St Georges X

The area of St Georges Cross is a mix of tenament housing and shops of a cycling and camping (that's field, not Elton John) nature. All rather boring really.

Only noteworthy thing about the stop are the stairs outside the entrance leading up to the main road. These are ideal for group photos. One of the SUB crew knows someone who used to live in one of the flats directly opposite the exit - one morning the body of some poor guy who'd been knifed was found on the building's doorstep. Grim stuff.

To get to your pub of choice go up the stairs and turn right into Great Western Road. Keep walking until you spy The Captain's Rest on the other side. Then either cross the road, (carefully 'coz you may well be rubber at this point and have problems focusing) or stay on the side you're on and walk the few extra yards to Wintersgill's.

It's round about now it becomes tricky to work out exactly where you are, as the signs inside the stations (right) only tell you the fourteen stops you aren't at, not the one you are at. You have to use a process of elimination to calculate your whereabouts.

(p.s. One correspondent has noted a similarity between the sign in this photo and a glass of lager. Fantasy on his part or subliminal beer-obsession on ours? - you decide.)

The Captain's Rest is a theme pub, and the theme is nautical. Lots of Shivermetimbers and hoistyerpetards. Has a touch of the yuppie about it, but the naff side (is there a good side of Yuppie? Discuss). Sells beer though. On one memorable visit we encountered a karaoke, or rather a woman desperately trying to get the drinkers interested in singing a song . . .
	The Captain's Rest (185 Great Western Road G4 9EB. Tel. 0141 331 2722)
Wintersgills (226 Great Western Road, G4 9EJ. Tel. 0141 332 3532) is almost directly across the main road from the Captain's. We avoided this place for many years after we were thrown out for starting a condiment fight with all the little sachets of sauce they had unwisely left on the tables of the lounge/dining area (one of our number copped some ketchup on his jacket and thought it was blood). However we were pleasantly surprised on our recent return - the main bar is tastefully-decorated with very comfortable (fake?) leather seating and lighting which isn't so much 'subdued' as beaten into complete subjugation. You may feel an overwhelming urge for a cigar and an expensive cognac (or single malt). Returning to the nautical theme, one of the newer options at this stop is the Liquid Ship (177 Great Western Road, G4 9AW. Tel. 0141 331 1901), just a few doors down from the Captain's Rest. Well done modern bar/pub, which feels like an independent rather than a "chain pub". However the high stools and tables may present a challenge to your balancing abilities this late on in the Sub. Finally (you're spoilt for choice here, aren't you?) is the Castle Vaults. It first came to our attention courtesy of our correspondent Charlotte who had told us that: "It's really small but the regulars are amazingly friendly and it's only 1.80 for a double 35ml house spirit and mix." Tucked just behind GWR to your right as you come out of the station, the Vaults (as no-one calls it) is technically the closest pub. This aroused mixed feelings among our party when we visited: while the bar staff were unhelpful, some subbers found the locals to indeed be very friendly - perhaps too friendly? It's a traditional square room pub, with a TV in one corner (which says it all). Don't expect to be inspired by the choice of beer. Worth a visit? You decide.
	Castle Vauls (12 Clarendon Place, G20 7PZ. Tel. 0141 332 4522)

Beware the Scary Woman, the Yin to Ibrox's Annoying Little Man's Yang. She spots you on the dinky train and follows you into the bar even though there are a dozen of you. She then stands too close and asks you to buy her drink, you then have to run away to escape her. Beware. Beware. A woman fitting her description has recently been spotted by our correspondent Mike hanging about outside Morellos asking "Haw big man, gonnae gie is a bawg a chups birraway?"

"Banister Bedlam" Our correspondent Bruce warns of the dangers of banister sliding at this stop:

"On the last occasion . . . we didn't complete it (the subcrawl) as yours truly fell on to the line at St Georges Cross - following a banister slide gone wrong - and despite my good intentions for the others, they insisted that my gaping head injury should be seen to immediately. So it was a trip back to Kelvinhall and to the Western (maybe this could be included in your site - nearest hospitals). I seem to have a knack of getting injuries - the previous time I ended up with a dodgy rib injury from a Byres Road incident."

Bruce's suggestion that we add a "nearest hospitals" guide to the site seems to be a sensible one (probably why we never thought of it); we hope to provide this in the not-too-distant future.

Other Pubs:

The above were not always the bars of choice for this stop. Back in '89 (time of our first Subcrawl), it was Pharoah's which was nothing more than a small room with a couple of chairs thrown into it. The bar was a two foot gap in the wall and only drink it sold was Heavy and Lager, nothing else just Heavy and Lager from two taps on the counter.