The Telegraph - Pint to pint : a crawl around Britains best pubs

PINT TO PINT

About the authors

T he Pint to Pint column is written by a diverse selection of regular Telegraph journalists, among them beer experts, architecture buffs, walkers, rock critics, war correspondents, and scholars of this and that. The column enjoys many tens of thousands of fans and regularly receives letters from readers about its selections. A new pub is featured every Saturday.

The Telegraph

PINT TO PINT

A Crawl Around Britains Best Pubs

Published in the UK in 2016
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ISBN: 978-178578-039-4
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Publishers Foreword

W elcome to Pint to Pint, a celebration of Britains best-loved institution, the pub.

What makes a classic pub? There are as many answers to that as there are pub-goers, but some common ground can be found in all of them: they have a warm welcome, they get the beer right, they may well have good food (though its not usually the sole focus of the pub), and they are places for convivial conversation or for peaceful contemplation, as you wish. Above all they have character they are not an exercise in corporate blandness or desperate commercialism.

Seasoned pub fans know a good pub the moment they see one, but it always helps to have some insider knowledge. Here we rely on the Telegraphs experts to do the hard work for us, testing each pub against the rigorous standards they have devised over years of pub visits.

We have arranged the pubs into a crawl not to be attempted in one go starting in the far south-west of England and heading east towards London, then up through eastern England to Scotland before returning down the north-western side of England and into Wales. The crawl begins on Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel and ends at Porthcawl in South Wales, so if you want to complete the last 50 miles you will need to be a strong swimmer.

We hope you enjoy the trip, even if only from the comfort of your armchair, and will raise a glass with us to the continued existence of great pubs in hard times.

Disclaimer

This book is a compilation of the Daily Telegraphs Pint to Pint columns, 20132015. We have contacted the pubs included to ensure that they are still in business and that no substantial changes have been made since their entry first appeared. We have not updated details of beer range, menus, prices, staff or licensees (with a few exceptions as noted). These were correct at the time the article originally appeared, but should be used for guidance only.

Neither the publisher nor Telegraph Group Ltd shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information contained in this book.

Dont drink and drive!

Pint to Pint: The Pub Crawl

South-West England

The Marisco Tavern

Lundy Island

U nsullied by the accoutrements of modern life, the Marisco Tavern is the sort of pub I fantasise about. Quiet, with a traditional but unique interior; no fruit machines, no music and no mobiles, tablets, laptops or gadgets of any kind, thanks to a ban that even someone as attached to their smartphone as I am will revel in.

Drinkers have spent some two hours crossing the Bristol Channel to get to Lundy, and another good half-hour climbing the steep road to the pub. By then they will have dropped back a gear or two to join the pace of island life. They do not want, nor need, to be bothered by the demands of email, texts, social media or other trivialities that detract from lifes simpler pleasures a pint of beer, chatting with your spouse, sharing time with friends or gazing at stunning views out to sea.

Remarkably for a remote island pub, there are three cask ales from which to choose. I order two pints of St Austell Black Prince (4%), a delicious creamy, chocolatey dark mild that is a rarity on the mainland. It is cool and perfectly kept. The Old Light ale (4.2%) is in similarly tip-top condition. Much later in the day, Im tempted by a rum menu which boasts such gems as Pussers Aged 15 Years and Mount Gay, of which the bartender unflinchingly inquires, Do you want it straight?

The nautical decor includes an alarming collection of lifebelts bearing the name of ships wrecked on Lundys shores, and the date they met their fate. The floor is made of slabs of granite from the islands quarries. Like all the best pubs there is a variety of seating: a long table for large groups or convivial eating, traditional tables and chairs and cosy benched booths with sea views. It even has a mezzanine. Not that it is so pretentious as to call it that.

Whether youve walked directly from the landing place or been for a yomp around the island youre bound to have worked up an appetite. The Taverns menu ranges from cheesy chips (the perfect lunch when arriving during winter the helicopter drops you off almost at the pub door) via baguettes and jacket potatoes through to seasonally changing dishes prepared from an impressive range of meat reared on the island (prices vary but mains start at 8.20). Lundy lamb is among the leanest youll come across; Soay sheep are also resident, their meat is darker, gamier and full-flavoured thanks to a diet of turf and aromatic plants; venison is from the Sika deer population and Lundy pork sausages are available thanks to pigs imported as part of a sustainable waste-management programme.

The Marisco is a microcosm of Lundys character. An island out of time, nobly resisting those elements of the 21st century it sees no point in; a genuine respite from the rat race.

Sophie Atherton, 17 August 2013

High Street, Lundy Island, Bristol Channel EX39 2LY (01237 431831); landmarktrust.org.uk/Lundyisland; opening times vary with the boat/helicopter timetable

The Minerva Inn

Plymouth

T he sign at the door is a testament to the Minerva Inns history: Home to the Press Gang says the proud white lettering. For this tiny Plymouth pub was once the place where unfortunate souls had the kings shilling slipped into their pints, then found themselves huckled through a secret passage and impressed on to a Royal Navy ship waiting on the nearby Barbican dockside.

Established somewhere around 1540, the Min claims to be the pilgrim citys oldest hostelry. It lies a short stroll from the Barbican, on a steeply graded cobbled street which was once home to Sir Francis Drake (he is said to have quaffed a gallon at the Minerva after defeating the Armada). An exquisite stained-glass depiction of a helmeted Minerva (the Roman goddess of wisdom) on the pubs one window is a relic from the time it was owned by the Octagon Brewery. The pubs hanging signage features an owl and refers to Hegels idea that you only apprehend the historical moment youre living through as it comes to a close: The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk. Classy.