If I did a blog post on GBG oddities, it would obviously focus on daft opening hours, pubs only selling Doom Bar, and bars that (permanently) don’t serve real ale.
But I’d also tell you about sizeable places that haven’t had a new entry in what feels like 20 years. Like Walsall. And Tring. And Sedgefield. And Stirling.
Stirling (pop. 37,910 plus c.100k Scandinavian tourists) has just the Settle in the Guide these days. I discount the Birds and Bees as it’s more Bridge of Allan, though I guess some folk will want to argue the toss on that.
Why is the “Stirling Scene” so static while Perth goes all craft ?
Do I care ?
Anyhow, you need to visit places without a new GBG entry sometimes, so I walked around the back of the castle, which looks best from the road or on a picture nicked from Bing Travel.
The walk was magical,
dotted with art commemorating the birth of flight. This chap tried to glide in through the top window of Stirling Hogshead during a private party to get his GBG tick.
There were queues of German and Scandinavian tourists for the castle, but the town centre itself was far quieter than you’d hope,
with coffee shops unexpectedly closed in peak season (whether due to lack of staff or custom).
Even the Spoons was near deserted at 11am.
One of their more upmarket efforts, with a nice display of tartans including one for a regular pest contributor on this site.
Still, worth an hour of your time,
and approaching a quarter of a century since my visit the Settle looked worthy of revisit.
But not today.
retiredmartin 
Stirling, Stirling.
And here’s me thinking that only the Americans did things like that.
Incidentally, as you say Martin, the lacings never lie, and I have to say, that since the Brains-Marstons collaboration – or whatever you want to call it – Brains have almost always looked like this https://pontcannapaa.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/img_0382.jpg
for an extra point guess the pub? (No not you, Martin)
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Took me a minute to work out what you meant ! Yes, should be Stirling, Stirlingshire surely?
Is Brains brewed in Wolves now ? Lost track. Looks good. It’s the Vulcan, isn’t it ?
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I’m not sure how the tile-by-tile reconstruction at the Museum Of Welsh Life in St. Fagans is going with the Vulcan tbh, Martin, but haven’t heard of its being open at all.
So no, the pic was last night, closer to home.
I think that Brains is still brewed here, but Marstons are running many of the pubs now. Or something like that…
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