Wine tasting and walking tours: Is this the future of stag weekends?

It is a sight intrinsically linked to any bank holiday, in almost any city centre in the UK, groups of stags dressed as superheroes downing pint after pint and chanting insufferable football songs before stumbling to the nearest strip club. However, this could well be a thing of the past as men are finding new and unique ways to spend their stag weekends.

According to The Telegraph, metrosexuals could well be taking over traditional stag weekends. In fact, companies are running more unusual stag do packages as an increasing number of men are opting for alternative ways to spend their “last night of freedom”.

More extravagant ideas for stag weekends

For those that haven’t spent all their hard earned cash on the honeymoon, stag do packages are becoming much more extravagant. In fact, one stag weekend company made headlines in 2014 for offering £1 million stag do packages. The ten-day trip included staying in a Scottish castle, a private island in the Caribbean and a penthouse suite in the Sin City.

Fortunately for stags with a slightly smaller budget, stag party weekends from specialists Maximise are offered at a much more sustainable rate. Maximise are one company that have noticed demand for alternative activities go through the roof. According to them, “stag weekends filled with beer, nightclubs and girls have always been, and always will be, hugely popular. However, others now prefer more leftfield options for them and their mates.”

We’re changing our drinking habits

This trend towards the more interesting and plush stag weekends even extends to what we drink at stag dos. As many men swap cheap continental lager for fine wine, it seems this echoes the views of the general public as six out of ten of us now opt for wine instead of beer.

Not only are we drinking more wine, we’re happy to pay more for it. One study found 74% of wine drinkers said they’d be prepared to pay a price premium for a well-known branded wine over a lesser known equivalent. According to wine specialists The London Wine Cellar this is a result of changing attitudes of the British public towards wine who increasingly see it as a drink to savour rather than gulp down in large quantities.

Traditional parties will remain popular

The smörgåsbord of activites out there might make you believe the “traditional” stag do is in decline. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, stags in the UK are spending money than ever on stag weekends.

Although more and more men a widening their horizons and thinking outside of the box when it comes to their stag party, beer, pranks and generic stag laddishness are still widely enjoyed.

It seems the city centre scenes of stags languishing on lampposts won’t be confined to the history books any time soon. However, we can take comfort in the fact you’re just as likely to see a gang of sophisticated stags at a wine tasting event in London, or on a ghost walk through the streets of York.

The editorial unit