Overview

Set in Scotland's central lowlands, Giffnock is an outer suburb of Glasgow. All of the buzz of the city is on your doorstop, but the area boasts plenty of its own amenities and attractions. You might find comfortable commuter villages all over Scotland, but Giffnock is one of the best.

It's been named as one of the best places to live in Scotland, selected for offering a great quality of life to a wide range of people. Great news for all house-hunters. Community spirit, local shops, and outdoor spaces - there's bucketloads of it all.

After all, more and more people want easy access to both the urban buzz of a city and a rural escape - and Giffnock offers that.

Living in Giffnock

Giffnock is just past Shawlands, a popular place with commuters. As you'd expect, travel connections are impressive - with the fastest train from Giffnock taking just 15 minutes to get to Glasgow's centre. Getting to East Kilbride and beyond is easy by bus too.

But the area is more than just a suburban bolthole for city workers. Rouken Glen and Huntly Park are popular parks, with space to relax, exercise or entertain the kids.

The community spirit is helped by a hub of local shops, restaurants, bars and cafes, as well as a community centre and library. You wouldn't even need to go into Glasgow if you didn't want to.

When you do, though, you'll spot many of the distinctive sandstone houses and tenements - a lot of which are built from Giffnock stone, as well as the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. In the 18th and 19th century, a lot of quarrying went on in the town. The material was also used to provide stability for sailing ships, which carried sandstone as far as Australia.

In fact, Giffnock stone was used in many of Sydney's public buildings. This trade has even influenced many of the street names, including Canberra Court, Melbourne Court and Brisbane Court.

Where should you look for a house in Giffnock?

But if none of the streets influenced by down under are for you, where do you look? There's a range of detached, semi-detached, terraced, and purpose-built flats in Giffnock.

Anywhere within walking distance of the nearby parks is highly desirable - Norwood Drive, Wood Farm Road and many of the surrounding streets are near both Eastwood Park and Rouken Glen Park.

The areas around the golf club, although closer to Williamwood station, are also desirable. With Fenwick Road and Eastwoodmains Road nearby, along with all their amenities, it's convenient yet still quiet. Try around Etive Drive and Sutherland Drive, where there are lots of bungalows with spacious gardens.

The heart of Giffnock has a fantastic village vibe. Burnfield Road and Orchard Drive both lead off into key residential hubs to the west of the town. Once again, these locations offer what everyone is looking for from suburbia - more space, more peace and quiet, yet still within easy distance of transport links.

East Renfrewshire - also home to Newton Mearns, Eaglesham, Neilston and more - has one of Scotland's strongest housing markets. After all, it's home to many of Glasgow's best suburbs to live in.

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It might be competitive finding a home in Giffnock, but with s1homes, it won't take long to find your dream property. With hundreds of estate agents listing new properties on s1homes, you can set up email alerts to be the first to find out about the latest houses for sale.