There is no single "best UK pub list" — only thousands of small lists, each rooted in a specific corner of the country. Our regional guides take the country a slice at a time.
Editorial picks based on first-hand visits and conversations with publicans.
Thatched roofs, harbour fronts, and Dartmoor's stone-walled drovers' inns. Devon offers a remarkable density of distinctive pubs across a relatively small county. Our editorial circuit covers the standouts.
Honey-coloured stone villages, country lanes, and pubs that have been there longer than most countries. Our two-day pub circuit through the Cotswolds takes in seven villages and roughly 40 miles of driving.
Our editorial criteria for inclusion in a regional guide.
At least one well-kept cask ale, preferably from a regional brewery.
Architectural integrity, low ceilings, real fires — the lived-in feel.
A landlord or landlady who knows their pub, their ales, and their regulars.
Not necessarily fine dining — but proper pub food, well executed.
Our Lake District editorial circuit is in preparation. Expect coverage of high-altitude inns (the Old Dungeon Ghyll, the Kirkstone Pass Inn), Hawkshead, the Eskdale valley, and the lakeside pubs of Ullswater and Coniston.
The Dales and Moors offer some of the most rewarding pub-walking in Britain. Our forthcoming Yorkshire guide will cover the Wensleydale circuit, the North York Moors, the Ribblesdale stretch, and a small selection of urban Leeds and Sheffield favourites.
Each regional guide is the product of multiple visits, often over several years. We do not publish a regional guide based on a single weekend. Where possible, we visit pubs in different seasons (summer terraces and winter fires reveal different things), at different times of day (a quiet midweek lunch and a busy Saturday night), and with different companions (drinkers, walkers, food enthusiasts).
We disclose any affiliate or commercial relationships in each guide. Most pubs we cover have no commercial relationship with us at all — we simply paid for our drinks and dinner like any other customer, and wrote up our impressions afterwards.
For more on our editorial standards, see our about page.