The Alex James, Bellshill

The Belmill Hotel closed July 2023 and reopened as The Alex James in March 2024. Before the Belmill it was Chaplin’s Bar.

Following a major refurbishment, this is now almost unrecognizeable from the its former incarnation as "Chaplin's Hotel." The rather dingy looking public bar of old has been completely transformed into a plush, modern lounge and diner. With Guinness selling at £3.30 a pint, it is probably now the most expensive drinking place in town. Tennent's, Ceasar Augustus and Heverlee lagers, Caledonia Best and Amber heavy are also on draught. Although there is a designated eating area at the rear, food is served throughout and the back section was being set up for a DJ on the Friday night I visited. Breakfast is available from 9.00 a.m. each morning, except Sundays when it starts at 10.00 a.m. and meals are sold until 9.00 p.m. every night. The upstairs area contains the four rooms which justify its designation as a hotel. The adjoining cottage buiding is now, in effect, the public bar, although it doubles as the Platform 3 Night Club/Disco. Prices there are dramatically different, with Guinness selling at only £2.50 - a full 80 pence lower than next door. The connecting passageway behind the bar is for staff only, however, so buying a pint in the bar and walking through with it isn't an option. The prices do, presumably, increase when it becomes the disco on weekend nights. The new name comes from the earliest recorded settlement in the area - Belmill (with only three Ls instead of the four in Bellshill), which was first recorded on a 1654 map and from which the present name of the town is believed to derive.