PUBTRAILS
Reviews , pictures and maps of pub trails to follow in over 40 cities and towns
OCTOBER NEWS 1st October low alcohol beers reviewed link
SEPTEMBER NEWS 3rd September 33% cutting Hours link
AUGUST NEWS 29th August outside smoking ban link 22nd August CAMRA’s Pubs of the Year link 19th August Low alcohol beer sales link 15th August Birra Moretti now best selling lager link 10th August Fuller’s buys Lovely Pubs link
JULY NEWS 31st July beer styles and sales link 12th July Marstons sells brewing stake link 8th July bar insolvencies up 30% link
JUNE NEWS 27th June pint prices up 4.6% link 24th June What’s Brewing link 19th June Great British Pubs finalists announced link 11th June Free Beer link
MAY NEWS 28th May Lager prices up 4.6% link 24th May ‘licensing changes since 1995’ link 24th May short measures link 6th May Heineken upgrade pubs link 2nd May Nightcap and revolution link
THE BEER REPORT
APRIL NEWS 27th April ‘Fresh Ale’ - should it use pumps? link 11th Stonegate debt link 5th April average lager prices link
Welcome to Pub Trails
Most websites of pubs/hotels/inns etc have loads of info on food and accommodation, and even wine, but neglect to mention beer, other than some generic terminology such as 'fine ales'. Hopefully this site will give some information on the beer (at time of visit).
You do not have to visit all of the pubs on one day. The largest place would be a challenge for this. They can be crawled over various lengths of time from one day to a week depending on your time and other commitments.
PLACES TO VISIT WITH PUBTRAILS
The towns and villages highlighted on this web site have a wide variety of pubs and beers in them. All of the places are great to visit, whether for a day or longer, and most have tourist attractions for all of the family.
There is a large variety of pubs throughout the different towns shown below. Some you may wish never to visit again but even discovering these can be interesting. There are pubs that you would not take your wife into. While some you could not take your girlfriend into. A few you would not take either into. However, most of the pubs are very pleasant.
HOME MAP of places visited
Alnwick Ambleside Anstruther Bakewell Bamburgh Barnard Castle Bath Berwick upon Tweed Birnam & Dunkeld Bourton on the Water Bowness on Windermere Bridge of Allan Chester Chichester Dunblane Dunoon Edinburgh Ely Fort William Glasgow Gourock Helensburgh Inverness Kelso Keswick Knaresbourgh Largs Linlithgow Lyme Regis Melrose Montrose Newton Stewart North Berwick Norwich Oban Pebbles Penzance Portree Pitlochry Quorn Richmond Rothesay St Andrews Seahouses Seend Shrewsbury Skipton Stirling Stratford-upon-Avon Stockton Heath Whitby Windemere Whitstable York
★ = star pub
❤ = pub of the month winner
A star ★is awarded for many reasons and indicates a pub that should not be missed, although that does not mean that everyone will see the same attractiveness . These reasons include location, food, ambience, welcome, decoration, quaint, locals, music, excellent of its type and of course my own particular likes at the time.
A pub of the month indicates that at the time of visit it stood out as somewhere special.
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Who owns your pubs?
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Interesting articles to read
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Who owns your beer?
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Comparing pubs in Scotland with England
Pub Jukebox:
Alcohol themed music to listen to while you browse.
What made Milwaukee Famous - Jerry lee Lewis
The BEERS
This web site is to concentrate on pubs and their beers. Many drinking places have web sites which tell of their comfortableness, food and accommodation yet totally ignore what beer is sold. This is to redress the balance, though if the pub has a web site there is a link to it.
While many pub visitors much prefer pubs to serve real ales it has to be recognised that not all pubs in a town will sell them. No real ale is not a reason for ignoring a pub. It may be a reason for not returning. Vexed questions arise. If a pub sells real ale can it be a bad pub? Is one without real ale automatically a pub not worth visiting?
BOOKS on BEER BOOKS on PUBS
If you wish to visit all of the pubs in an area you cannot pick and choose. Should you only have time or the inclination to visit some pubs then hopefully the descriptions, picture and maps should let you make your choice. If you only want to visit pubs that sell real ale you may miss out on an interesting experience.
BLOGS The Pub Curmudgeon Boak and Bailey Bar Biographer Pete Brown
Martyn Cornell Brewery History Society Ed’s beer blog
Tandleman’s Beer Blog Shut up about Barclay Perkins ReARM
WARNING
The thoughts on the pubs are purely a personal opinion. Fortunately, we do not all like the same things.
If it is any help, my personal perspective tends to be from as close to the bar as I can get, rather than sitting in a corner.
Pubs and beer never stand still. They open and close; change staff and owners; change beer and decoration at a rate that it is impossible for a web site (or me) to keep up with. Therefore I apologise for changes that have occurred since last visited.
In particular the real ales available will change in many of the pubs regularly (I hope).
Places to visit
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Books on Beer
A selection of recommended books covering all aspects of beer and brewing. There are books on the history of beer and others on different styles of beer.
For example
An Inebriated History of Britain by Peter Haydon
Amber, Gold & Black by Martyn Cornell
Brew Britannia by Jessica Boak & Ray Bailey
The Story of the Pint by Martyn Cornell
Miracle Brew by Pete Brown
Built to Brew by Lynn Pearson
And many more
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CAMRA
The website of the Campaign for Real Ale
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Books on Pubs
A selection of recommended books on pubs and their history. There are books on the social history of pubs and the design of pubs through the ages.
There are also books on visiting pubs and ones recommending pubs to visit.
CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide
Death of the English Pub by Christopher Hutt
Brewers, Brands and the Pubs in their Hands by Tony Thornton
Licensed to Sell by Brandwood, Davidson & Slaughter
And many more
Earlier in year news
MARCH NEWS 11th March handpump hi-jack link 7th March disappointing budget link 20th beer prices up 5.6% link 27th Publican awards link 28th Crooked House appeal link
FEBRUARY NEWS 27th Feb Crooked House to be rebuilt link 17th Feb Brewers in crisis link 5th Feb venues increase prices 7% link
JANUARY NEWS 30th Jan Heineken increase draught prices link 25th Jan North Brewing saved link 24th Jan JDW reports growth link 22nd Jan over 500 pubs close link 18th Jan pint price increased YOY link number of pubs expected to drop link 9th Dry January supermarket costs link 5th Jan Times rates non-alcohol beers link 2nd Jan Pints of wine? link
HAPPY NEW YEAR
DECEMBER NEWS 18th Dec Draft Tipping Code link 4th Dec Best selling brands - beers and spirits link 3rd Dec Sam Smith’s article from Sunday Times link 1st Dec M & B uses size to survive link
DECEMBER NEWS 18th Dec Draft Tipping Code link 4th Dec Best selling brands - beers and spirits link 3rd Dec Sam Smith’s article from Sunday Times link 1st Dec M & B uses size to survive link
NOVEMBER NEWS 27th Nov Charlie’s Bar advert link 24th Nov reaction to Autumn statement link 17th Nov Star Pubs & Bars invest £50million link Great British Pub Awards link link 8th Nov JD Wetherspoon sales up 9.5% link
OCTOBER NEWS: 31st Oct more on Bud Light advert issue link 18th Oct Carlsberg Marstons agreement with Stonegate link 3rd Oct Trade complain about increase in minimum wage link Recruitment challenge link revenue up, profits up/down link link link link link
SEPTEMBER NEWS: 29th Sept Spending in pubs hold up despite price rises link 22nd Sept Beer prices up 12.1% link 20th Sept Great British Pub Award winners announced link 19th Sept: Scottish Council removes last night-time curfew link 12th Sept Stonegate group dynamic pricing link 11th Sept St Austell buys Bath Pub Co link xxx
AUGUST NEWS: 29th August ULEZ expansion issues for workers link 18th August Wetherspoons v Daily Mail (2) link 14th August “Govt. could do more “ Tom Kerridge link 9th August Remotest mainland pub reopens link 4th August Wetherspoons v Daily Mail (1) link 3rd August Bud Light sales drop link 2nd August Champion Beer of Britain announced link 1st August 30 pubs closing a week link , alcohol duty changes link 1-5th August GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL London
JULY NEWS: 19th July Minimum unit price may increase link 11th July Number of breweries increase link Recruitment challenge link 4th July minimum pricing in Scotland report link link link 3rd July Alcohol beer for the summer link
JUNE NEWS: 23rd June Cost of pint up 11% again! link 19th June Drink sales hit 15% growth link 200 pubs close in first quarter link 16th June Whitbread in 250 unit sale link 15th June NATIONAL BEER DAY 14th June Lager now 70% of pint sales link 9th June Brewdog operating loss link 8th June Ringwood brewery up for sale link 2nd June: Bud Light sales fall link link
MAY NEWS: 31st May: Brunning & Price named top ‘operator’ link 30th May: Black Sheep bough over link 26th May: Fever Tree increases sales link 22nd May: Hospitality wages rise link 20th May: C & C (Magners etc) boss quits link 17th May: Marston’s toasts working from home link 11th May: Wetherspoon’s against red tape link 10th May: Ossett Brewery toasts 25 years link 9th May: coronation sales not as high link 3rd: Black Sheep to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators link 2nd: 4,600 venues lost in past 12 months link 1st: Amber Pubs opening more this year link
There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.
Dr Johnson
Know a pub we should feature? Got some questions about pubs in your area or where you’re going on holiday? Get in touch below