there's also a Sea Life Centre and if you're looking for some activities then you can hop on the loch for a spot of canoeing or paddle boating. Like Gavin, I find it a little odd that there's a complete lack of place to eat apart from a small cafe attached onto Jenners and a restaurant with the worst looking menu I've ever seen.

Ugh, I clearly made an error in planning to launch my exploration of Loch Lomond from this site…read more It's a tourist-choked amusement park. Besides restaurants and an aquarium (to which I'll give a pass), they have paddleboats and a "retail crescent." They do offer some legitimate services for exploring the park, such as kayak and mountain-bike rentals. On the upside, the park service has a large visitor center here which serves as a gateway to Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. What I really wanted to do was hike around the vicinity above the lake, since I didn't have time enough in my day to climb Ben Lomond. I got plenty of pamphlets and then got the hell out to drive up the west side of the lake towards Luss.

The Oak Mall really has a bit of a cheek calling itself a mall. If you have ever been to a shopping…read moremall in America then you'll know what I mean! The Oak Mall is really small (hey I'm a poet and I didn't know it!) and has really rubbish versions of high street stores. For example the Oak Malls Topshop has to be the worst branch I have ever been in! It is so tiny and doesn't have any of the most fashion forward, cool lines. There are a few of those really tacky "tween" shops that I love to hate such as Quiz, Unique and Internacionale, if that's you kind of thing, if it is, why?? The Oak Mall does have one of the few Adams stores left in the UK which is maybe worth a visit if you have kids. Also the Bodycare, Semi Chem and Sally Hair and Beauty stores are good for picking up cheap but branded beauty products. I still wouldn't say it's worth the trip out to the mall just for a hand full of sort of ok stores.

Every Saturday of my youth was spent trawling the floor of the Oak Mall from one end to the other…read morewith a large group of pals and people we just picked up on the way. Nowadays, there's more life in the deer i clipped with my car last night than in this place. Poundshops-a-plenty and near on 5/6 card shops (really?) as well the Oak Mall doesn't have much going for it. Empty shops and poor ones litter the once bustling West Blackhall St. For any Greenockian, this part of town lost its appeal as soon as it become closed over and refered to as "The Mall" - no character remains, sadly. I really hope the council pour some serious money into our local shopping centre by getting it back to basics

Callendar Square is a small, but kind of cool shopping centre not far from the centre of Falkirk…read more It's very light and bright thanks to the skylights. There's free WiFi available and it's quite a pleasant place to wander around. It seems to be largely aimed at health and fitness options. There's a gym at the top floor, a place offering juices and healthy foods and a sports nutrition place. Beyond that there's a few other small businesses and a larger BHS and Iceland.

This huge department store is still a family run company which really made me want to love the…read moreinside. Everything is really well laid out and sell kitchenware, gardening items, jewellery, china, art, mirrors and lots of things for the home. I hardly ever see things I don't like in this shop and they even have an old fashioned haberdashery department. Staff are all lovely. cafe is a bit of a let down but is no worse that one you'd find in debenhams.

I found this amazing shop while passing through Kirkcaldy. I was amazed at the sheer volume of…read morehoushold goodies and soft furnishings. The design ideas are fabulous and it is such good value I have travelled through from Glasgow about once a month since I found it. Staff are always friendly and enthusastic and always changing things around so there's always something new.

I had heard a lot about this place before I actually set off to find it. It is not all that far…read morefrom Stirling but is tucked away in the small town of Tillicoultry. Now that I have found it I like the drive and enjoy the shopping more. There are not masses of shops at this outlet centre, but I do like the Nike and Addidas shops as well as the Paper Mill and the Childrens designer clothes shop (sorry the name escapes me). For a long time I only used to make this a very short visit as the cafe was abismal however BB's now has a coffee shop and very nice it is too so we tend to head out here for coffee or lunch time and spend a wee while browsing around. The shops are a but different to Stirling itself however if I was really looking for an outlet park I would head to livingston.

Sterling mills Tillicoultry is a lovely little outlet village not far from Stirling itself. Lots of…read morelittle shops, however it seems to have been hit hard by the Livingston expansion and most probably that it isn't the easiest of places to find. The outlet shops that can be found here are Nike (which we have found to be better than the smaller Livingston store), Adidas (lots of bargains to be found at this store!), The Works, Zavvi, The Paper Mill and lots of mens stores including Lee and Wrangler. We have also registered online for a card which gives you money off in a lot of the stores there. Parking is very good, with disabled and child spaces available. There is also a little coffee shop, which we feel is overpriced, most probably as it's the only one there and has a monopoly over the place! Most months of the year they have a little market where you can buy locally produced bread and cakes, and other food products. You could find something yummy to eat on the slightly long drive home. If you are into sports clothing, even walking clothing then Sterling Mills is well worth a visit.

This place is big and busy, and well stocked with opportunities to spend your money. If you live…read morenear the area and don't have time to go into the city centre, this is a miniature town from town, with a lot of major high street stores to choose from. However, you're more likely to find The More Store and New Look than topshop here, or budget pound stores than supemarkets. That being said, there is a huge Asda right outside it. It's good, but let's just say it's no Buchanan Galleries, and not worth the trip if you don't live nearby.

Growing up in Clydebank, I was always frustrated when a new Pound Shop or More Store arrived in the…read moreshopping centre. The old Clydebank FC was knocked down and made into huge retails spaces which were quickly filled by Poundstrecher and a discount shoe shop. The other side of the road became the new home of Next Clearance. "Why doesn't Clydebank have any decent shops?" I used to moan. "What about Topshop, or a Gap?" I suppose Clydebank Shopping Centre is filled with cheap shops because it is based in a town with a lot of poverty. Granted, it's not all bad, there is a decent New Look and Dorothy Perkins and a massive 24 hour Asda. However, Bankies looking for quality retailers end up just making the 15 minute drive to either Braehead or Silverburn or jump on the train to the city centre.