CAMRA Names Britain’s Best Pub

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  02.19.08 | 4:24 PM ET

imageBritain’s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has announced the results of its annual hunt for the best pub in Britain, and the winner, the Times of London notes dryly, came out on top “despite having no juke box, pool table, fruit machine or ‘theme.’”

The Old Spot Inn is a 100-year-old traditional pub, located in Gloucestershire along the Cotswold Way, a popular long-distance walking trail. It features quality ales from local microbreweries, and though it serves food at certain hours, the licensee notes in the article that “our drinkers come first.” In the video that accompanies the story, the Old Spot’s owner suggests that the traditional local pub is dying out, giving way to louder, flashier alternatives aimed primarily at a younger crowd.

As a member of said crowd, who misses a quiet afternoon pint more than almost anything else about living in Britain, I certainly hope he’s wrong.

Next time I find myself in Gloucestershire I’ll be sure to stop by and do my bit to help keep the tradition alive.

Related on World Hum:
* World Hum’s New Seventh Wonder of the Shrinking Planet: The Irish Pub

Photo by Fin Fahey via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Tags: Food, Europe, England, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


2 Comments for CAMRA Names Britain’s Best Pub

John M. Edwards 02.19.08 | 5:53 PM ET

Ah, Mr. Fin Fahey, my ancient nemesis!

Here’s a few pounds to drink yourself into a blither.

Keep your candass comments to yourself.

Paul 02.20.08 | 5:56 AM ET

The pub in general is an endangered species, and the drinking pub even more so. Those of us in the UK need to use them more, or lose them!

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