The competition to find Britain’s best pub, according to CAMRA’s guidelines, has reached the regional stage, with the announcement of the winners from each of CAMRA’s sixteen regions. These will now be whittled down to a final four, with the winner being announced in January. The judges, all CAMRA volunteers, will be looking for great atmosphere, décor, welcome, service, inclusivity, overall impression and, most importantly, top quality cask beer and real cider and perry. All of the pubs start off as their local CAMRA branch’s pub of the year and are selected by CAMRA members. Pubs cannot nominate themselves and no fees are involved.
The competition’s co-ordinator, Andrea Briers, said, “It is a real pleasure to announce this year’s top 16 pubs, each of which has demonstrated exceptional quality, warmth and dedication to their communities. These pubs are shining examples of what makes the Great British pub so special, from perfectly kept pints to a genuine welcome for all.”
Our own regional winner is, of course, the Hope in Carshalton. There has only ever been one London winner, the Harp in 2010, so fingers crossed for the Hope, which has been our Regional Pub of the Year seven times since 2012.
In alphabetic order of CAMRA region, the other fifteen are:
East Anglia
Blackfriars Tavern, Great Yarmouth
East Central
East Midlands
Merseyside and Cheshire
North East
North West
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Volunteer Arms (Staggs), Musselburgh
South Central
South East
South West
Wales
West Central
West Midlands
Yorkshire