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The qualities of England’s towns are not, to put it mildly, universally appreciated. Even local residents can be disparaging. While researching my guide to England’s 500 Best Pubs last year, I let slip to a group of drinkers at one Midlands inn that I was in town to assess the local pubs, an assignment that was greeted with incredulity: “You’re doing what?”
Once they’d got over their amazement, though, a steady stream of suggestions were offered – in and around the town. The truth is that, whatever their perceived deficiencies, plenty of English towns are full of excellent pubs – most of them the sort of community-focused places that some assume are a thing of the past.
I’ve selected 10 of my favourite pub towns, spread all across England. These places have a few things in common beyond their excellent pubs. Affordable pints, for one. Many of them have a strong traditional culture. And most, I would say, are not over-engaged with the excesses of modernity, whether through choice or the misfortunes of economic history.
Burton, Staffordshire
When it comes to the misfortunes of economic history, few towns have been through quite as much as Burton. Once the heart of global brewing, Burton is now much reduced, although there are still significant breweries in the town; the biggest, once home to Bass, now makes Madrí. A tradition of brewing, though, has bequeathed a marvellous selection of pubs, from the Coopers Tavern to the Devonshire Arms and, across the Trent, the delightful Elms, with its facade boasting “BEST BASS”. Best of all, maybe, is the Burton Bridge Inn, which has its own brewery at the back. A good place to ponder Burton’s unrivalled tradition.
Dudley, West Midlands
The Black Country can be confusing; where does Dudley end, for example, and Brierley Hill begin? It’s a sprawl of a place, not quite a city or a suburb, but something else. What is clear is that a number of its best pubs lie inside the boundaries of Dudley. I particularly like the Old Swan Inn (“Ma Pardoes”) and the Lamp Tavern, but the highlight is the Beacon Hotel, with its variety of rooms and delicious beer made on site – notably Dark Ruby, a six per cent ABV Victorian Mild.
Halifax, West Yorkshire
This former mill town is built on a grand scale. Few can resist the charms of the Piece Hall – when I last saw it, it was enveloped in scaffolding in preparation for a series of summer concerts, but still a magnificent sight – and the pubs can be equally impressive. The Cross Keys is a delightful local, and then there’s the Big Six Inn and the Three Pigeons. The former has a magnificent traditional layout, and the latter is one of England’s finest Art Deco pubs.
Hanley, Staffordshire
All of Stoke’s six towns have decent pubs, but perhaps the best is Hanley, the most central. As well as the Coachmakers Arms, with its cosy lounge, tiny snug and central passageway, I like the Golden Cup Inn, recently restored to the tune of £250,000. It was once run by owner Steven Buckley’s grandmother, the legendary Betty, but it can rarely have looked as marvellous as it does today – particularly the facade, with its revitalised dark green tiling.
Hastings, East Sussex
When I lived in Hastings more than 20 years ago, I used to frequent a pub called the Admiral Benbow, largely because it had a pool table upstairs. It has now been closed for many years, alas, but Hastings still has more than its fair share of decent pubs. I particularly like those in the Old Town – the Jenny Lind and the First In Last Out (FILO), the latter a model of cosiness and bonhomie when Hastings’s weather is not as accommodating as it could be (a frequent occurrence, whatever the tourist board might say).
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Yorkshire has plenty of good places for a pint, but few towns offer such a solid guarantee as Huddersfield. There’s a decent pub in the station – the Head of Steam – plus two of my favourites a little further afield: the Grove and the Sportsman, the latter, with its Grade II-listed interior, a harmonious combination of 1930s and 1950s elements. The cherry on the cake is the Sair Inn, an atmospheric delight out in Huddersfield’s rural hinterland.
Ludlow, Shropshire
The last time I was in Ludlow, the town’s Spring Festival was on, and its pubs were full to bursting, from the Rose and Crown, which has a delightful central courtyard, to the spic-and-span the Queens. I found some peace and quiet in the Blood Bay, a pub that seems to have been in situ for generations, but only opened in 2017, built from salvage: the Victorian hand pumps, for example, once served a pub in Islington, as I understand it. Few micropubs so successfully recreate the atmosphere of a genuine pub as well as this one. A delight.
Ramsgate, Kent
Kent’s frothy northeastern tip has become very fashionable of late, at least amongst middle-aged ex-Londoners. The decades when it was less hip, though, have left it with some tremendous pubs, particularly in Ramsgate. This town might be most famous for having Britain’s biggest Wetherspoons, but its best pubs are the Artillery Arms and the Montefiore Arms, both of them street-corner delights. The latter was recently taken over by Gadds’ brewery, also based in Ramsgate and one of England’s finest beer-makers.
Southsea, Hampshire
A number of the towns in this selection are on the seaside, a reflection of the fact that regular custom is frequently bolstered by day-trippers. That’s less the case in Southsea, with its naval connection, but it has many great pubs. This is a place of elaborate ceramic facades and well-run pubs: I particularly like the Hole in the Wall and the Lawrence Arms.
Stockport, Greater Manchester
The Crown Inn, a handsome two-storey pub close to Stockport Station, could not be anywhere else other than northern England. It sits almost underneath the awesome 19th-century viaduct that carries trains northward, while the interior is divided into four in the traditional northern fashion. The beer’s good, too, although in that regard it may not be Stockport’s best: the Magnet Freehouse, a five-minute walk away, had some of the best beer in England, let alone the north west.
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