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Scottish Sun
23-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Britain's best 20 pubs for retro pints revealed – is one near you?
These pubs are ideal for enjoying this classic British brew CHEERS Britain's best 20 pubs for retro pints revealed – is one near you? SUMMER is approaching, and it's the perfect time to visit some of the UK's best pubs. Whether you fancy a riverside retreat, a lively beer garden, or a quirky spot with history, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has picked 20 pubs that offer something special. 11 From Norfolk to Leicestershire, and as far as Northern Ireland and Wales, the pubs on the list are perfect for enjoying a pint of mild This list comes from CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, and its chairman Ash Corbett-Collins is urging everyone to try a retro pint this summer – mild. Yes, mild... This underrated beer is making a comeback. It's lower in alcohol, packed with flavour, and perfect for sunny days without leaving you feeling too full. Ash said: "Celebrating CAMRA's Mild Month this May is a great way to try something a bit different and to support brilliant independent breweries across the country at the same time. "Mild beers are a great option at the bar during the warmer weather thanks to their sweeter flavour profile. "Cask conditioned mild beer is enjoying a resurgence in popularity as people recognise the great taste and quality of cask beer freshly made by artisan brewers, as well as exploring traditional British beer styles." From Norfolk to Leicestershire, and as far as Northern Ireland and Wales, the pubs on CAMRA's list are perfect for enjoying a pint of mild. So, why not raise a glass to Mild this summer? Whether you're a seasoned connoisseur or a curious first-timer, these pubs offer the perfect setting to enjoy this traditional British brew. Britain's best beer ranked New Plough Inn - Hinckley, Leicestershire 11 New Plough Inn - Hinckley, Leicestershire Credit: Facebook With outside seating at the front and a sheltered beer garden and heated, covered smokers' area to the rear of the pub, this pub is a great place to visit all year round but particularly in the summer. Open noon to midnight every weekend, they have won the Hinckley and Bosworth CAMRA Pub of the Year 2011, 2012, 2022 and 2023. Marston's Cask Ale Pub of the Year 2014 (South Region). Darts, dominoes, crib and skittles are played in the games room, and you can enjoy a fresh pint of Shipstone's Mild while you play. The Cricketers Arms - Saint Helens The Cricketers, home to St Helens' last remaining brewery, Howzat, has brewed a new beer to mark Mild Month. Launched on May 10, Gully Mild (3.5%) is a traditional dark brew served alongside a variety of other milds at the bar. The pub serves Real Ale and Cider and is dog friendly, with a brilliant beer garden – a great pub for these hot months. The Smithfield - Derby 11 The Smithfield - Derby Credit: CAMRA A handsome riverside pub with a central bar serving the main bar and separate quiet back bar. They serve Sarah Hughes – Dark Ruby Mild and were Derby CAMRA Pub of the Year 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024, as well as East Midlands Pub of the Year 2019. On a fine day the large outside terrace overlooking the river is very nice and we would highly recommend. Pharmacie Arms - Syston This pub features Shipstone's Mild on the bar and is also offering guest Milds throughout May as part of CAMRA's Mild Month. There's a lovely outdoor area with tables where you can sit and enjoy your drink. With its 1950s pharmacy theme, including medical artefacts, adverts, and even a skeleton in a dentist's chair, it's a quirky spot with live music every Saturday night. Southampton Arms - Kentish Town, London 11 Southampton Arms - Kentish Town, London Credit: CAMRA This small independent pub in Kentish Town has a total of fourteen handpumps serving almost equal amounts of ciders and beers from microbreweries across the UK. It has a lot of great traditional elements for example they play music on vinyl and the piano is in frequent use. It was the Local CAMRA Pub and Cider Pub of the Year 2024 and is currently featuring a Kent – Born to be Mild drink for punters to enjoy. Blackfriars Tavern - Great Yarmouth This independent pub was named Local CAMRA Pub of the Year and Regional Cider Pub of the Year 2024. It offers over 20 locally sourced real ciders, Mr Winter's Caramel Mild, and more than 100 bottled Belgian beers. Family, dog, and cyclist-friendly, it's the perfect spot to visit with loved ones this summer. Full list of CAMRA's top 20 pubs for mild beer Antwerp Arms - Tottenham, London Blackfriars Tavern - Great Yarmouth Chapter Arts Centre - Cardiff Dirty Duck Ale House - Holywood Drummer's Arms - Blackburn Duke of Wellington - Norwich George Inn - Portsmouth Grapevine - Exmouth Half Moon - Hitchin New Inn - Colchester New Plough Inn - Hinckley, Leicestershire Ostrich - Prestwich Pharmacie Arms - Syston Puckersley Inn - Royton Southampton Arms - Kentish Town, London The Cricketers Arms - Saint Helens The Smithfield - Derby Victoria - Walsall White Lion - Hampton in Arden Woolly Sheep - Skipton Grapevine - Exmouth 11 Grapevine - Exmouth Credit: CAMRA This great pub in Exmouth, have their beer supplied almost entirely by their own brewery on site. They always have at least three cask Ales on selection at any time and currently they are serving Crossed Anchors – Workmans Mild on draught. There is live music every Saturday and their rear garden patio is perfect to sit outside in during these next few months to sample their fantastic beer. Victoria - Walsall This two-roomed pub dating from 1845 is very close to the town centre and for the hot months ahead has a pleasant garden and smoking facilities at the rear. Open mic and quiz nights are held there regularly, and they have a pool table upstairs that'll keep you in there for hours. The pub currently has Church End – Gravediggers Mild on tap and is a great venue to visit when in the area. Duke of Wellington - Norwich 11 Duke of Wellington - Norwich Credit: CAMRA Friendly pub with a changing range of guest ales that are served alongside the permanent beers (mainly from Wolf brewery). Wolf in Sheep's Clothing is their latest offering of mild on draught. The attractive enclosed rear garden/patio area hosts a beer festival in late August, and regular barbecues at weekends in summer, making it an ideal spot for the coming months ahead. Dirty Duck Ale House - Holywood Perched near Belfast Lough, the Dirty Duck Ale House is a cosy haven. It boats three real ales, largely drawn from national and local brands and also has a great beer garden that is fantastic once the sun comes out. They also have a nook celebrating local golfing hero Rory McIlroy and are a two-time former local CAMRA Pub of the Year. George Inn - Portsmouth 11 George Inn - Portsmouth Credit: CAMRA Another pub with an interesting story, the George Inn was formerly a tram stop on the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway. The pub offers extensive views over the city from their patio garden overlooking Hayling Island and the Isle of Wight. Serving cask ale and milds this summer, CAMRA would highly recommend. Chapter Arts Centre - Cardiff This former school turned arts venue is the perfect spot in Cardiff to find a great selection of cask beer. The guest beers are sourced from across the UK, and usually include small independents, supplemented by a local ale. They currently sell Brains – Dark Mild and it is a family friendly pub which features a community garden for you to sit in to enjoy this tasty beverage. White Lion - Hampton in Arden 11 White Lion - Hampton in Arden Offering a real high quality and quantity of cask beers, the White Lion in Warwickshire is a traditional country pub that is well worth its great reputation. Currently serving a Timothy Taylor – Golden Best Mild, the pub looks to rotate two of its regular beers every five to six months. There is a pub garden out the back and is a great pub at this time of year. Half Moon - Hitchin Friendly and welcoming one-bar pub dating from the 18th century. Nine ever-changing guest ales ensure that a variety of beer styles is available always. A former local CAMRA Pub of the Year and current Cider Pub of the Year, it is an excellent spot for a drink in the sun. New Inn - Colchester 11 New Inn - Colchester Credit: CAMRA A rare example of a two-bar pub. With a quiet, comfortable saloon bar and an open public bar featuring music, TV sports, and friendly conversation, this is a venue of two halves. The garden comes to life in the summer and with a great selection of cask beer available, we highly recommend this place. Antwerp Arms - Tottenham, London This CAMRA favourite community-owned pub is a must-visit, especially in the summer. The Georgian building, complete with a beer garden, is Tottenham's oldest working pub and has been serving the neighbourhood since 1822. It was saved from demolition in 2013 thanks to the efforts of the local community and CAMRA campaigners. Ostrich - Prestwich 11 Ostrich - Prestwich Credit: CAMRA Built over 300 years ago, this historic venue is a great Community pub with a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. The beer garden is an ideal place for families with children. Serving a Joseph Holt – Mild beer currently that will no doubt be a favourite amongst locals. Puckersley Inn - Royton The Purkersley Inn in Royton is another fantastic spot in Greater Manchester. It currently serves JW Lees Mild, a popular choice among visitors. This detached pub also offers stunning panoramic views over Royton, Shaw, and Oldham from its dining room and spacious beer garden. Drummer's Arms - Blackburn 11 Drummer's Arms - Blackburn Credit: CAMRA This pub regularly serves Three B's - Stoker's Slake Mild and is full of historic charm, with walls covered in breweriana and old pub signs. The bar offers a wide range of beer styles, from stouts to hoppy bitters, ensuring there's something for everyone. At the front, there's a cosy terrace with upcycled drum tables, perfect for enjoying a drink outdoors. Woolly Sheep - Skipton The highlight of this pub in summer is its traditional cobbled courtyard. It features decking with comfortable seating and a canopy, creating the perfect spot to relax. Here, you can enjoy a pint of Timothy Taylor Dark Mild at the bottom of Skipton High Street.
Telegraph
24-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Help, my historic local pub has turned into a brasserie
My local pub has closed down, to be converted into a brasserie. Ye Olde Cherry Tree in Southgate, north London had been trading since 1695 but today it's covered in scaffolding. It's unclear what building work is going on behind that scaffolding – it's Grade II listed so presumably there are some constraints. It's also unclear whether it will retain the historic name, but it's already listed on the brewery's website as 'Browns Southgate'. However its pub days are over. Although the closure prompted dismay locally, it has had minimal attention on a national or even London-wide scale, overshadowed as it was by the closure of another Ye Olde nearby, the rather better known Swiss Cottage. But even losing two historic pubs in the same part of the city in the same week is completely unremarkable: recent stats show that by the end of last year we were losing as many as 34 a month in England and Wales. Now the news that the average price of a pint is set to rise to £5.01 for the first time next month will cause more doom and gloom among the nation's pub goers and landlords struggling with rising costs. Pubs under threat A recent YouGov poll found only 50 per cent of the public had visited any public house in the last month – and 17 per cent hadn't been to one in over a year, if ever. Another study, by Altus Group, found that 412 pubs had gone out of business last year alone, the biggest fall since the pandemic obliterated hundreds. Pubs are seemingly under attack from all sides: the cost of living crisis, the tax man, and even, as The Crooked House in Staffordshire notoriously found, arsonists. The Sekforde in Clerkenwell is the latest to face attempts from neighbours to get it closed down for being too noisy. It survived this month – just. A £250 million government scheme, The Community Ownership Fund, which enabled groups of locals to take ownership of cherished pubs which might otherwise be demolished was wound up at the end of last year. There are now 200 such pubs but it looks like there won't be any more. What are the problems? So why are pubs having such a rough time and how can they avoid the fate of The Cherry Tree? Roger Protz, a former editor of The Good Beer Guide, has been writing about pubs for 50 years. He told me: 'At the end of the Second World War there were 100,000 pubs in this country. Now there are fewer than 40,000. You wouldn't get this in France or Germany – they wouldn't let their vineyards be torn up. But in the UK we let this happen. There are steps that the Government can take to stop this but they haven't. ' These include, he explains, removing the VAT on pub food and drinks, reducing business rates and cutting excise duty. 'It's crazy that you can go into a supermarket and buy lager for £1 – as cheap as water – but the same drink in a pub will cost you £5. When you buy a pint in a pub in England, a third of your money is going to the Government. But in Germany the equivalent tariff is just 2p. 'You wouldn't tax a Norman church until it's forced to close down – so why would you tax a Georgian pub in this way? These are heritage institutions and community resources that should be the pride of the country.' But amid the gloom, there are occasional positives: 'In my hometown, St Albans, we have recently seen Ye Olde Fighting Cocks [often said to be the oldest pub in the country], come back from closure. And three new pubs have opened too – there can be successes.' Some positives This idea of pubs opening or reopening leads me to Oisín Rogers. Aside perhaps from Jeremy Clarkson, whose Farmer's Dog in Oxfordshire has been rammed since it opened last August, Rogers's The Devonshire off Piccadilly Circus is probably the most successful new/old pub of recent times. What was previously a Jamie Oliver restaurant is now winning rave reviews as a pub/restaurant. 'There's a lot of pessimism,' Rogers said. 'And I don't think it helps. You hear it all the time: the energy bills, the cost of beer, the tax, and all that. But misery is self-perpetuating and as a customer the last thing you want in a pub is a miserable atmosphere – to be thinking about politics or economics. 'Part of the problem is that so many are still brewery-owned. And those don't tend to be as good as the independents. One of the reasons for that is that the wages are so poor for someone to work a 70 hour week, in a stressful environment with all that responsibility for making it work.' Rogers goes on: 'A pub will only work if it's loved. People love pubs that love themselves and that starts with the publican – if they're not happy that radiates out. You want a good atmosphere, not a constant turnover of managers, no consistent identity.' But even the success of one pub can cause another to suffer. It emerged this month that the nearest pub to Clarkson's, The Three Horseshoes in Asthall, Oxfordshire, has been listed for sale since it was eclipsed and takings slumped. Lost pubs Writer Sam Cullen has just published a book, London's Lost Pub s. Reading his vignettes of their stories – a mixture of bad decisions and disastrous rebrands – is depressing. How some of them were allowed to go is mystifying. Take The Beatles's 'local', The Heroes of Alma was the nearest boozer to Abbey Road studios and the zebra crossing where dozens of Beatles fans turn up daily to be photographed. The fab four were regulars – and this alone you'd think would have secured its future. But it was converted into housing in 2002. Cullen says many pubs today seem to see redemption in food sales: 'They are under pressure to maximise income on all fronts so you don't find many these days that don't do food. But some are really just restaurants in the shell of an old pub.' This chimed with my recent experience in Suffolk: The Unruly Pig has been named gastropub of the year three times and its food was indeed sensational. But I left feeling that the title was a misnomer as it's not really a pub at all, just a very good restaurant. Similarly in gentrified Bruton, Somerset, the flagship destination for 'down from London' weekend users is the Michelin-starred Osip restaurant, where the set lunch costs £120 and the wine list starts at £50. It's set in the building that for 250 years previously was The Bull Inn, serving locals £4 beer, rather than media millionaires like Gary Lineker or Stella McCartney. Cullen went on: 'I think the key thing that stops a pub just being a restaurant is that you feel you can go in for just a drink. You don't need a reservation and someone holding an iPad isn't going to spring at you as you enter, asking 'Are you dining with us today?' 'I'm not a big fan of traditional pub grub or those now staple roasts which all come with big Yorkshire puddings and cost £17. But I do like stumbling on an interesting kitchen. The other day I was in The Stag's Head off Great Portland Street and they had a Greek pop up. Or The Coach and Horses in Leyton where I encountered a Sri Lankan kitchen.' Indeed, following the closure of The Cherry Tree, my 'new' local, will be The Osidge Arms, a 1930s inn which retains its pubbiness while offering rather good and very cheap Turkish food. Failure can help the developers But even if your local does switch its status to restaurant, this may not mean Michelin stars are heading its way: Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale, issued a recent warning that property developers are using a ruse to make it easier to get planning permission to convert pubs into housing if they convert them into restaurants first - a way of bending planning rules. And sometimes it seems that showing the pub is not financially viable might help here. Cullen continues: 'You do come across places where you get a frosty welcome – sometimes it can be literally cold – and you wonder if the place is being rundown deliberately to make planning changes easier.' How to get customers back Two novice publicans who are trying to take on board much of this advice are Annabel Cochrane and John Hunter who took on The Red Lion in the village she grew up in, Blewbury in Oxfordshire, four years ago. They poured their own money into it – buying out the brewery that had owned it for decades and turning it into a freehouse. And since then it's been a labour of love to try to turn its fortunes around. They now put on guest kitchen nights – offering rotating food themes, as well as quizzes, events, anything to attract interest and affection. Annabel said: 'We wanted to bring people locally back in. And then have a profile outside the village too. We offer food but also be fully open to people who only want a drink. We make sure we are open, from noon every day, with a fire in the grate and a warm welcome. 'It can feel like everything is stacked against you but we are determined to make it work. It's hugely challenging but enormous fun too.' But if you are already popular, it can be about gently tweaking a formula to keep it winning. Thomas Craig took over The Woodman, a cherished traditional pub with rotating cask ales, in rural Hertfordshire from his father, who had run it for 25 years, in 2006. He said: 'Any changes we make provoke uproar – when we replaced the old sticky carpet for example. So we have to be careful not to lose what makes the place special. We have made small adjustments like switching from cash only to offer contactless. But very cautiously. We still only serve the same sandwich we have for 40 years, a take-it or leave it cheese and onion toastie.' But back to The Cherry Tree. Comments on a neighbourhood Facebook page show how missed it is already: 'I had my hen night here', 'I worked here for years, it was a second home', 'I turned up for a drink the other day and was horrified to find it closed'. This is what we are losing – not just public houses but shared community experience.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Must visit' West Midlands social club with own brewery is UK's best
A SOCIAL club in the West Midlands has been crowned the best in the UK, beating finalists from up and down the country to the top spot. The multi-award winning Firs Club in Codsall, Staffordshire has been named Club of the Year for 2024 by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for the first time. Described by CAMRA as a 'must visit for cask beer fans', the Firs Club was praised for its drinks line up, with the club having its own microbrewery on site, which features a core ranges of ales, some of which are exclusive to the venue, Firs beers and five locally sourced, 'ever-changing' cask beers. Claiming to be 'the best place in Codsall to watch football, the club has a large decking area for people to enjoy in the summer, as well as a 'comfortably furnished' bar area, quiet lounge area and a separate sports lounge for people to enjoy a round of darts or game of pool. The club's manager, Anna Reynolds, said she was 'honoured' to win the award and praised the community behind the club for its success. She said: 'Well what can I say, it's a great surprise and honour to win CAMRA's Club of the Year award, it's something we thought was out of our reach. 'We couldn't have done it without the support of our club members, committee, CAMRA members and of course the staff who work hard to make the club a great place to visit and hopefully stay for a while.' The club has previously been named West Midlands Regional Club of the Year three years in a row and has been featured in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. The Firs Club beat out three other social clubs in Kent, Kettering and St Helens to take the national crown. Shelly Bentley, West Midlands Regional Director for CAMRA, said: 'This is a fantastic achievement for the Firs Club. 'Anna and the team work incredibly hard to create a communal atmosphere and provide a stellar line up of beers for locals to enjoy. I hope this is the first of many successes for the club and its community. '2024 has been a fantastic year for the West Midlands, this award for the Firs Club is truly deserved and comes just a couple of weeks after the Bailey Head in Oswestry was named Pub of the Year 2024.'
