Best pubs visited this year

Looking back through my reviews of pubs visited in 2019, I have scored 14 pubs on 8, three pubs on 9 and three more on 10. I've always been cautious about awarding 10s (only eight in the previous eight years I've been writing reviews), so a word of explanation is needed. In April I went on a bike ride, or rather a series of rides linked by train journeys, in the south east. My purpose was to visit some of the pubs that had been recommended by members of this site (see this thread). So it's hardly surprising that two of them scored 10. The other was a well-deserved upgrading of one of my regular haunts in Sheffield.

10

The Blake Hotel, Sheffield
Halfway House, Brenchley
The Bell Inn, Aldworth

9

The Swan with Two Necks, Pendleton
The Red Lion, Preston, Herts
Black Horse Hotel, Preston, Lancs

And of course, it's not a coincidence that three out of these six are among the four finalists in Camra's national pub of the year, as I went to two of them after they had been announced, specifically to complete the set.

This is the pick of my pubs visited in the the past year, 5 new pubs and 4 revisits.

The Bell Inn 9/10
The Royal Oak 9/10
The Gardeners Arms 9/10
The North Star 8/10
The Selden Arms 8/10
The Cornubia 8/10
The Plough 8/10
The Artillery Arms 8/10

And a last minute addition...
The Hornet Alehouse 9/10 visited on 30/12/19 making that now five new pubs in the list.

Craft House, Lytham
Moorbrook, Preston
Plug & Taps, Preston
Old Gate, Hebden Bridge
Grove, Leeds
York Tap
Golden Smog, Stockton-on-Tees
Hope & Union, Stockton-on-Tees
Furley & Co, Hull
Taphouse, Hull
Rutland Arms, Sheffield

A double for Ilkeston as the worst was here but also the best. The best new pub I've been in this year is The Burnt Pig - Ilkeston.

In terms of new visits...
The Derby Arms, Ormskirk
The Malt N Hops, Chorley
The Princess Louise, Holborn
Captains Bar, Edinburgh
Royal Oak, Edinburgh
Leslies Bar, Edinburgh

I only awarded 10 on one occassion in 2019 ,so Ye Olde Mitre is a worthy winner.

Previously unreviewed by me and unvisited since the early 2000's ,it was back to top form .

With ten pubs scoring 9 for me in 2019, I'll nominate The Beer Seller, Tonbridge for all-round appeal.