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 THE GOOD PUB
GUIDE 2008
26TH
EDITION
NATIONAL AWARDS
PUB OF THE YEAR – Nags Head,
Malvern, Worcestershire
Readers continue to be
unanimous in their praise for this splendidly individual old pub. They will
happily give you a taste of their 16 real ales and you’ll find changing guests
(last year they got through over 1,000) from a wide spread of brewers. The pub
attracts a good mix of customers (with plenty of locals), and the mood is
chatty and easy-going with friendly young staff.
Licensees: Nicola Abrams Tel: 01684
574373
BEER PUB OF THE YEAR – Fat
Cat, Norwich, Norfolk
This is a beer drinkers’ haven with
up to 30 quickly changing real ales on at any one time, including their own
beers brewed at their sister pub, The Shed. You’ll also find eight draught
beers from Belgium and Germany and up to 16 bottled Belgian beers, 15 country
wines, and local farm cider. There’s a lively bustling atmosphere at busy
times, and a good mix of cheerful customers.
Licensee: Colin Keatley Tel: 01603
624364
NATIONAL DINING PUB OF THE YEAR – Appletree,
Marton, Yorkshire
For a special meal, book at the
Appletree. Their almost obsessive concentration on good ingredients, grown by
themselves or produced for them specially by local farmers, then given
imaginative treatment by the landlord himself, really pays off. This civilised
and neatly kept pub is run by people who really care and the landlady and her
staff are genuinely helpful and friendly.
Licensee: Melanie and T J Drew Tel:
01751 431457
WINE PUB OF THE YEAR – Vine
Tree, Norton, Wiltshire
Reasonable prices for its
big glasses of carefully chosen and often interesting wines, with well
organised tutored tastings. They have around 35 wines by the glass and quite a
choice of malt whiskies and armagnacs. They have a busy calendar of events,
with outdoor vintage car rallies and lots going on during the Badminton horse
trials.
Licensees: Charles Walker
and Tiggi Wood Tel: 01666 837654
NEW PUB OF THE YEAR – George,
Croscombe, Somerset
This 17th-c coaching inn is doing
particularly well under its warmly friendly Canadian landlord. The main bar has
some stripped stone, a winter log fire in the inglenook fireplace and the
family grandfather clock. Darts, table skittles, shove-ha’penny, dominoes and a
Canadian table game called crokinole. The attractive garden has seats on the
covered terrace; children’s area and boules.
Licensee: Peter and Veryan Graham
Tel: 01749 342306
UNSPOILT PUB OF THE YEAR – Harrow, Steep, Hampshire
This is a little gem and a firm
favourite with those who love genuinely unspoilt and unpretentious places. It’s
a proper village pub – run by the same family for over 70 years - and you are
bound to be drawn into light-hearted conversation by the chatty locals.
Licensees: Claire and Denise
McCutcheon Tel: 01730 262685
BARGAIN PUB OF THE YEAR – White
Horse, Hertford, Hertfordshire
Impressive range of real ales and
very reasonably priced food at this unpretentious homely town-centre pub. They
also have around 20 country wines. Parts of the building date from the 14th c,
and you can still see Tudor brickwork in the three quietly cosy upstairs rooms.
Licensee: Nigel Crofts Tel: 01992
501950
WINE PUB OF THE YEAR – Vine
Tree, Norton, Wiltshire
INN OF THE YEAR – Olive Branch, Clipsham
This is a lovely, civilised place
for a special meal out with superb food served by friendly and attentive staff,
plus a carefully chosen range of drinks. Our readers have also very much
enjoyed the stylish and beautifully decorated bedrooms. The various smallish
attractive rambling rooms have dark joists and beams, country furniture, and an
interesting mix of pictures (some by local artists).
Licensees: Sean Hope and Ben Jones
Tel: 01780 410355
TOWN PUB OF THE YEAR – Old Green
Tree, Bath, Somerset
Super little pub with fine choice of
real ales, enjoyable traditional food, lots of cheerful customers and friendly
service. Much loved by our readers, this appealing pub is always busy - and
sometimes packed. They still keep a fine choice of six real ales on handpump,
also ten wines by the glass from a nice little list with helpful notes, 35 malt
whiskies, winter hot toddies and a proper Pimms. It's laid-back and cosy rather
than particularly smart - though there has been some redecoration this year.
Licensee: Nick Luke and Tim Bethune
WHISKY PUB OF THE YEAR – Nobody
Inn, Doddiscombsleigh, Devon
Many of our readers tend to come
back to this fine old pub again and again. They keep an extraordinary range of
drinks and the pub wine cellar must be one of the best in the country: around
700 wines by the bottle and 20 by the glass, 260 whiskies, and a beer named for
the pub on handpump or from the cask, local straw-pressed cider, local organic
apple juice and real lemonade.
Licensee: Nick Borst-Smith Tel:
01647 252394
HOTEL BAR OF THE YEAR – Pheasant,
Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria
This is an exceptional
place to stay overnight and enjoy the excellent restaurant food so it is a
wonderful added bonus that the civilised little bar remains as pleasantly
old-fashioned and pubby as ever, with plenty of customers enjoying a quiet pint
or an informal lunch. There are seats in the garden, attractive woodland
surroundings, and plenty of walks in all directions.
Licensees: Matthew Wylie
Tel: 01768 776234
OWN BREW PUB OF THE YEAR – Keelman,
Newburn, Northumbria
This unusual and distinguished-looking
granite pub is the tap for Big Lamp Brewery, on the same site. The impressive
array of eight handpumps usually dispenses the full range of their beers,
obviously kept in tip top condition and very reasonably priced. If you’re
confused about which one to go for, the staff will happily let you sample a
couple first. This is a great base for walks along the Tyne.
Licensee: George Story Tel: 0191
267 0772
BREWERY OF THE YEAR – Sharps
Brewery Ltd, Wadebridge, Cornwall
We remember, on a Cornwall
inspection trip in 1994, seeing a van delivering a cask of beer quite new to
us. We tried it and liked it. Now, Sharps beers are quite widely available
across the south of England. This year we found them in over 50 of our main
entries, usually at below average prices.
Nick Baker Tel: 01208
862121 www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk
PUB GROUP OF THE YEAR – Tynemill,
Nottingham
Very much smaller pub groups can be
very much better value. A prime example is Tynemill. Their cheerful and
distinctive pubs offer tremendous value. Their food, simple and tasty, is
always well-priced. Their beers are around 20% cheaper than the national
average.
Chris Holmes Tel: 0870
169 0733 www.tynemill.co.uk
LICENSEES OF THE YEAR – Bell, Sapperton, Gloucestershire
We think the words of one of our
respected readers rather sums things up here. ”I have no burning desire to own
a pub, but if I did, this splendid place would fit the bill rather nicely”. The
licensees put a lot of hard work and careful thought into how they run their
pub and judging by how many enthusiastic reports we get, they’ve more than
succeeded. There is quite an emphasis on the excellent food but there are
plenty of local drinkers too. Harry the springer spaniel is very sociable but
must not be fed for health reasons. Horses have their own tethering rail (and
bucket of water).
Licensees: Paul Davidson and Pat
LeJeune Tel: 01285 760298
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