HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS. CHEERY CASK IN EAST KILBRIDE

July 2025. East Kilbride.

One night in Glasgow, enough to actually complete a Scottish GBG chapter for the first time since ’22.

And what better place to finish a Guide “county” than in an, ahem, unheralded New Town (see also : Harlow) in the rain. Having left Sheffield in a heatwave I’d arrived in Glasgow in t-shirt and a thin raincoat, forgetting that in Scotland winter starts in July.

East Kilbride’s gave the world Lorraine Kelly, Aztec Camera, Ally McCoist and the Reid brothers, who captured my mood perfectly that Wednesday morning.

I love a bit of light drizzle on a 10 minute walk from a station; it really adds character to the grotesque but huge shopping centre that dominates the town.

After all those attractive tenement pubs in Glasgow’s West End you might think a modern precinct bar straight out of Letchworth or Ilford a bit of a let-down,

but you’d be wrong.

Hudsons is where you get to the heart of East Kilbride, in the comfy club style seating bar and on the bar stools. It’s very smart; Mrs RM would say she sensed “a woman’s touch” but I’m not allowed to.

A simple formula works; half a dozen in when I tip up just after 11am opening, double that when I leave.

Spey Valley “Sunshine on Keith” your lone pint, but it’s a quick seller.

“Jug or straight” asks the friendly barmaid. The Old Boy at the bar with a handle eyes me suspiciously.

“Straight obviously please“.

It’s an immaculately presented pint in a spotless glass. Cool and foamy, NBSS 3.5, the sort you stay for a second pint of.

Ooh, look, a completion.

The soundtrack is, of course, Clydebank’s Wet Wet Wet, but this is almost a deep cut.

My next return to Glasgow is half an hour away, time to admire the vertical queueing in the Spoons that was granted National Heritage status in 2019.

As in 2019 I considered “only ordering a drink” and heading past the queue to the bar,

but I know how violence escalates in Scottish New Towns.

And then I headed to the end of “EK” shopping centre to wind my way back through the park.

If only I’d read the excellent Retired Martin blog beforehand I’d have remembered that it’s impossible to actually leave that shopping centre on foot, and ended up completely lost somewhere near the Ramada hotel above The Murray.

East Kilbride is the LAST place you want to be lost in, even at noon on a Wednesday in July, and I’ve been approached by a Mugabe guard pointing a bayonet at me in Harare.

But I survived.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

16 thoughts on “HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS. CHEERY CASK IN EAST KILBRIDE”

  1. Hi guys – hope you don’t mind the interruption but I came across this blog and figured it might be a good place to ask a couple of questions.I’m American and visiting the UK for the first time later this year.I’m a fan of cask ales and will be visiting London and Oxford with my wife. Can you point me in the direction of a few great pubs in either place where I can sample some cask beer? Thanks in advance.

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      3. If it helps, I felt awful instantly after posting my little joke, and it’s definitely not in keeping (not innkeeping) with the RM helpful spirit. I’ve let myself down.

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    2. Hi, and welcome. I’m sure between us all we can make a few suggestions, though if you’re here for any length of time you might find the Good Beer Guide (book or app) a good idea.

      I’ll post a few suggestions on here when I get home from my latest travels.

      PS we like a name on here. Make one up if you like.

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  3. Hi again – the name’s Bob Bremer from New York.Thanks for the suggestion about the Good Beer Guide and I’ve got a few good ideas for London from that already.Oxford is really the place I’m having trouble organising so if any folks can help out there my wife and I would really appreciate it.Love the British sense of humor.

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    1. Hi Bob .

      I’m going to do you a personalised post shortly with some London and Oxford ideas on it, having asked ChatGPT to produce one from my blog (really interesting concept). But certainly would include Chequers (High Street), Lamb & Flag (St Giles), St Aldates Tavern and the Turf (immortalised by Bill Clinton). These are all central, attractive and spacious pubs so you should get a table as well as decent real ale. But as Mrs RM always says, if you like the look of a place, ignore the guide(s) and pop in.

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  4. Hello my name is Basher McGurk and I will shortly be getting of out of Strangeways after a long stretch for something I did not do
    I was stitched up like a Kipper!
    Anyway would you have any recommendations for near Strangeways where I can get a nice pint of Watneys Red Label
    Helpful tips can be rewarded with the map co ordinates where the holdall with the Oncers is buried

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    1. Hi Basher, good luck with reintegration into society, though would stay well clear of Heaton Park for a while. Chat GPT advises the Beer House at nearby Victoria Station for Watney’s Red Label, though bear in mind Chat GPT has a 4.9% accuracy rate at present.

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