Pretoria Bar in Crieff is top of the pubs

Nov 4 2011 by Lynn Duke, Strathearn Herald

A POPULAR Crieff hostelry has made it into a guide of famous pubs.

The Pretoria Bar was selected from hundreds of pubs throughout the UK to make The Famous Grouse Famous Pubs 2011 list.

The competition hunted up and down the country over a three-month-long campaign to find pubs with unique, interesting or quirky reasons for their popularity.

Nominated by both punters and landlords a number of the pubs set out to raise the bar against others with claims to fame including links to the Beatles. But it was the Pretoria’s friendly atmosphere and its links with its South African namesake that ensured it was awarded a spot in the guide.

The Pret, as it is known locally, is famous for its long standing relationship with the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment of Scotland, which was involved in the thanksgiving peace celebrations in Church Square, Pretoria, South Africa in 1902.

A corner of the bar is devoted to original photos of the celebrations. The Pretoria coat of arms also adorns the wall and has been incorporated into the Pret’s signage.

The Pret had many nominations. One pub goer commented: “I like the Pretoria because it is very friendly and is famous for the Monday night darts league, but when the darts aren’t on I like the fact that you can come in and socialise with random people especially at weekends when they’ve got music on. The staff and customers are very friendly and you can have a laugh with them even when it’s not that busy.”

Landlord Stevie Roger is delighted that his pub has been singled out. He told the Herald: “We don’t know who nominated us but we are very impressed and so are our loyal customers. It’s good for the town. We often have visitors from South Africa popping in when they see our name. They are very interested in the old photos and tell us how much the square has changed since then.’’