Britain is a country that loves its pubs and the 2024 Great British Pub Awards have now crowned the best in the land.
Establishments from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were all up for the awards, that took place on Tuesday.
Categories included the best pub for dogs, for families and food, while the best pub garden and best pub to watch sport were also all voted on.
The Tollemache Arms in Harrington, Northamptonshire, was one of the victors, named the best country pub and the Great British pub of the year.
Co-owner Flo Pearce told the BBC said the building, its location and the “fantastic team around us” were behind its win.
The pub was once taken over by the Reverend Hector Atkins so he could stop parishioners drinking on Sundays.
But it is a different story today, with co-owner Joe Buckley saying: “We love our guests, we love our staff.”
All parts of Britain are home to at least one pub that won an award this year.
From southern England, to northern parts of Scotland, you may not have to go too far to find one of the prize-winning establishments.
Click our interactive map below to find out just how close you are…
National winners by category
Best Country Pub/Great British Pub of the Year: The Tollemache Arms – Harrington, Northamptonshire
Best Pub for Beer: The Tamworth Tap – Tamworth, Staffordshire
Best Pub for Dogs: No. Twenty9 Bar and Restaurant – Burnham Market, Norfolk
Best Pub for Entertainment: The Trafalgar Tavern – Greenwich, London
Best Pub for Families: Almondsbury Creative – Almondsbury, Bristol
Best Pub for Food: Hinds Head – Bray, Berkshire
Best Pub Garden: Myrtle Tavern – Leeds, West Yorkshire
Best Pub to Watch Sport: The Gardeners Arms/Murderers – Norwich, Norfolk
Best Sustainable Pub: The Pig’s Head – Clapham, south west London
Best Town Pub: Bull & Swan – Stamford, Lincolnshire
Best Community Pub: The Swan: Windsor, Berkshire
Regional winners
Admiral Taverns Pub of the Year: The Royal Oak – Brandon, Warwickshire
Greene King Pub of the Year: The Cott Inn – Dartington, Devon
Marston’s Pub of the Year: The Griffin – Loughborough, Leicestershire
Punch Pub of the Year: The Red Lion – Cranford, Northamptonshire
Stonegate Group Pub Partners Pub of the Year: The Gloucester Old Spot – Bristol
Official government statistics continue to show a decline in pubs in the UK, with recent figures showing that 80 are closing for good every single month.
A combination of forced closures during the COVID pandemic and a cost of living crisis forcing customers to tighten their budgets are thought to be among the reasons for the closures in recent years.
This year alone there were 239 pubs that were demolished or converted for other uses in England and Wales over the three months to 31 March – the equivalent of around 80 pubs shut each month and representing a 56% increase on the closure of 51 pubs a month over the same period in 2023.
Pub sector bosses have said the data reflects the impact of high energy and food costs, tighter consumer spending and a significant tax burden on hospitality businesses.
The data, which was compiled by commercial real estate specialists at Altus Group, showed that the overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 39,162 at the end of March. It compared with 39,401 pubs at the end of 2023.
Over the past year, a total of 472 pubs across England and Wales left communities for good.
In 2020, longer-term data showed a decline in pubs in the UK, with approximately 46,800 operating – a decrease of 8.600 pubs compared to 2010.
