A Pub For All Seasons - a year long journey in search of the perfect British local

After the previous post I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that this one is a lot lighter as well as more uplifting. It revolves around the book I’d been reading, since the end of April, and which I finally finished a couple of days ago. It was the publication I took on our recent cruise, and whilst I didn’t finish it on the voyage, it’s the sort of book you can dip in and out of, without losing the thread. It's a light hearted sort of book and one you can put down when needed, and then pick up on afterwards, whilst knowing exactly where you left off. The book I am referring to is the latest publication from former British Beer Writer of the Year, Adrian Tierney-Jones, an esteemed individual whom I have had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions.

Adrian had been diligently working on this latest offering for quite some time, and whist he didn’t come straight out with it, reading between the lines, the break in normal activity (especially pub going), that was such a depressing feature of the pandemic, must have influenced his choice of subject. 

The book is titled "A Pub For All Seasons," with the subtitle "A Year Long Journey in Search of the Perfect British Local," and is the chronicle of a year-long journey which saw Adrian exploring various pubs across Britain. The quest, which begins with the simple aim of finding a pleasant place to sit and enjoy a pint of beer, ultimately reveals to the author the essence of what truly constitutes the perfect British local.

Throughout his travels, Adrian engages with locals and landlords alike, listening to their stories, and whilst experiencing the food, drink, and general ambiance of each pub. He states that during a lifetime of dedicated pub going, he’s come to believe that there is a pub for every season, and it is this seasonal effect that is the main theme of the book.   

He kicks off with autumn, that mellow, and often gentle, time of the year, but one which can also mean events such as Halloween, (an unwelcome import from across the Atlantic, in my view), Bonfire Nigh, Remembrance Sunday, plus the grand-daddy of them all, Christmas. Despite its overblown commercialism, Christmas does brighten up the dull and often dreary days of winter, and the cheer associated with parties, and festive dinners, provides a welcome, and often much needed boost to a pub’s finances.

 

 Moving towards spring, there is Valentine’s Day, if that is your thing, followed by Easter, followed by a cluster
of very welcome Bank Holidays, all of which can help give businesses that extra boost to help them stay afloat. Summer, of course is where pubs really come into their own, and this is where the cycle of the seasons turns full circle. So, from providing dimly lit and cosy retreats, where one can hide oneself away during autumn and winter, preferably in close proximity to a roaring log fire, through to spring when the first green shoots start to appear, the circular nature of the seasons continues, into summer. This is where life really returns, after the drab, and chilly days of autumn, winter and sometimes spring too. It is where things move outside – think pub beer gardens, barbecues, beer festivals, or just generally chilling out with friends, whilst enjoying a few welcome pints of refreshing, and lightly chilled beer.

Adrian believes that many pubs and bars exhibit seasonal variations in their atmosphere, impacting the experiences of dedicated pub goers. As the weather warms, outdoor seating becomes more common, yet April may still bring a chill, before summer arrives in a blaze of glory. Then, as autumn begins, the feeling of solitude starts creeping in, and may become more pronounced as the days become shorter and the nights longer. During this time, dark and malty beers often replace the pale, hoppy beers of summer, with stouts and porters becoming more appealing – evidence again of the effect that the seasons have on the nation’s pubs.

There’s nothing here that I’ll take issue with, and "A Pub For All Seasons” is one of those books that is a joy to read. Whilst it's obviously been written from the author’s perspective, it also rings a bell with its intended audience, due to the similarities with their own pub-going experiences. It certainly had this effect on me! There’s a reasonable percentage of pubs in Adrian’s book that I have visited, just as there are quite a few others that I would like to set foot in, given half the chance. 

Topping the list is the Bridge Inn at Topsham which the author refers to several times, revealing that it is one of his favourites. Seeing as he lives in Exeter, this is perhaps, no surprise, but there are others such as the Haunch of Venison, in Salisbury, that I visited last year, plus a couple of classics that I remember from my early days of pub exploration, that I would definitely like to experience again, before my time is up. I am referring here to the Square & Compass, at Worth Matravers, in the splendid, setting of the Isle of Purbeck, plus the Three Tuns, at Bishop’s Castle, close to the border between Shropshire and Wales. Both are real classics, with the latter, doubly so, because of its long-standing, home-brew credentials.

There are many other pubs I could list out that I am either familiar with, or would like to become acquainted, and they all have that elusive quality that, whilst difficult to define, is what makes a pub so special. In his quest for pub nirvana, Adrian is seeking out the atmosphere and ambience associated with all good pubs, along with the way in which these elements seem change over the course of the year. He manages to do this with the use of specific examples which highlight what is unique about each season, but there are also some pubs which he describes across all four seasons. Unsurprisingly, these places are usually ones he is very familiar with, such as those in the areas around Topsham and Totnes in Devon.

So, what started as a simple quest to sit and drink in a few favourite pubs, ends up revealing much more regarding the secret to what truly makes the perfect British local, when viewed across all four seasons. For someone who has just spent a fortnight, cruising around the British Isles, and experienced parts of these islands that in many cases, were just names on a map, the opportunity to visit a hostelries, in some of these far-flung places, was too good an opportunity to miss. And whilst the voyage provided just a brief snapshot of what’s available on home turf, Adrian’s book proved the perfect travel companion, for a good holiday read.