A prized pub that was once a watering hole for Glasgow’s famous faces has celebrated a milestone birthday.
The Scotia Bar kicked off its 230th birthday celebrations on Friday in a bid to cement the spot as Glasgow’s oldest bar.
The weekend-long party allowed punters to participate in a free whisky tasting, live music and a charity raffle for Macmillan cancer support.
READ MORE: Iconic Glasgow pub The Scotia Bar that hosted Billy Connolly celebrates oldest bar status
The bar on Stockwell Street opened in 1792 and was frequented by sailors and merchants who travelled up and down the River Clyde.
The city centre spot became a hub for creatives and was frequented by legendary comedian Billy Connelly and Right Down the Line singer Gerry Rafferty in the 60s and 70s.
All these years later, the Scotia draws a mixed crowd of Glasgow creatives and tourists alike.
Billy Duff, musician and regular at The Scotia Bar, told The Glasgow Times: “I was away travelling for 27 years, and I came back to Glasgow.
“And, I walked into The Scotia, and what I loved most about it, is it was exactly the same as it’s always been, you know what I mean?
“You walk around and see a lot of changes, but you come in here, it’s exactly the same.
“It’s a good atmosphere and it’s for musicians like myself, we come in here.
“Before the pandemic a lot of tourists came in here and they loved it, we were all playing music for them, you know.
“Getting free beers all day…Perfect.”
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Ryan Howe, assistant manager at The Scotia Bar, said: “We had a 225th celebration and I just felt that with all the debate going around about the oldest bar in Glasgow, I think we needed to have a big birthday celebration to really set it out.
“It can be a mad house. It’s a weird place, it’s always been a place for outcasts, for musicians, for creative people, writers, poets, musicians.
“And when you work here, you meet and mingle with all these people and it’s kind of always been like that so to keep it going, we try our best.”
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