Shields Rd

A commonly-expressed opinion regarding Shields Road is that the most interesting thing about the stop is the car showrooms you pass on the way to the pub. Another long walk beckons . . .

As the name of this stop suggests, our subterranean sojurn now takes us (albeit briefly) to "The Shields" - i.e. Pollokshields, one of the more fashionable areas of the south side of Glasgow. Not that you see much of it . . .

Directions: Out the station and cross the road and then up the path to the right of the building on the corner onto Shields Road. Then walk up the slight incline for about 5 or 6 minutes, past the Jeep and Toyota show rooms and you will see The Honours Three at the traffic lights. Easier than it sounds.

Did You Know . . .

On your return to West Street station from the Gairdner's Airms, if you pause at the top of Laidlaw Street, you can see the Shields Road underground (left) being orange in the distance.

This pub used to hold some sort of record for the greatest amount of Artex applied to any man-made structure, and sported a mock-Tudor exterior (see picture) which was indeed easy to mock. However that has all changed - in place of Tudor there is now a Stuart Kings theme to the pub [SUB Talking Point – Do pubs need a theme other than a drinking theme to be enjoyable?].

Out is the timber cladding and the mountainous Artex and in are slate floors and lots of weapons. ‘Weapons? In a Glasgow Pub?’ I hear you mumble. Yes, but do not worry as these are firmly secured to the wall! I know this as I tried to pinch the pole axe at the entrance. The timber beams are adorned with the reign dates of the various Kings and Queen(s? Was there more than one?). This gets conversation going . . .‘Was James IV the greatest king of Scotland or was he the greatest king of Scotland, ya bam?’ or even ‘Mary Queen of Scots! what a pure loser! She needed a good slapping’. Although when we were there it was more along the lines of ‘Will ya check out the blade on that?’

The bar seems fresher and cleaner than before and that gets a big SUB Thumb up.

Other Pubs:

The nearest other pub we are aware of (courtesy of the 7.05 Club) is the Stanley Bar at the corner of Stanley & Milnpark Streets. Must try and find it some day . . .

The Honours Three (235-237 St. Andrews Drive. Tel. 0141 429 6685)

As you come out the station off to your left on the other side of the road is the Scotland Street Primary School, the last major building in Glasgow to be designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. A rare piece of culture on the Subcrawl.

On days of cold, wet, or snowy weather (and in Glasgow that's 9 days out of 10 even in summer), determined groups of SUBbers have been known to organise a forced run from The Honours Three back down to Shields Road station. In order to reduce the worst effects of the buffeting winds/bitter cold/hailstones/plague of locusts, these intrepid souls run the length of Shields Road in tight formation and in single file ("slipstreaming" as it's commonly known). There are frequent changes in the order, with the back-marker periodically coming up on the outside and taking the lead (a la cycling team trials); otherwise the poor soul at the front would probably be an icicle by the time they reached the station.