Historic Star & Garter pub restored after fire

ONE of Scotland’s most historic pubs has risen from the ashes thanks to two local businessmen, at a cost of nearly £1 million.

The Star & Garter has reopened after a £1m revamp

The Star and Garter, in Linlithgow, West Lothian, was razed to the ground in a fire in 2010.

The building, which had stood at the heart of the community for more than 250 years, was left a dilapidated shell, and stood empty for two years, before local property developer Ross Wilkie and his childhood friend David Kennedy stepped in.

It was so badly damaged, they were able to buy the former pub for just £160,000, but it took them another £800,000 to bring it back to its former glory.

Originally built as townhouse, in 1759, the Star and Garter was bought by a railways firm in the 1840s as a hotel for railway workers, as tracks arrived in the West Lothian town.

It was also a staging post, with stables for passing riders and the mail coach would stop at its doors.

Mr Wikie is now the family hotel’s new landlord, after an epic 15-months of renovation work.

He said: ‘I grew up in the town and when the Star and Garter burned down it was a sad day for the whole town.”