A Play, A Pie and A Pint – Lunchtime Theatre and the Botanics
A few hours, from Buchanan Street Subway and back.
The route
A Play, A Pie and A Pint calls itself an iconic Glasgow lunchtime, and it's a lovely one.
A brand-new play is staged every week in the basement theatre of Òran Mór, with a Scotch pie and a drink included in the ticket. When the play ends, cross Great Western Road to the Botanic Gardens and finish under the great glass dome of the Kibble Palace. It's an easy few hours in the West End for anyone over 14.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Moment Blythswood Street. Sleeps 2.
Book tickets for A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór
Book A Play, A Pie and A Pint tickets online before 11am on the day: Monday to Saturday at 1pm in its spring and autumn seasons (dates on What's On), £17 on Mondays, £19 Tuesday to Friday and £22.50 on Saturdays at the time of writing, with a pie and a drink included.
The day
Glasgow
A lunchtime at the theatre and an afternoon among the palms: a pie and a pint, an hour of new writing, then a slow wander under glass across the road.
About four hours
A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór
A Play, A Pie and A Pint stages a new play every week, Monday to Saturday at 1pm, in a spring season and an autumn season each year; its What's On page gives the dates. Book online before 11am on the day, as seats go; tickets include a Scotch pie or a vegan sausage roll and a pint, a glass of wine or a soft drink. Take the Subway from Buchanan Street to Hillhead (check the times), then it's 7 minutes' walk up Byres Road to Òran Mór. Doors open at noon, or 12.30pm on Mondays. Collect your tokens at the end of the main bar, head down to the basement theatre, and get your pie before the play starts, as the seats aren't numbered. Plays last about an hour and are for over-14s. For step-free access, go in from Fonn Mór on Great Western Road and take the lift, and tell the door staff; there are accessible toilets downstairs. There's no car park, so come by Subway or bus; Hillhead Subway has no step-free access, so with a wheelchair take the bus.
10 min on foot
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
An attraction
When the play ends, at about 2pm, walk 5 minutes across Great Western Road to the Botanic Gardens, free and open every day. Head for the Kibble Palace, the great white Victorian glasshouse, where a marble statue stands among the tree ferns and palms under the dome; it's open from 10am, until 6pm in summer and 4.15pm in winter. The main paths from the Great Western Road gate are smooth, while the trails down to the River Kelvin are steeper. Hillhead Subway is 10 minutes' walk back down Byres Road.
If it rains
The play is indoors and the Kibble Palace is under glass, so only the 5-minute walk across Great Western Road is in the rain.
Where to stay