Your top 10 pubs

[sheffield hatter]

...neither of which I'm likely to revisit for logistical reasons.

I see where you're coming from. And I had similar qualms myself (see #2 above). But if they were among your 10 best pub visits and therefore the best pubs (in your opinion), why not stick to your gut feeling? The whole point of this thread (it seems to me) is to get a look at what each of us have discovered in our various trawls of this country's pubs.

If we all liked the same 10 pubs, how sad (and tedious) would that be?

We've all previously had a go at some of the pub lists provided by "connoisseurs" of one sort or another (mostly journalists - and I don't use the word in a derogatory sense), so this is our opportunity. This is our forum: be bold, be positive, take ownership.

It's not about arriving at a "Pubs Galore Top 100" (at least, I would argue against such an approach). It's about sharing amongst ourselves on this forum what it is we like about pubs, wherever we may find them.

I like the way Quinno exclaims at recalling pubs that others have rated in their top 10s that almost made his own. I like the words of wisdom from John : "One thing I have found out over the years of reviewing pubs on this site is my opinion of a pub changes with multiple visits but you can only review it as you find it." I like it that you, Wittenden, enjoyed the quirky Three Stags Heads even though you're never likely to go there again - a friend that I was talking to down the pub tonight recalled a time when we visited that pub a few years ago, and we may visit again as a result; we live 20 miles from Wardlow Mires. I like recognising the names of pubs others have listed but I haven't - why is it a 7 for me but a 10 for them? (And vice versa - and does it matter? No, obviously not.)

I like the regional biases - nothing from Basingstoke, obviously - and this is where we get one over on the aforementioned experts, since we're (collectively) from all over the country, and - more to the point - we travel to other parts of the country with the intention of seeking out and enjoying the pubs that we find there. If they have views and walks as well, that's just a bonus.

Oh, and if anyone has recommended a pub on this thread but not actually written a review, please do so asap to spare your blushes.

(Don't forget to take photos too.)

[Aqualung]

I agree with the above apart from the bit about not being derogatory about journalists! My list is fairly spontaneous and based on all sorts of factors and prejudices! I feel no need to change it although if I did it again in six months time there would probably be changes but I would recommend that Wittenden didn't make any changes. I think these lists are more useful than the ones produced by newspapers and websites as they highlight to a degree what people on this site are looking for in a pub.
Anyone up for a list of great pubs from the past that have closed or been ruined?

[NickDavies]

Oh, and if anyone has recommended a pub on this thread but not actually written a review, please do so asap to spare your blushes.

I hold my hands up....but I can't honestly write a review of a pub I haven't visited for a couple of years having never got round to doing so at the time. That doesn't stop it being one of my favourites.

[rpadam]

Bartons Arms, Aston (B6)
Bhurtpore, Aston (CW5)
Bridge, Topsham
Falkland Arms, Great Tew
Halfway House, Brenchley
Halfway House, Edinburgh
Royal Oak, Borough
Square & Compass, Worth Matravers
Vine (Bull & Bladder), Brierley Hill
Black Horse, Preston

[Pangolin]

Every time I start trying to compile a list, I immediately think 'oh no, that's not much good now' or 'hell, that's become a gastropub'. Or more likely nowadays 'wow, when did that close?'. As my ideal is probably something you could describe as an unspoilt, proper pub, I suppose the chances of it becoming 'spoilt' over time are pretty high!

I might try as a starting point producing a list of pubs that I would (still) make a point of visiting if in the vicinity and see where that goes.

[Pubsignman]

Great idea for a thread and nice to see quite a few pub nominated that I've never heard of - all now on the 'to do' list, of course!

I've only ever given three scores of 10, so picking the remaining seven from the many pubs I have scored a 9 was nigh-on impossible. Anyway, with apologies to a good 25 or so other pubs that just missed out, here's my effort...

1) The Fat Cat, Norwich
2) The Grove, Huddersfield
3) The Bridge End, Ruabon
4) Old Swan Inn, Netherton
5) Black Horse Hotel, Preston
6) Halfway House, Brenchley
7) Wigan Central, Wigan
8) The Victoria, Great Harwood
9) Old Spot Inn, Dursley
10) The Dun Cow, Sunderland

[Spinko]

Great idea for a thread and nice to see quite a few pub nominated that I've never heard of - all now on the 'to do' list, of course!

I've only ever given three scores of 10, so picking the remaining seven from the many pubs I have scored a 9 was nigh-on impossible. Anyway, with apologies to a good 25 or so other pubs that just missed out, here's my effort...

1) The Fat Cat, Norwich
2) The Grove, Huddersfield
3) The Bridge End, Ruabon
4) Old Swan Inn, Netherton
5) Black Horse Hotel, Preston
6) Halfway House, Brenchley
7) Wigan Central, Wigan
8) The Victoria, Great Harwood
9) Old Spot Inn, Dursley
10) The Dun Cow, Sunderland

When I lived in Preston I only visited the Black Horse about six or seven times in two years. But looking back its in my top three or four there, (it's one for a certain mood! ).

[Tris39]

London-centric yes, but I don't get out much:

The Charles Lamb (N1).
The Chesham Arms (E9).
The Hand & Shears (EC1).
Hemingford Arms (N1).
Old Fountain (EC1).
The Seven Stars (WC2).
Southampton Arms (NW5).
Tapping the Admiral (NW1).
The Wenlock Arms (N1).
Wilton's (E1).

[Tris39]

I agree with the above apart from the bit about not being derogatory about journalists! My list is fairly spontaneous and based on all sorts of factors and prejudices! I feel no need to change it although if I did it again in six months time there would probably be changes but I would recommend that Wittenden didn't make any changes. I think these lists are more useful than the ones produced by newspapers and websites as they highlight to a degree what people on this site are looking for in a pub.
Anyone up for a list of great pubs from the past that have closed or been ruined?

Yes.

Up for it.

[NickDavies]

Yes.

Up for it.

Trouble is "ruined" is too easy. Try every single Morland's pub, every single Brakspear's pub, every single Morrell's pub. You know why, and that's just Oxfordshire.