Some men collect stamps. Others spend their weekends on the golf course. Me? I've spent the last 42 years visiting pubs.
Not just the odd one or two, either. I've just clocked up my 25,000th, which I reckon makes me something of an expert on the great British boozer.
Along the way I've sunk an estimated 60,000 pints, spent around £336,000 and travelled from my home in West Bromwich as far north as Shetland and as far south as the Scilly Isles, taking in 69 British islands and every county in between on the way.
And before you ask, yes, my wife Dawn is remarkably understanding.
It all began in 1984 when my dad pinned up a map of 250 Banks's pubs – which sold beer from the historic Wolverhampton brewery that opened in 1875 and closed in 2025 in its 150th year – which my friends and I decided to visit for charity.
Back then a pint cost around 64p, pubs shut in the afternoon and the idea of ordering anything more sophisticated to eat than a packet of crisps was practically unheard of.
Forty-two years later, that modest undertaking has turned into something of an obsession. I've ticked off every establishment in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) guide and filled 300 lever arch files with photographs, menus and assorted pub memorabilia from my visits. My house is practically a museum of beer mats.
I've also raised £36,000 for charity, which is a rather better excuse for spending so much time in the pub than most people can muster.
Of course, the British pub has changed enormously in four decades. We've lost countless traditional breweries and too many wonderful old watering holes. But there are still some absolute gems out there and I'm not finished yet: I've got my eye on a pub on Fair Isle, which burned down just as I was planning to visit seven years ago. Thankfully, they've just rebuilt it.
Meantime, I thought I'd share my favourite 50 pubs – and which visit it was out of my 25,000. From backstreet snugs to eccentric country inns – it's a tough job but somebody has to do it.
I've just clocked up my 25,000th pub, which I reckon makes me something of an expert on the great British boozer, writes Pete Hill
Greater London
The Hope, Carshalton (23,624)
'We enjoy our beer and we want you to as well' is the motto of this friendly pub, rescued from closure by its regulars in 2010 and now community owned. I particularly like that its seven real ales come in third-pint measures, so you can sample a few without getting too carried away (not that I did, mind).
The Castle, Harrow (24,279)
With roots dating back to 1716, this Grade II-listed Fuller's pub was rebuilt in 1901 but retains its Victorian bars, fireplaces and an unusual glazed partition with a doorway just 3ft high, once used by staff. It's one of Britain's finest historic pub interiors.
The Little Green Dragon, Winchmore Hill (24,141)
At first glance this looks more like a shop but what this micropub lacks in size it makes up for in charm, with regular folk music and a lovely range of ales. I had no idea when I went that it was being run by Richard Reeve, a microbrewery fan whose own journey to the country's micropubs I'd followed over the years.
Essex
The Rising Sun, Stanford-le-Hope (23,981)
This friendly two-roomed pub is a favourite with locals, offering an ever-changing selection of seasonal real ales. I had a very nice pint here – though after 25,000 pubs, you'll forgive me if I can't remember exactly which one! I found some kindred spirits in the form of two men who were visiting all the Rising Suns through the country. We're good friends now.
Hertfordshire
Mermaid, St Albans (24,460)
A cracking 18th century locals' pub with cosy corners and splendid real ales. It has a special place in my heart as the final pub I ticked off in the 2020 CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Another mission accomplished!
The Queen's Head, Allens Green (24,335)
A village boozer with a refreshing approach to trusting customers: every third week there's a self-service 'honesty board'. Simply help yourself to a pint and pop the money for payment in a box.
Suffolk
The Butt & Oyster, Pin Mill (7,204)
The Butt & Oyster pub at Pin Mill sits on the south bank of the River Orwell in Suffolk
Perched on the muddy banks of the River Orwell, this 17th-century smugglers' haunt has fabulous views of sailing boats and Thames barges. At high tide, the water can lap right up to the walls. A top spot to watch the world float by.
Kent
The Little Gem, Aylesford (23,794)
The name says it all. One of Kent's smallest pubs, inside a Grade II-listed building dating back to the 12th century. Beautifully restored after ten years of closure, it's all low beams, whitewashed walls and a roaring inglenook fireplace. Mind your head!
The Nelson Arms, Tonbridge (23,182)
An excellent backstreet local, affectionately known as The Nelly, with a nautical theme – ship's wheels, memorabilia and a Trafalgar Snug. Excellent real ales and Kentish ciders, plus a hatful of CAMRA awards.
Surrey
The Jolly Farmer, Bramley (24,268)
The Jolly Farmer Inn in Bramley, Surrey, is filled with agricultural memorabilia and real ales
A bustling, characterful 400-year-old village inn, with oak beams, walls crammed with farming memorabilia and up to eight real ales. Family-run since 1971, with excellent home-cooked food and rooms if you fancy staying for the night.
The Falkland Arms, Dorking (24,244)
A cracking pub with cosy bars, log-burning stoves, darts, pool, live music and karaoke. The locally brewed Surrey Hills Shere Drop is hard to beat – but if you don't like tellies in pubs, this isn't for you. There are eight!
The Star, Godalming (23,637)
A proper old-fashioned pub dating back to the 1830s, with dark oak beams and hundreds of beer clips hanging from the ceiling. Up to 14 real ales and ten ciders and perries, plus its own little brewery out back.
Red Lion and Cellar Room, Betchworth (24,749)
A quirky 16th-century country pub which the gaffer spent lockdown doing up. Set on 18 acres of land with its own cricket pitch, it has a cosy nook and a cellar bar downstairs. There's even a 230-year-old wisteria in the garden. I spent a pleasant summer afternoon here, about which my memories are hazy.
Hampshire
The Railway, Ringwood (23,052)
A Victorian local full of characters, good beer and what I'm told is the best darts team in the area. Once served by the railway line that disappeared in the 1960s, it has cosy bars, old railway photographs and a surprisingly large walled beer garden.
Gloucestershire
The Cross House Tavern, Tewkesbury (24,616)
Don't be fooled by the fact this pub only opened in 2019 – it's housed in a magnificent Grade II-listed timber-framed building dating back to the 16th century. Beautifully restored in Victorian style, with tiled walls, cosy snugs and an old fireplace. Up to ten changing real ales, served straight from the barrel.
Oxfordshire
The Peyton Arms, Stoke Lyne (7,067)
Full disclosure: I've known the landlord, Mick the Hat, for years – but even if I didn't, I'd include his pub because it's a rare beauty. Going there is like stepping back in time. It's even recognised by CAMRA as having an interior of outstanding national historic importance. Pop along and see for yourself (but mind the cobwebs).
Wiltshire
The Duke of York, Salisbury (24,919)
A proper backstreet boozer. Seven handpumps, an open fire, quizzes and occasional live music. No gastropub pretensions here, just a cracking local (and Salisbury and South Wiltshire CAMRA's Pub of the Year for 2026).
Dorset
The Sixpenny Brewery Tap, Cranborne (23,266)
This quirky pub occupies a converted Victorian stable block, with a sunny courtyard and its own TARDIS outside, courtesy of the owner, who once made props for Doctor Who. The original taproom was just 8ft square, reputedly one of Britain's smallest pubs (there's more room now).
Somerset
Wilkins Cider, Mudgley (24,616)
You've got to visit this place! A fabulously ramshackle cider farm where owner Roger Wilkins has been making traditional cider for decades. Forget fancy tasting rooms – here you sample proper scrumpy cider straight from the barrel in an old farm shed surrounded by cobwebs. Beware: you might enter for a quick half and leave hours later, as I did.
Herefordshire
The Live and Let Live, Bringsty Common (1,047)
The Live and let live pub on Bringsty common features low beams, cosy fires and hearty food
Tucked down a narrow country lane, this old thatched pub is the sort of place you need to be determined to find. Low beams, cosy fires, excellent real ales and hearty food make it a proper rural hideaway, well worth the detour.
The Sun Inn, Leintwardine (1,682)
A wonderfully unspoilt parlour pub, where beer was once served from jugs in legendary landlady Flossie Lane's sitting room. She ran it for more than 70 years before her death in 2009 and I had the pleasure of meeting her. There's a modern extension now, but the original parlour remains.
Worcestershire
The Talbot, Knightwick (1,808)
A cracking country pub on the River Teme, with welcoming fires, good home-cooked food and its own Teme Valley Brewery producing splendid ales. The annual green hop festival celebrates beers brewed with freshly-picked hops.
The Mug House, Claines (455)
One of my earliest visits, this atmospheric 16th-century pub has log fires, old-fashioned serving hatches and three little rooms. Tucked inside a churchyard, it's reputed to be haunted – hardly surprising with gravestones practically on the doorstep.
The Fleece Inn, Bretforton (895)
Another early stop, this 15th-century timber-framed National Trust pub has chalk circles around the hearths, supposedly to stop witches coming down the chimneys. Former landlady Lola Taplin left it to the Trust in 1977 and legend has it she still watches over the place in her guise as an owl. Excellent ales and traditional ciders, too.
Old Royal Library, Great Malvern (25,000)
The Old Royal Library pub in Great Malvern town centre, Worcestershire, is a Grade II-listed structure that originally served as a private library during the Victorian spa town era
And the big one! After 42 years, this is where I clocked up pub number 25,000. A magnificent Grade II-listed former Victorian library, later a bank, beautifully converted by Black Country Ales. Soaring ceilings, chandeliers, polished wood and eight real ales.
Leicestershire
Everards Beer Hall, Enderby (24,424)
A massive, modern beer hall with a shop and guided tours based at Everards Brewery, who've been brewing in Leicestershire since 1849. You can watch the brewers through huge glass windows while enjoying the fruits of their labours – a wonderful way to bring traditional brewing into the 21st century.
Derbyshire
The Royal Oak, Ockbrook (9,999)
A cracking old village pub with a warren of little rooms, cosy snugs, tiled fireplaces and an unspoilt 1950s bar. Run by the same family since 1953, it's so beautifully preserved that CAMRA gives its interior the highest three-star heritage rating.
Nottinghamshire
Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, Nottingham (3,181)
Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem claims to be England's oldest Inn, having been established in 1189
Claiming to be England's oldest inn, dating back to 1189, this extraordinary pub is built into the sandstone caves beneath Nottingham Castle. A maze of low-ceilinged rooms and winding passages, legend has it that crusaders stopped here on their way to the Holy Land. True or not, it's certainly a unique boozer.
Lincolnshire
The Rutland Arms, Grimsby (24,984)
A proper backstreet boozer with a friendly welcome and a reputation for keeping its real ales in immaculate condition. No fancy frills, just good beer and conversation. My 24,984th pub, so tantalisingly close to the big 25,000.
Staffordshire
The Yew Tree Inn, Cauldon (1,082)
Another pub I've returned to several times, partly because I met landlord Alan back in the 80s. He's still there today, presiding over a great collection of beers, antiques, vintage motorcycles and curios. There's always something new to look at.
The Black Lion, Consall Forge (5,513)
To reach this isolated pub, located next to the River Churnet, you have to walk over the canal bridge, then the heritage railway lines, to an idyllic drinking spot with a smashing landlord, Jason, and smashing beers, too.
Andy's Ale House, Great Wyrley (20,605)
Don't be fooled by this unassuming micropub located in a shopping area. The welcome was wonderful, as were the real ales.
The Tamworth Tap, Tamworth (20,704)
This Tudor inn is the only establishment to have won the CAMRA National Pub of the Year three times – and for good reason. It features a historic 16th-century shopfront and the courtyard offers views of Tamworth's Norman castle.
The Black Country
The Rising Sun, Tipton (1,850)
After 25,000 pubs, you'd think choosing a favourite would be impossible. But sometimes you can't beat your own local. This splendid Victorian boozer, a former CAMRA National Pub of the Year, has roaring fires, cracking real ales and ciders, and proper Black Country cob rolls. Everything a good pub should be. I've travelled the length and breadth of Britain in search of the perfect pint – and perhaps it was on my doorstep all along.
Museum pubs
The Bottle & Glass, Black Country Living Museum, Dudley (3,000), and The New Inn, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge (5,000)
The Bottle & Glass Inn is found at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, West Midlands
These are two wonderfully preserved museum pubs where you can step back in time and enjoy a pint as our ancestors did. I celebrated my 3,000th and 5,000th visits at these respective pubs, presenting each with a miniature metal model of the building. Both still hang proudly on the walls. Not many pubs can boast a souvenir of my drinking career.
Yorkshire
The Corn Dolly, Bradford (24,302)
A traditional freehouse, run by the same family since 1989, with eight beautifully kept real ales and more than 1,000 beer pump clips decorating the beams. A favourite among Bradford City fans on match days.
The Big Six Inn, Halifax (23,806)
Hidden in a row of terraced houses, this wonderfully unspoilt backstreet local dates back to 1857. You could imagine Coronation Street's Ena Sharples sipping a half-pint of stout here. The unusual name derives from a mineral water company that operated here a century ago.
The Flying Duck, Ilkley (23,927)
With its stone floor and beamed ceiling, I loved the feel of this traditional Dales pub in a former farmhouse. It brews its own beer in a converted barn out back, home to Wharfedale Brewery. I had a tour and can confirm the beers are smashing.
Hallamshire House, Sheffield (23,317)
Known locally as the TARDIS, this five-roomed pub has cosy snugs and a magnificent oak-panelled snooker room with a full-sized table – a real rarity. There's a courtyard beer garden, live music and splendid Thornbridge ales. I went there with my gang of fellow drinkers, the Black Country Ale Tairsters, and it's fair to say we kept the bar busy.
Wales
The Goose & Cuckoo, Upper Llanover (13,202)
Try finding this one without a sat nav! Tucked away in the Welsh hills, its curious name supposedly comes from two sisters calling each other a silly old goose and cuckoo during an argument. Better still, this 300-year-old inn was the only pub to escape Lady Llanover, a fierce 19th-century temperance campaigner. Thank goodness she missed it!
Ty Coch Inn, Porthdinllaen (14,240)
The Ty Coch Inn or 'Red House' is a well-known pub in the small coastal village of Porthdinllaen
Perched on a beautiful bay on the Llyn Peninsula, this pub is only accessible on foot: along the beach or across a golf course. It was voted the world's third-best beach bar in 2013. Not bad for a little Welsh boozer!
Northern Ireland
New Orpheus (Harp Bar), Belfast (23,352)
A huge, flamboyant pub in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, all red velvet, antique mirrors and live music. Upstairs there's panelling salvaged from a ship built by Harland & Wolff. Not one for a quiet pint – it's loud and lively.
J McCollam's Bar, Cushendall (23,360)
Known locally as Johnny Joe's, this pub has been in the same family since the 19th century. A warren of little rooms, roaring turf fires, an ancient kitchen range and two pianos for traditional Irish music sessions, I had a cracking pint of Guinness here.
Carmichael's (aka Staffy's), Ballyeaston (13,722)
You don't see many like this. I first visited in April 2008 and found an old-fashioned two-room boozer with wooden benches, an open fire and no television. They don't even serve draught beer – bottles only. The gents' urinal is a trough outside, flushed with bleach from a bucket. A real survivor!
Scotland
The Clachaig Inn, Glencoe (1,172)
Surrounded by the magnificent mountains of Glencoe, this 300-year-old Highland inn has scenery as outstanding as its ales. A legendary haunt of climbers and walkers, with three characterful bars and more than 400 whiskies. Perfect after a day in the hills – or another arduous day of pub visiting.
The Drovers Inn, Inverarnan (1,184)
Boasting the self-claimed title 'Pub of the Year 1705', this eccentric stone inn near Loch Lomond once regularly welcomed Highland cattle drovers. Inside you'll find a full-sized stuffed grizzly bear, other assorted dead creatures and open fires. Reputedly one of Scotland's most haunted pubs, it's a wonderfully atmospheric place for a dram of whisky.
The Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar (22,189)
The Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar has an impressive collection of 16,000 artworks at its site
This magnificent coaching inn is unlike anywhere else I've visited. It's not often you can admire a masterpiece while supping a pint but alongside the stuffed animals, tartan walls and roaring fires is an astonishing collection of 16,000 artworks and antiques, including an original Picasso and a Lucian Freud.
Outer Hebrides
The Westford Inn, North Uist (24,119)
Now this is dedication to duty. I took a 1,264-mile round trip to reach this remote but welcoming pub, where I enjoyed five superb pints of real ale before bedding down for the night in a tractor shed. Not quite five-star accommodation but it was worth every mile.
Isles of Scilly
The Turk's Head, St Agnes (14,368)
Britain's most south-westerly pub, and well worth the boat trip. Perched above the harbour, with glorious views across turquoise seas, it's a laid-back spot with excellent ales and fresh seafood. On a warm day you could almost imagine you were in the Caribbean.
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