Finnieston towards the west end of Glasgow is home to the ‘hidden lane’, so hidden in fact some local residents of the area don’t even know that it has been around for over 100 years.
The somewhat mysterious street has been described as Glasgow’s ‘hidden gem’, and on closer inspection, we can see why. It is home to the most wonderful array of independent, local artistic businesses in Glasgow - and possibly the rest of Scotland.
The location of the lane is behind Argyle Street and can be accessed by walking through the space between Greggs and Subway - at first it's unassuming but it opens up into a gloriously vibrant and colourful cobbled street.
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At Glasgow Live we were intrigued to go along and made our way to speak to the amazing local creatives who have businesses down the 'secretive' track.
From Argyle Street, the entrance just looks like a lane that leads to numerous garage spaces but in fact, it leads to Glasgow’s own, Diagon Alley.
The lane is home to 120 studios of artists including a café, gallery, record label, and shops that sell pottery, tacos, antiques, textiles, soft furnishings, sweeties and many other creative local businesses - you name it and chances are the hidden lane has it.
At the start of our visit, we visited The Hidden Lane Gallery which is run by Carole Dunlop.
Carole, originally from Glasgow, director of the lane or ‘Chief Plate Spinner’ as she prefers, described the lane as a “special little corner of Glasgow.”
Carole continued on to say: “There are not many places like this left in Glasgow and it’s really important that we preserve them.”
The Hidden Lane Tearoom is one of the most popular features of the lane, Nicola Paul has been running the Hidden Lane Tearoom since October of last year with her sister, Lindsay.
The tearoom was very popular for Galantines and the duo is preparing for the very busy time of Mother’s Day.
Nicola said: “I think a lot of people come to Finnieston for nightlife and pubs and restaurants but when you actually wander off the beaten track and come down here, there is such a wealth of lovely small businesses.
“There are so many cool little businesses here that are just tucked away which is so nice.”
Ian Smith, 51, runs a record label called ‘Last Night from Glasgow’ in the lane inspired after the ABBA track. The independent record label also sells numerous amounts of vinyl and was founded in 2021.
Ian said: “Everything would benefit from greater awareness, the more people know the hidden lane is here, the more people will come.”
The record label represents music artists such as Blue Bells and High-Fi Sea’s who have been heard on BBC radio.
Hidden Lane Soft Furnishings, run by Susan d’Orleans, 59, originally from Southampton has lived in Glasgow for eight years.
The shop sells upholstery such as cushions, curtains and window dressings that are all locally produced, she said: “There are so many people in Glasgow that don’t know the hidden lane exists. People who live in Finnieston, who have been here all their lives and they come down and it’s like a little treasure trove.
“It’s given all creative people an affordable place to work but be together and be supportive because we are all creative and we all support one another.”
Simone Rudden, business owner, runs Simba’s Sweets which has been operating on the lane for a year and a half.
Simba’s Sweets sells inventive sweets such as the chocolate fudge cream eggs bites that will be perfect in a little over a month’s time for Easter. They also sell vegan sweets which are very hard to find.
Simone said: “It’s great there is over 100 businesses, people don’t realise, the lane is very niche and has been here for over 100 years.
“People need to find us because we are literally hidden.”
Lara Herd, 20, a student at the University of Glasgow visits the lane frequently and thinks it’s a shame that so few people know about it.
Lara said: “I think it is a really cute place with some small businesses so I think it would be good for more people to go and enjoy as they are small businesses because not a lot of people know about the hidden lane.”
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