The stories behind Scotland's most unusual pub names

Those unfamiliar with the history of the West Lothian town could be forgiven for looking twice at this pub. The Black Bitch refers to the ancient name given to those born in Linlithgow, once the seat of Stewart monarchs such as Mary, Queen of Scots.

The burgh's coat of arms display a black greyhound chained to a tree, the exact origins of which are unclear. A popular explanation among locals suggests the dog's master was sentenced to starve to death on an island in the town's loch for a misdemeanour now forgotten. When the dog was discovered swimming across the loch to fetch her master food, she was chained to a tree as punishment. Her bravery and perseverance are now honoured as characteristics of the town.

This pub in the north-east of Glasgow has long been a watering hole for shift workers at the nearby wholesale fruit market. Despite its name, The Budgie has no association with parakeets or budgerigars. Standing on Blochairn Road, the area has been known by locals as 'the Budgin', and latterly 'the Budgie', for more than a century.

The origin of this singular name is uncertain. One story goes it was Irish immigrants from Donegal, employed at the long closed Blochairn steel works, who brought the name with them in the 19th century.

Even staff at The Budgie are unsure of exactly why the road and pub share this ancient name - but its likely to live on long in the future.

The sign above the door calls it Brechin’s, but this traditional bar is known by many Govan locals as the Black Man’s - taking its name from the distinctive bronze statue of 19th century MP and shipyard owner Sir William Pearce which stands outside.

The red sandstone building was built in the Scots-baronial style in 1894, and is said to have replaced a much older tavern. Brechin's has been serving generations of shipyard workers ever since. It stands just a short distance from Fairfield's, the yard once managed by Pearce and now owned by BAE Systems.

The Brechin family were well-known in the licensed trade at the turn of the 20th century, owning a whisky blending firm as well as several pubs. The Govan bar's association with Clyde shipbuilding is such that it was recently profiled in the BBC TV series The Hairy Bikers’ Pubs that Built Britain.

When opened in 1897, this fine Victorian bar was called the Athletic Arms. That name remains above the entrance today, but generations of Edinburgh drinkers know it as the Diggers. Why? Well, its close proximity to two graveyards should give you a clue. The pub's nickname became so ubiquitous that it was eventually added to the signage outside.

The Diggers has remained popular well into the 21st century thanks to the quality of its beer, traditional interior and close proximity to Tynecastle Park - the home of Heart of Midlothian FC. You'll be lucky find a seat if you visit on matchdays.

A visit to 'Fanny's' has been a popular activity in the East Ayrshire town of Kilmarnock for more than 30 years. This bar first opened in 1846 and much of its original Victorian decor has survived. It was this link to the past that inspired one landlord in the early 1980s to rename the premises Fanny By Gaslight - the title of a 1940 novel by Michael Sadleir set in Victorian London, later made into a film starring Phyllis Calvert.

A short walk from Kilmarnock station, Fanny's remains a busy town centre bar, well-known for offering live entertainment and the quality of its food.

Its name suggests a lucky occurrence, but The Fluke is so-called because of its former incarnation as a fishmonger. Built as a row of cottages in the late 18th century, the building was a fish business by the Victorian age, known for selling the flatfish called flukes, among others.

Situated two miles from Inverness city centre, close to Raigmore Hospital, the bar has been known as The Fluke ever since it made the transformation around a century ago.

The Gallowgate was for centuries the main approach road to Glasgow from the east. Several fine 18th century tenements survive on the east end street, reflecting its former importance, including the building now occupied by the Hielan Jessie.

The pub is named after Jessie Brown, the wife of a Highland infantry officer who became a Victorian heroine for her role in the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Trapped in a fort, with her husband killed by enemy fire, Jessie urged the members of the 17th Highland regiment to fight on after hearing the approaching pipes of the 78th Highland regiment.

The pub stands opposite the site of the first purpose-built infantry barracks in Glasgow, which housed many Highland regiments until 1872.

Robert Burns, Scotland's most celebrated poet, lived and worked on the outskirts of the East Ayrshire town of Mauchline from 1784-88. Among the taverns he frequented in that time was Poosie Nansie's, a typical Scottish inn dating from the early 1700s.

The pub and its regulars are said to have inspired Burns to write his cantata 'The Jolly Beggars', particularly the "ongoings of an old maimed soldier". The scene was reimagined in 1860 by the Scottish painter Alexander Carse, and can be viewed in the Burns Museum in Alloway.

It's said there has been a pub on the site of the Sheep Heid Inn since the 14th century, which if true, would make it the oldest in Scotland. While the present building dates to the 18th century, it retains an old-world charm with low ceilings, wooden panelling and even a Victorian skittles lane.

The origin of the pub's unusual name is unclear, but two explanations are commonly offered. The first suggests that sheep's heid broth (heid, of course, being the Scots word for head) was a local speciality back when the animals were kept in nearby Holyrood Park. The other story suggests the name derives from an ornate ram's head snuff box, donated to the landlord of the pub in 1580 by King James VI - who is said to have been a regular customer.

This pub is a familiar landmark on Edinburgh's High Street, an area popular with tourists keen to explore the capital's history. Given the building's central location, it's difficult to imagine it once standing on the very edge of the city boundaries - hence the name 'World's End'.

Until 1764, the High Street was divided from the Canongate by a large gatehouse known as the Netherbow Port. Legend has it that those passing through the gate had to pay a toll - meaning the poorest Edinburgh residents were left to spend their entire lives within the narrow confines of the city.