A pub in the West End of Glasgow has undergone a £900,000 which has turned it into the city's first solar-powered pub.
The popular boozer closed for refurbishment in October last year when it was taken over by established group Nicholson's Pubs.
Now, after reopening with a new name and look at the end of November, the pub has finished its transformation by now offering the city's "greenest pint."
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The Hyndland Rock, at 205 Hyndland Road, has been transformed with a significant investment by the new owners, and a new team behind the bar.
New manager Bryan Murrin, who previously managed The Drum and Monkey in the city centre, spoke with the Glasgow Times about the pub's new look and new source of power.
He said: “To my knowledge it’s the first solar-powered pub in Glasgow.
“We’ve reinstated a kitchen as part of putting food back into the offer and taking it away from being just a pub, so we can make it more of a neighbourhood bar-restaurant.
“They installed a fully electric kitchen, which is quite unusual – normally it would be gas-fed – and that was part of the plan along with the solar panels, which feed the electricity for the building.”
The Sunday roast has been a big hit since making a comeback and the pub's grub is gathering a lot of praise from punters.
Now, those tucking into their Yorkshire puds can scran them safe in the knowledge they've been cooked with the green power of the 114 solar panels now sitting proudly on the pub's roof.
The pub was previously named The Rock, which opened in 1966 and had an interesting start to life.
It was the first licensed premises to be built in Hyndland and faced severe backlash from the local community, especially members of the church.
In a funny turn of events, their parish Dowanhill Church went on to become Cottiers Theatre, another licensed premises.
The pub's original building was constructed from the stone that came from the demolition of the house that once sat on the site, and so The Rock was born.
Now, 60 years later, the pub that nearly never was has become the first in Glasgow to be powered under its own steam (or sunlight to be exact).
Bryan has been soaking up the love in the community for the historic pub, he said: “There’s a real feeling for the pub – people talk about queuing up to get in during the 70s and 80s.
"You were kind of nobody if you didn’t come here a lot of them say, some regulars have told us about how they met their partners here.”
That affection for the pub did mean that changing the name "had to come at a compromise," Bryan added: “There was a lot of noise around changing the name, but to be fair I think there was a happy medium with changing it to The Hyndland Rock and keeping ‘the Rock’ in.”
Reintroducing the kitchen means that the 185-capacity pub is full of a variety of punters every day of the week.
The "Tardis" like space is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside and the revamp means there are different sections of the pub who can all be enjoying different experiences at once.
A large projector can be deployed in the main bar for sports games - the Six Nations games have been "jumping" Bryan says with a smile - while a cosy corner with a traditional fire offers a more relaxed area.
There's also a 64-seat beer garden to catch the summer rays in the sun-trap pubs front garden, but the heated area has been a hit in the winter months already.
Bryan explained: “I was amazed at how many people were using the outside area - we’ve seen people using the terrace right through Christmas on crisp dry nights, not just smokers.
"I think summertime is going to be an absolute belter here, we can't wait.”
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We reported last month that a hit comedian called The Hyndland Rock "the best in the UK" for its disabled toilet facilities.
Matt Forde, best known for his TV appearances and stand-up comedy shows, visited the Hyndland Rock in the city's West End and was blown away by the loo.
Matt was diagnosed with a rare spinal cancer, chordoma, in 2023, after feeling nerve pain in his leg during a run of shows at Edinburgh's Fringe.
He now has a stoma and has to self-catheterise, meaning he needs the use of disabled toilets.
The pub also has the cherry-on-top of having a car park at the back of it for customers, helping avoid any on-street parking charges or lack of spaces in the busy area.
Leaving the pub, the revamp shines, and with the solar-panelled roof adding to the green aesthetic of the walls - Glasgow's greenest pint is certainly worth a try.
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