IT IS THOUGHT to be Alloa's oldest pub, but Crams Bar has been given a fresh outlook with a lockdown refurbishment.

Despite the uncertainty caused by Covid-19, owners decided to bring the pub into the 21st century – just in time for a harsh winter period ahead.

Owner Andrew McKnight told the Advertiser: "We couldn't decide what to do at the tail end of lockdown.

"It needed a little bit of a refresh so while we were locked down we decided to give it a bit of a freshening up.

"Obviously, we didn't realise there will be all these restrictions and it's going to be quite a difficult winter for pubs."

Restrictions announced last week – aimed at stemming the number of coronavirus cases –mean pubs are ringing the bells for last orders before the 10pm curfew.

Andrew explained that while the interior has been given a fresh look, he hopes to have retained the pub's character.

He said: "It's the oldest pub in Alloa so we didn't want to make it into some kind of modern thing, but we wanted to give it a freshening up."

The seating, walls, bar counter, lighting, flooring have all been renewed while Andrew also touched up the exterior

"It was a bit outdated," the owner added. "We did all the finishes, probably did a little bit more than we were going to do to start with, but I think it's been worth it.

"We've had a lot of good comments so far; a lot of people like it.

"With the size of the place, and the restrictions on numbers, there's only certain amount of people we can have in at a time – but I suppose it's better to be open than closed."

Andrew also revealed that Crams has an upstairs bar – something which has been closed for more than four decades and only some of the veteran patrons will remember.

However, he hopes he might be able to give the place a new dimension by refurbishing the pub's second floor to accommodate more customers while restrictions are in place.

He said: "Some of the old people in the town know because it was open when they were young, but it's not been opened for at least 40 years."

Andrew wanted to thank contractors Donaldson Construction, Lawlor Decorating Company as well as Bennetts Carpets & Flooring.