Putting Scottish product back in Scotland
Since being established on 10 May 2025, The Rail Yard has become a centre of community in Glasgow’s West End. In conversation with co-founder Bronwen Nixon, she explained the main motivation to set up the farmer’s market was to: “make a destination in Glasgow that felt like a safe place to be, where you could get good healthy food from a good source. Whilst also benefitting and putting back into the pocket of your community”.
With all the profit remaining in Glasgow, its circular economy allows for a business that can self-sustain alongside being sustainable for our planet. We discussed frustration around being unable to easily purchase Scottish products as Bronwen raised the question: “we live in Scotland, and we also have amazing fish. Why don’t we also have access to that?”. Instead, “it’s getting sold overseas, it’s getting airmiles, it’s being sold elsewhere [when] there’s people right here that want to eat it”. The Rail Yard has built an environment that promotes “more learning opportunities for people about where their food is coming from” – we also discussed how in the depths of a Scottish winter, having a salad with mangetout and fresh leafy greens is not natural.
There is no ambiguity around the products sold at the market, to qualify as a vendor you must be selling handmade, grown, produced or second-hand collections or have a direct relationship with the person that does. The farmer’s market occurs outside, at the previously abandoned old rail line, every Saturday (yes, it persists through the winter months too!) from 10am to 3pm.
Bronwen stated that in her opinion: “The beautiful thing about it being outdoors is that you don’t have to go in anywhere. You can just walk through it and if it doesn’t feel like your vibe or the day for you to be able to approach it you can come back another day. You can also be in the space without buying or interacting with anyone. If you find loud spaces overwhelming, you can sit there and there is absolutely zero pressure for you to interact with anything”.
Due to the nature of The Rail Yard being a space for local produce to be bought and sought, we discussed the way other businesses should follow suit with sustainability in mind. Bronwen noted: “I think community is so important in regards to the climate crisis” and “if you have a good relationship with the community, you have a place that people naturally want to come”. Not only is this good for business, but their space is also used to host workshops on the climate crisis and for recreational activities. People seem to “want to learn from and skill share with one another”, with Bronwen also explaining the way businesses ought to go forward with the planet at its forefront is by: “working more collectively – work with the businesses that surround you. How can you support one another? To bring out the best in one another and ultimately make your local environment more sustainable [to] look after the locality that you are in”.
The Rail Yard appears to be putting a people and planet above profit approach to their work, and we can hope this continues. By forming a space that promotes a circular economy, third space possibilities and local sustainable consumption, The Rail Yard demonstrates dedication to sustainability and “encourages people to shop more locally”. However, during a cost of living crisis it is a luxury to have the time to dedicate to a farmer’s market on a Saturday afternoon and perhaps will be critiqued as another West End pretension, the reality is that spaces like The Rail Yard are essential to rebuild our local community and connection with the environment.
Although the most sustainable dietary choice is plant based, this is not a suitable lifestyle for everyone. By having a local butcher to question where our steaks come from and know the life the animal once had and the carbon emissions it produced, this would dramatically improve its sustainability. Once again, the local produce keeps the money in the pockets of the community. The Rail Yard allows us to see the connection between producer, product and consumer. In Bronwen’s own words, The Rail Yard has succeeded in putting “Scottish products back in Scotland. Making it accessible and [putting] it outside!”
Photo Credits: The Rail Yard, Facebook
