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On Saturday night, Tony Naylor declared the Old Bridge, Ripponden, ‘arguably Britain’s best pub’:

I am drinking a perfectly conditioned pint of Vocation’s Bread & Butter in arguably Britain’s best pub (Old Bridge Inn, Ripponden), and feel how religious zealots must after god reveals itself to them.
— Tony Naylor (@naylor_tony) April 12, 2019
That prompted us to ask our Twitter followers, slightly mischievously, we must admit, to place their votes for Britain’s best pub.
When the replies started to tumble in, we realised the results might actually be somewhat meaningful, as certain pubs got multiple votes, and the names of cool-sounding pubs we’d never visited popped up.
So, we’ve decided to sort through the answers and turn them into a to-do list.
Notes

We discounted pubs that nominated themselves, obviously.
There were a surprising number of votes for Orwell’s the Moon Under Water, or similarly whimsical perfect pubs of the imagination. Lovely stuff but basically a smart-arsed way of copping out of answering.
Where people named multiple pubs, we’ve ignored all but the first one mentioned in their Tweet. That’ll teach ’em.
We noticed one satirical answer – the Wetherspoon in Preston that was controversially named best pub in town last week – but others might have slipped through the net.
The list

First, here’s a list of all the pubs that got more than one nomination – a very decent list, which overlaps with our personal favourites to some degree.

  1. The Great Western, Wolverhampton
  2. The Hope, Carshalton
  3. The Grove, Huddersfield
  4. The Free Trade Inn, Newcastle
  5. The Bell, Aldworth
  6. The Old Ship, Seahouses
  7. The Ship & Mitre, Liverpool

(We really must get to the Hope. This is getting embarrassing.)
Now, here’s the full list.

You might not like every pub suggested but the point is, to someone, somewhere, these pubs were special enough to warrant a response, which means they’re probably at least worth sticking a nose into if you find yourself in the area.
The best pub in Britain, according to Twitter originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog


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