In the
previous post I wrote about benefits for groups such as
CAMRA branches, of the
cross-platform messaging and information sharing application
WhatsApp. But
alongside helping to keep
CAMRA groups connected and up to date with what’s
occurring, there’s a lighter side to the
App as well. This can, at times,
provide topics for more general discussion, or even as a source of mild
amusement.
More of the latter on another occasion, as I haven’t finished with this
thread yet, but an example of the first was a recent
Twitter feed which appeared on
one of the
West Kent CAMRA groups. The feed linked to a news story about
Bruce
Masters, the holder of
the Guinness World Record for the "Most pubs visited in a
lifetime".
Bruce is
74 and lives in
Flitwick, Bedfordshire. He started keeping notes of
the different pubs he visited when he was just
15. Since retiring he tries to visit pubs in two
different towns or cities every week, and has now clocked up an impressive
51,695. Followers
of statistics will note that
Bruce has visited more pubs in his lifetime than
the number still open in the
UK;
currently around the
39,000 mark!
That’s an impressive achievement in anyone’s eyes, and
Bruce has no intention
of slowing down, despite his daughters urging him to take it easy.
But what caught the attention of us local
CAMRA members was Bruce’s list of his
Top 50 British Pubs. The list is quite an
eclectic one, because as well as listing some classic, traditional pubs, it
also includes a few
more modern
examples, including several micro pubs.
Some of us felt inspired to total up how many of
Bruce’s top 50 pubs we had
been in, but without fail none of made it into double figures. I actually
topped the list of those who responded, but even then I came in with a pitiful
six!
For the record my six pubs are:
Oxford Bar – Edinburgh; Railway Hotel –
Faversham; Royal Oak – Hooksway,
Sussex; Butt & Oyster
– Pin Mill; Cock Inn – Brent Eleigh; King’s Head – Laxfield. The last three entries are all in
Suffolk,
whilst
Faversham of course is in my home county
of
Kent.
There are three other
Kentish entries, two of which are micros; the
Papermakers – Sittingbourne, plus
the
Butcher’s Arms – Herne, (the
original micro-pub). The other outlet is the
Thomas Tallis Alehouse, in
Canterbury;
a pub which despite its olde worlde appearance has only been open for three
years. I walked past it a couple of years ago, but the place didn't really take my fancy.
If you fancy having a go yourselves, just click on the link, and it will
take you to the
Sun “newspaper” site. If, like me, you are not a fan of
Rupert
Murdoch be warned, but despite the paper’s unsavoury owner,
Bruce’s list of his
t
op 50 pubs is illustrated with some rather attractive and high-definition photos, so is well worth
a look.
Such lists are always going to be highly subjective, and when you’ve visited
getting on for
52,000 pubs, whittling that number down to just
50 is never
going to be easy or even realistic. Having said that, whilst most serious pub
goers will have their own list of favourites, it’s always good looking at
someone else’s,
especially when it’s
been compiled by the UK’s
self-styled,
champion pub-goer.
2 comments:
I was surprised by the eclecticism of that list too, Paul.
I guess beer lovers are drawn more to the newer craft vars and micros than the traditional pubs better known for interiors than beer, particularly if Bruce is nipping in and out of pubs for a quick half.
I've visited 40 of those. I suspect Duncan has tallied 45 +
Martin, I suspected that both you and Duncan would be up in the high numbers on that list. It’s one of the better ones though, given the dedication and time that has gone into compiling it.
Other pub-list compilers, particularly newspapers, seem to rely on reader submissions rather than their own first-hand knowledge.
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