Disclaimer – contains strong language!
This location visit took place in July 2025 during an amazingly hot summer weekend in Glasgow. The temperature reached 30 degrees Celsius – I repeat, 30 degrees in Glasgow!
My husband and I first visited Glasgow on our honeymoon back in 2019 and for our 6th anniversary we thought it would be lovely to come back and show it off to friends we invited along with us. It’s always great to see friends enjoy seeing places you’ve recommended and knew that they would like. We showed them some cultural sights, took them to some very nice places to eat and explored some of Glasgow’s finest pubs. And of course we did some film locations as well. Glasgow is not short of them, we missed filming of the new Spiderman film by just a few weeks and Edgar Wright had filmed most of ‘The Running Man’ the previous year. https://www.visitglasgow.com/explore-by-interest/arts-museums-and-heritage/top-film-and-tv-locations
I owe the subject of this blog to my husband Andy as he’d done a bit of research and had discovered that there was a pub in the city that was used in the 1996 film ‘Trainspotting’. Notably the scene were the character Begbie played by Robert Carlyle, deliberately and ever so casually tosses a pint glass over a balcony onto unsuspecting people below. Nearly 30 years later it’s still a pub and is located just a short walk from Glasgow’s Botanical Gardens.
‘Trainspotting’ was directed by Danny Boyle is set in Edinburgh and follows the exploits of several friends involved in the drug scene. It’s a black comedy which doesn’t hold back on graphic scenes and language. It did wonders for the careers of Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle. It won a BAFTA for best adapted screenplay, being based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh.
I’ve recently finished reading Irvine Welsh’s novel and I hadn’t expected it to pretty much be all written in Scottish dialect. I’ll be honest, I struggled at first but at least having been to Scotland a few times and heard the dialect I had some frame of reference. I basically had to read it with a strong Scottish accent to have any hope of following it. I would love to know how it travels – I can easily imagine someone in America not having a clue. For example here’s the bar scene that was adapted and filmed in the Glasgow pub we visited;
Page 102, ‘Trainspotting’ by Irvine Welsh. First published 1993.
‘Then it happens.
Aw ah did wis put a pint ay Export in front ay Begbie. He takes one fuckin gulp oot ay it; then he throws the empty gless fae his last pint straight ower the balcony, in a casual, backhand motion. It’s one ay they chunky, panelled glesses wi a handle, n ah kin see it spinnin through the air oot ay the corner ay ma eye. Ah look at Begbie, whae smiles, while Hazel n June look disorientated, thir faces reflecting ma ain crippling anxiety.
The gless crashes doon oan this draftpak’s heid, which splits open as he faws tae his knees. The boy’s mates assume battle stances, n one ay them charges ower tae this other table n panels this innocent cunt. Another gubs some perr gadge cairryin a tray ay drinks.
Begbie’s oan his feet, n racing doon the stair. He’s right in the middle ay the flair.
-BOY’S BEEN FUCKIN GLESSED! NAE CUNT LEAVES HERE UNTIL AH FIND OOT WHAE FLUNG THAT FUCKIN GLESS!’
Seeing the chaos of that scene realised in the film is glorious. Thankfully it was much less eventful on our visit. Originally built as a Baptist chapel, the pub used in the filming back in 1996 was then known as The Crosslands.
Now called the ‘Brewhaus‘ I’m pleased to report that it’s thoroughly embraced its small part of cinema and has artwork inspired by the film decorating the bar. It’s prominent in their marketing too – the first thing you see on their website is the statement ‘ The Brewhaus – The iconic Trainspotting Pub’ and goes on to say “Made famous by Danny Boyle’s cult classic Trainspotting, Brewhaus is a true Glasgow landmark. Fans of the film can step inside and experience a piece of movie history while enjoying our top-quality drinks and entertainment.” It’s a pub that’s just a bit too out of the way for general tourists to stumble across, we only went because of the filming connection, so hopefully this brings in more trade.
It was around lunchtime on a gloriously hot Saturday when we visited. The bar was rather quiet as the unusually fine weather had drawn most people out to the large beer garden. We wanted to see where they’d shot the film, so after picking up a much needed refreshing pint at the bar we headed upstairs. The pub is mainly one level with a mezzanine floor over the kitchen and bathrooms. There is balcony that overlooks the main bar area and we were able to sit in same spot where the characters were seated. The metalwork and furniture might have been replaced over the years but not much imagination is needed. We had the area to ourselves and of course after enjoying our drinks took a few pictures trying to recreate the scenes.
I was delighted to see several ‘Trainspotting’ artworks around the bar. There’s even a fabulous mural referencing the scene described above. Of course we took a selfie!
It’s a really nice pub to visit and one that we wouldn’t have considered making the effort to go and see if it hadn’t been used in the film. I’d quite happily go back for another drink and to try the food if we were ever in the area again.
If you want to learn about more Trainspotting locations in Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond I recommend you check out this great blog – Trainspotting & T2 Trainspotting Film Locations in Scotland + Map!
From scene to seen 