Nationwide search for Scottish pubs that serve the finest tales

LONDON, England – The hunt is on to find the stories behind Scotland’s pubs and bars in a major new tourism campaign.

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association has teamed up with VisitScotland and drinks companies Diageo and Tennent’s to launch Scotland’s Pubs and Bars – A Story to Tell, a campaign that will see around 100 of the country’s most fascinating pubs secure a spot on a dedicated website, an accompanying app, as well as daily updates on social media.

The £120,000 campaign has been match-funded with £60,000 from the VisitScotland Growth Fund, with the aim of encouraging visitors to Scotland to discover the stories behind public houses in all corners of the country.

These tales can be anything from mythical hauntings in the beer cellar to famous historical patrons that used to sit at the bar. A pub may boast a famous literary connection, such as a pub well known as a famous detective’s favourite haunt, or a pub that may have enjoyed a starring role on the silver screen. Or it may be a bar which helped launch the career of a band and unearthed a rock n’ roll phenomenon. Or perhaps the distinction is geographic, such as the most remote pub in mainland Britain.

Bars, and customers, will be able to make their nominations online, with the aim of compiling a list of around 100 Scottish pubs with the most fascinating stories to tell. Furthermore, each of these pubs will put forward a member of staff as their resident ‘storyteller’, who can regale customers with tales of the establishment’s background.

Paul Waterson, Chief Executive of the SLTA, said: “One of the great assets of The Scottish Licensed Trade is the range of premises we have. We have everything from style bars to traditional pubs, from music venues and community hubs to late-night venues. Our pubs and bars, of which we are very proud, offer great food, wines, spirits and beers, places where a cappuccino and a croissant are just as likely to be offered as the traditional pie and a pint. But there’s more – the vast majority of Scottish pubs and bars have an individuality and character all of their own and many have a unique, interesting, entertaining story to tell. The SLTA, together with Diageo, Tennent’s and VisitScotland, are going to make use of these great stories, to publicise the fact that our Licensed Trade premises continue to be the heart and soul of the Scottish social scene and a real selling point for tourism.”

Peter Lederer, Director of Diageo Scotland said “Scotland is recognised internationally for its world class hospitality. Up and coming events such as the Commonwealth Games, Homecoming and the Ryder Cup provide a fantastic opportunity to extend a warm welcome to even more people and to build on this reputation.

“Diageo is delighted to be a part of this important initiative to showcase Scotland’s best outlets. We will support the campaign through our Learning for Life Scotland skills programme which will help to train young people for a career in hospitality and further improve industry service standards

John Gilligan, Managing Director at Tennent Caledonian Breweries commented: “Scotland has a rich history of storytelling and never more evident than in the pubs and bars that sit at the centre of many of our communities. At Tennent’s we believe we know as much as anyone about the warmth of the welcome that visitors to Scotland can expect from the nation’s hostelries and it will be a real pleasure to see the stories behind our pubs brought to life. The Tennent’s Training Academy will provide the customer training service element of the project and together we are proud to support Scotland’s excellent hospitality industry and to help our pubs tell their stories to the world.”