Stag Nights in Glasgow

20 Jun 2007

A bachelor party, a stag night, a bulls party or a bucks party- whatever you want to call it, what ever country you are from its all part of the build up to your wedding day. Now for those of you who think stumbling around from nightclub to nightclub is beneath them, well stag nights go as far back as 5th century Sparta so who are you to break with tradition?

First things first, organize your night or weekend properly. This isn't something you can hurriedly put together a few days before. Determine the size of your group. Keep it to close friends and family and hide your plans from party-poopers. Remember that your plans must ensure that everyone has fun so if you are planning a day out followed by a night of excessive drinking make sure everyone likes the sound of what's on offer. Something quite commonly over looked by over enthusiastic stag group's is timing. Its always fun and part of wedding tradition to laugh at a hung over groom on his wedding day, but keep in mind that people need time to recover from a weekend long bender or find their way back from France, so its best to plan your night at least two weeks before the wedding day.

Location and budget are important factors to take into consideration. While it might be tempting to stage a miniature invasion of an eastern European country where the booze is cheap and girlfriends and wives are far away, keep in mind that not everyone can afford to splash out and the aim here is to have fun and embarrass the groom not bankrupt your friends. Scotland is a great destination for travelling stag parties. Cities like Glasgow not only have an excellent nightlife but the surrounding areas are also ideal for sports like white water rafting, abseiling and go-kart racing. Accommodation is also very reasonable. Glasgow's increasing popularity means that you can find places ranging from luxurious to something to fit a more modest budget. The likes of the Radisson SAS Hotel start at £105 per person. It's always best to check with the hotel to see if they don't actually mind hosting a stag group. The Euro Hostel is ideal for stag groups. Beds start at £12.95 and the bar is open 24 hours a day and lets be honest, you aren't going to go to bed at a reasonable hour so why break the bank for a room you're only going to spend a few hours in? Hostels and budget hotels are probably your best bet and the few places you're least likely to be kicked out of in the middle of the night for making too much noise! You want to make the most of this rare opportunity to celebrate the end of your friends single life so be sure to arrive at your accommodation nice and early.

The best kinds of stag parties are the ones that have a range of activities. Freespirits is a company that organises rafting, abseiling and cliff jumping in locations just outside the city of Glasgow. So if you and your friends are the bold and daring types why not chance your luck against the rapids? A commonly popular activity is go-karting. Some of the greats of motor sport started out on the go-kart tracks (honest!) so why not give them a run for their money? Scotkart have an indoor kart-racing track in Clydebank plus a laser tag course. On the other hand if you've always wondered what its like to be in a washing machine, because why wouldn't you, try zorbing with ZorbScotland and for a reasonable price you and your friends can roll down a hill in a giant ball. Never a bad thing.

Before you venture out on the town at night be sure to know which clubs are stag friendly. Club Class Bus will take you round the city in a giant bus with a huge sound system and plenty of girls to serve you more alcohol than you can handle and drop you off at stag friendly clubs. However if you decide to go it alone, research your clubs and make sure you have a kitty. Yes, sounds a bit too much like what the girls would do but it does ensure that no one grumbles about spending too much while the scrooges in the group get away without paying for a single round. Leave your witty jokes and undeniable sense of humour for when you are inside the club or bar. Bouncers are not big and strong for nothing and don't loose sleep over refusing entry to a bunch of drunk and rude partygoers. Smile and try to disguise your lack of sobriety until you're safe and on the dance floor. Glasgow has a huge selection of nightclubs to choose from and you'll be sure to find something to suit your stag night style and music tastes. A great tradition of the Stag night is of course the strip club. Well you'll be happy to know that Glasgow has those too. Diamond Dolls is located in the city centre, has three floors and caters for private parties. Which leads us to a very important piece of information that applies to both stag and hen parties: The Pledge. Try not to be the one who tells significant others about their partners misbehavings on the night. Most important of all, have a good time, don't end the night in a drunken brawl with tracksuit clad teenagers and don't maim the groom- the bride will not be pleased. Trust me.