Scots wait an hour for a pint as beer gardens finally reopen
Drinkers queued for more than a hour to get into beer gardens as they reopened across Scotland for the first time in more than 100 days on Monday.
Pubs, as well as restaurants and cafes, welcomed customers to outdoor areas, with indoor areas expected to open on Wednesday next week.
Nicola Sturgeon urged people to comply with measures in place to protect against coronavirus at the newly reopened sites, such as giving names and contact details, and said customers should be prepared to leave if they were not being followed.
A queue stretched down the street outside Hootenanny in Glasgow city centre, which opened its beer garden shortly after 11am.
Gary Latto, 27, waited with Cameron Connor, 21, for their first pints since lockdown began.
He said: "We've been queuing for an hour and a half but I think it will be worth it when we get in and get a couple of pints."
Paddy Reilly, 39, celebrated meeting up with his sister, brother and sister-in-law for the first time since lockdown with a pint of Guinness.
He said: "It's amazing. You can't get a pint of Guinness in the house - you need to come to a pub for that, it's one thing you can't get in lockdown.
"I'm over the moon, seeing my brother and my beautiful sister and my beautiful sister-in-law, they've not seen each other in ages."
Pubs reopened in England on Saturday. Ahead of the weekend, Boris Johnson said he was looking forward to a pint and Jacob Rees-Mogg urged drinkers to order a “yard of ale”.
However, Ms Sturgeon took a more cautious tone.
The First Minister ordered a coffee when she visited an Edinburgh beer garden ahead of Monday's easing of lockdown, and warned Scots to behave responsibly.
Two metre distancing remains in place in Scotland, although this will be relaxed to one metre in hospitality venues shortly.
Bars have been asked to implement a series of safety measures including asking customers to leave contact details so they can be traced if a confirmed coronavirus case at the venue is discovered. Some venues require customers to book in advance.
"If you're out somewhere and there are no clear safety measures in place, you should consider leaving or not going in in the first place,” Ms Sturgeon said.
"If you see a crowd gathering, particularly at a bottle neck point, avoid it. These are really risky situations so don't take that risk."
On Saturday, when pubs reopened in England, there were some scenes of disorder and large groups of drinkers spilling out onto streets. John Apter, the chair of the Police Federation for England and Wales, said it was “crystal clear” that drunk people were unable to socially distance.
In Scotland, the decision to open pubs on a Monday was a deliberate attempt to prevent a rush seen on what was branded ‘Super Saturday’ in England.
The policy of opening up on a weekday appeared to have had some success, with few signs of disorderly behaviour on Monday afternoon.
Emma McLarkin of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association said the outdoor reopening marked an important milestone, but said most pubs will be waiting until the reopening of indoor areas on 15 July.
