Oldest Pub in Stirling: Nicky-Tams or the Settle Inn?

What people mean by 'oldest pub in Stirling' — and why the answer isn't quite settled

Most of the confusion comes from mixing two questions: how old the building is, and how far back a licensed trade on the site can be traced. A pub can occupy a much older structure, as The City Walls does with Stirling's town wall, without claiming to be the oldest. A date like 1718 or 1733 usually reflects when a house is thought to have started trading, not when the stone was laid.

Who is doing the describing also matters. Nicky-Tams' 1718 date appears in a 2017 trade report on the pub's sale, hedged as one of Stirling's oldest and thought to date from that year. The Settle Inn's 1733 date appears in a local listing that calls it outright the oldest pub in Stirling. A hedge and a flat statement are not the same kind of claim.

Fifteen years separate the two, so the picture is genuinely close. On the numbers alone Nicky-Tams is earlier; on the strength of the phrasing, the Settle Inn's claim is put more boldly. Neither is a formal heritage designation, so treat both as attributed claims and ask at the bar which date the house itself uses.

Nicky-Tams Bar & Bothy, Baker Street: the case for 1718

Nicky-Tams sits on Baker Street in the city centre, occupying the ground and first floors of a traditional stone tenement building. As the 2017 report describes it, there is a public bar at street level and seating upstairs, with spirits store, beer cellar and commercial kitchen behind the scenes. That makes it a proper two-level town-centre pub, and the upstairs seating gives a quieter perch when the bar is busy.

The 1718 date is why the pub appears in this argument, and it is worth being precise about the wording. When the pub was offered for sale in 2017 through Graham & Sibbald, it was described as one of Stirling's oldest public houses and said to date from 1718. That is a trade-press description from the time of the sale, not a statement about today's operation.

The same report gives a sense of the pub's character as it was then run: a simple Scottish menu with food a modest part of the business, plus live music, DJs and quiz nights across a seven-day week. That adds up to a pub built around the room and the evening rather than a long dinner menu, so it suits a drink and a plate rather than three courses in a quiet corner.

The Settle Inn: the case for 1733, and why it's often called the oldest

The Settle Inn is dated to 1733 and is described locally, in plain terms, as the oldest pub in Stirling. That directness is probably why the title attaches to it so often: it is a short, confident claim rather than a qualified one, and it is the version that travels.

What the pub is good for is equally clear from the same description: local and national ales and a good selection of whisky. That suits the way most people use an old Scottish pub, a pint of something Scottish alongside a dram rather than a lengthy menu. If your interest in the oldest pub is really an interest in drinking well in an old room, this is the claim that matches the offer.

Keep the case modest. The 1733 date is the firm detail on offer; opening hours, food service and booking arrangements are not settled by it, and they change. Ring ahead if you are travelling for it, especially if a Sunday meal matters, so you are not relying on remembered times.

How to weigh the two claims honestly

Separate the year from the wording. Go strictly by the earliest date in print and Nicky-Tams' 1718 comes first; go by which pub is most often given the title without qualification and the Settle Inn's 1733 takes it. Both are reasonable readings, and neither pub needs to win for the visit to be worthwhile.

Treat absolute versions of the question with suspicion, because dates for old Scottish pubs rest on trade records, title deeds or local tradition and rarely on one document that ends the argument. For a day trip, the better question is which you would rather spend an hour in: a tenement pub with upstairs seating and a music-and-quiz character, or a whisky-and-ale house carrying the bolder claim.

The City Walls: not the oldest, but the most striking room in Stirling

The City Walls on Back Walk makes no oldest-pub claim, and it is the better for it. You enter through an archway in Stirling's 16th-century defences into a conversion of what was once an ironmongers' warehouse, so the interest here is architectural rather than a matter of licensing dates. For a sense of old Stirling without a disputed plaque, it is the most striking of the three settings.

It is also the most flexible: a large, lively bar with an upstairs beer garden looking over King's Park and food served through the day. Guests under 18 are welcome until 9pm, dogs are allowed, and the pub is cashless, which is worth knowing before you set out. Kitchen and bar hours vary by day, so check the times on the pub's own page before a late arrival.

It serves Belhaven's beers, and the parent brewery's founding date is a brewery figure, not a Stirling pub one, so leave it out of any age comparison. The trade-off is plain: you get space, food and a view instead of a place in the oldest-pub argument. If you are comparing outdoor space across the city, the upstairs terrace is the one to measure the others against.

What to order and what to expect at each

At the Settle Inn, order to the description: a Scottish ale and a whisky, taken slowly. It is not pitched as a dining house, so plan a main meal elsewhere and use it for a starter-sized stop or a drink before dinner. At Nicky-Tams, the 2017 report points to a simple Scottish menu with food as a supporting act, a fair signal to expect straightforward cooking rather than a gastropub kitchen.

The City Walls is the one to pick for a full plate and a table you can book, being a Belhaven house with a broad everyday pub menu and a beer garden upstairs. If a dram is the point of the outing rather than a side note, the Settle Inn's whisky selection is the reason to head there first.

Practical points: booking, kitchen times, children and dogs

Of the three, The City Walls is the only one whose own page invites bookings and publishes separate bar and serving hours, so it is the safest choice for a group or a family with a fixed slot. Nicky-Tams and the Settle Inn are described as traditional drinking houses, and neither sets out a booking policy or kitchen times in the detail available, so phone before relying on either for a meal.

On children and dogs, The City Walls is explicit: under-18s until 9pm, dogs welcome, cashless throughout. Assume nothing for the other two, since old town-centre pubs often have tighter policies in the evening than at lunchtime. All three sit within a short walk of the city centre, so you can switch venues on the night without a taxi.

Which old Stirling pub should you actually go to?

Go to Nicky-Tams if the earlier date is what draws you and you want a proper town-centre pub with upstairs seating and an evening atmosphere. Go to the Settle Inn if you want the version of the title most people repeat, with a Scottish ale and a dram to match. Choose The City Walls for the most dramatic old room, a bookable table and food into the evening.

Whichever you pick, treat the 1718 and 1733 dates as attributed claims rather than settled fact, and confirm the day's hours before you travel. If a long lunch is the plan rather than a drink in an old bar, the Sunday roast Stirling options are the better bet.