Beer in Christmas Puddings

The origins of Christmas pudding stretch back to the 16^th century when it was known as plum pottage which consisted of meats, grains, spices and fruits (particularly raisins and currants, rather than plums) which was boiled in a bag. As sugar became more widespread and cheaper, the use of meat in the dish dwindled. Although it was banned by the Puritan Government, it was revived by King George I in 1714 as part of his first Christmas feast. Its traditional moniker was adopted by the beginning of the 19^th century, as far back as 1830 recipes resembling what we consider a quintessential Christmas pudding began to appear.  Beer has been used in various recipes for Christmas pudding dating back to the mid 19^th century; Stout has usually been the beer of choice, although strong ales and barley wines have also been suggested as a good alternative. It’s status as an ingredient was cemented in 1926 when Andre Cedard, then royal chef to King George V and Queen Mary, developed a Christmas pudding that consisted of ingredients sourced from different parts of the empire. It included ingredients such as currants from Australia, cut candied peel from South Africa, rum from Jamaica, cinnamon from India/ Ceylon, and even British beer. The following year, the Empire Marketing Board made the recipe available to the public, in order to encourage purchase of goods from the colonies. As far back as the 1930’s, breweries have been encouraging consumers to use their beers in recipes for Christmas pudding. In November 1936, Barclay Perkins published a piece in an issue their in-house publication Anchor Magazine, advising users to add a dash of their strong ale Southwarke Ale (6.1%) to the recipe. The tradition of breweries issuing recipes for Christmas pudding using their beers continues to this day, Hook Norton published a recipe under the name of Granny Di’s Christmas Pudding that includes 5oz of their festive themed porter Twelve Days (5.5%) in the extensive list of ingredients, which they proclaim as the magic ingredient. Likewise in 2016, St Austell featured a recipe that advises users to soak fruit overnight in their stout Menu Dhu (4.5%), to help make the finished article a proper plump, deliciously rich and dark pudding. And, Cheddar Ales issued a recipe that advises to use a generous glug of their port-tinged festive porter Festive Totty (4.5%) into the mix. Moreover, the idea of a brewery releasing their own Christmas pudding on a commercial basis once seemed a remote impossibility, however in 2012, Fullers found its way into the news when it sold Christmas Puddings laced with their Black Cab Stout (4.5%) at over a 150 of their pubs across London and the south east. They also teamed up with Hailo, a Black Cab app to offer free limited edition Christmas puddings to passengers. These special Christmas puddings have continued to be sold at their pubs on an annual basis. For over a decade now, breweries have been commercially releasing pre-prepared Christmas puddings that utilize their iconic beers, where it sold either online or through their brewery shop, at a farmers’ market and quite often through a third-party business such a local bakery firm.

 

Adnams is one of the UK’s oldest family brewers with a lineage stretching back to 1872 when George and Ernest Adnams purchased the Sole Bay brewery in Southwold, and soon established a flourishing business that in time would see their beers sold around the country. To coincide with their centenary in 1972, they launched a new beer Broadside (6.5%), a strong ale to mark the tercentenary of the Battle of Sole Bay. Bold in flavour, with a fruit sweetness, aromas of fruitcake, balanced bitterness and the warming strength characteristic of a strong ale, this would seem the ideal fit for a Christmas pudding. Steve Herbert, proprietor of the Old Spot Inn in Dursley remarked back in 2007, “I strongly believe in beers that are like Christmas pudding – something slightly sweet, above 5% in alcohol, that warms you up on your journey home.”[1] This message, somewhat belatedly hit home to brewers like Adnams, whom in 2013 released a Christmas pudding laced with Broadside (6.5%), and unlike other breweries this one was commercially sold for the retail market, it’s release proved to be a game changer, which subsequently encouraged other breweries across the land to follow their lead. Like Adnams, Harvey’s of Lewes is another family brewery which has been plying the brewing trade since 1790, the brewery remains in the family with the seventh and eight generation working there today. Harvey’s festive themed Christmas Ale (7.2%) coincidentally was first released the same year as Broadside (6.5%), and it has become one of the longest continuously brewed Christmas beers in the country. The brewery describes it as “a traditional barley wine exudes biscuity malts and rich vinous fruits, all balanced by a strong hop bitterness.”[2] A multi-award-winning beer that helps embody the Christmas spirit, it has won many awards since 1992 including the BBI Awards, International Beer Challenge, The British Bottlers Beer Competition, The Great British Beer Festival and the CAMRA Beer Awards on a number of occasions. It was inevitable that this beer would find its way onto a Christmas pudding at some point, and in 2013 they challenged Adnams on the market with their own Christmas Pudding which utilized their legendary Christmas Ale (7.2%) into the mix; and much like the production of the beer, the puddings are given a long maturation period, they are produced in January using the previous year’s batch of beer then matured for 10 months before it is put on release, as far as puds go this is surely a record? It has been sold on annual basis for over a decade now, and has often been described as a staple of Sussex Christmas dinner activities, such was its demand that their batch in January 2020 alone used 540 pints of Christmas Ale (7.2%) in the mix. In 2016, Chiltern Brewery joined in the rush and released their own Christmas pudding that utilized their popular Lord Lieutentant’s Porter (6%). The brewery has been treading the boards since 1980 when it was founded by Richard and Lesley Jenkinson, to this day they remain one of the longest-running family brewers in Buckinghamshire. In 2000, they marked their 20^th anniversary with the release of a new beer, Lord Lieutenant’s Porter (6%). A smooth, rich and smoky porter, the beer was named after Sir Nigel Mobbs, then Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. In honour of this bestowing, he launched the beer at their 20^th anniversary event. It has gone onto become one of the brewery’s most successful beers, winning a string of awards including 7 Great Taste awards, 2 BBI National awards and a bronze medal at the SIBA Midlands awards 2005 (bottled beer category). So, it is understandable that this beer would eventually find it’s way into a Christmas pudding recipe and fast forward sixteen years later, the brewery took plunge and produced their own puddings within their kitchens at the King’s Head, Aylesbury, notable one of two pubs that the brewery owns. The puddings are made in July then matured for several months for release, it is wrapped up in a traditional muslin cloth, and sold in four sizes ranging from ½lb to 3lb. Unlike its competitors it can only be heated up by steaming. Although it is only sold on a limited release basis (both online and at their brewery store), its continued success with punters has subsequently seen it re-released on annual basis to this day.

 

Buoyed by the commercial success of these Christmas puddings, belatedly another established brewer, Theakston’s, belatedly joined in on the act. Founded in 1827 by Robert Theakston and John Wood in Masham, North Yorkshire, the brewery has since become one of the county’s largest brewers, and is currently the 2^nd biggest brewer still under family ownership. Landlord (4.1%) is the brewery’s best known and most widely sold beers, it has won a number of awards including several at the Great British Beer Festival, notably four-times Supreme Champion Beer of Britain. It was developed in 1952, as a means of producing a strong pale ale that would help meet the demands of the growing popularity for bottled beers at the time. Despite growing competition from keg beer, from the brewery persevered and from the 1970’s onwards the beer started to gain accolades across the brewing industry. In 2019, the brewery collaborated with Yorkshire based baker Lottie Shaw’s, to produce a Christmas pudding that utilized their flagship Landlord (4.1%), where the fruit was soaked in beer prior to mixing. The puddings were released, wrapped in a festive themed tea towel. Since they first appeared on the scene, Lottie Shaw’s have become one of the most prominent bakery wholesalers in the country with treats like Gingerbread, Flapjacks and Parkin being sold all over the country. Coming from a long line of bakers, Shaw was inspired to go into business after she encouraged to revive her family’s Yorkshire Parkin recipe, she subsequently set up her own business with her husband Ian. The company has since won 7 Great Taste awards and in 2018 was awarded Official Taste of Yorkshire. However, this wasn’t the first time the bakery had collaborated with a brewery, the previous year they developed a Christmas pudding in conjunction with Saltaire Brewery, using their pale ale. Yet the cooperation between one of Yorkshire’s oldest breweries with one of the region’s most successful commercial bakers proved to be a winner, and such was its success that it was re-released the following year. Saltaire Brewery evidently have collaborated with a number of independent bakeries towards the production of Christmas puddings, for example in 2013, Saltaire Brewery collaborated with Jeff Baker (aka Thomas Baker) produced a Christmas pudding that utilized Saltaire’s Triple Choc Stout (4.5%). Baker remarked at the time of its release that this was no ordinary Christmas pudding, noting “it has a generous splash of Saltaire Brewery Triple Chocoholic Stout and Belgian chocolate chips added to the recipe. It might sound a little different to what you’re used to, but trust me, it’s good. And I’m not even a big fan of Christmas pudding!”[3] The beer in question, is one of Saltaire Brewery’s most successful products since they launched operations in the historically teetotal town of its namesake back in 2006. Triple Choc Stout (4.5%) features a unique recipe where chocolate malt is complemented by cocoa and chocolate essence to create a strong chocolate flavour, that is balanced by the bitterness from the use of Fuggles hops.  It has won a slew of international awards, including Overall Country Winner (Flavoured Beer) at the World Beer Awards 2019, Gold and Overall Country Winner in the Flavoured Chocolate and Coffee category at the World Beer Awards 2021, and Gold winner in Speciality Beer category at Great British Beer Festival 2017. So quite understandably the combination of the beer with this Christmas pudding recipe would create an explosion in chocolatey flavour, alas despite such promise the pudding however was only a one-off release, however in 2018, Otley based baker Bondgate Bakery took up the reigns and collaborated with Saltaire to produce a new Christmas pudding utilizing the beer. Described as a marriage made in heaven, it continued success has prompted the bakery to re-release on an annual basis.

 

For some breweries, the idea of a wide county or nationwide release seems like an impossible dream, and for some Christmas pudding collaborations this remains a strictly localised affair. The likes of Tring Brewery have collaborated with a number of independent food producers over years, producing products that utilize their beers. As Hertfordshire’s 2^nd largest brewer, operating in the town of Tring since 1992, the stakes of often quite high when it comes to the commercial retail of their products, their mostly heavily used example is Death or Glory (7.2%), strong rich barley wine with a potent alcoholic nose, it was first brewed in 1994, by appointment of the Queens Royal Lancers. This beer is one of the brewery’s iconic releases despite only being released in bottle generally, and it has been used in a wide variety of foodstuffs including Chutneys, Pies, Biltong and even Charcuterie Sticks. In 2019, they took the plunge and developed a Christmas pudding in conjunction with Berkhamsted based baker Natasha Collins of Nevie-Pie Cakes based in Berkhamstead, to produce a Christmas pudding that utilized their iconic barley wine Death or Glory (7.2%), generous amounts of beer were thrown into the mix, along with a glug of dark rum and a flurry of vine fruits and spices. At the time of it’s release, it created a flurry of attention in the local press, the pudding was even reviewed on Nick Coffer’s radio show at BBC Three Counties radio, when Anna and Nat from Kitchen Conversations were interviewed about the pudding. Sadly, the pudding is no longer released, and it remains an intriguing ‘episode’ in the brewery’s illustrious history of food-based collaborations. Another regional brewer has looked even closer to home when it came to producing a Christmas pudding, for instance, in 2015, Wellbeck Brewery worked with their neighbours at the Wellbeck Bakehouse to develop a Christmas pudding, which was produced by one of the bakers, Richard Smith. The pudding hails from an old family recipe, it utilizes brandy-soaked fruit and Portland Black (4.5%) in the mix. The puddings are cooked and steamed the traditional way, in natural cheesecloth. The pudding has since won a Great Taste award in 2016, and has become a figurehead in their extensive Christmas range of baked goods and continues to be sold on an annual basis. Situated in the heart of the Sherwood Forest, the brewery has become one of Nottinghamshire’s most successful brewers since Claire Monk established the microbrewery on the Wellbeck Estate back in 2011. Portland Black (4.5%) has become one of the brewery’s most well-known seasonal releases. A velvety black Porter with notes of coffee, vanilla and chocolate, CAMRA describes it as a “black ale with a roast malt aroma and taste throughout, and a well balanced bitterness.”[4] It has previously won Silver (Porter category) at SIBA Midlands 2018. It is also available in bottle, cask and mini-cask. The unexpected success of this pudding, subsequently prompted the brewery to develop future collaborations with bakers, for instance in 2017, Portland Black (4.5%) was utilized towards the production of ale flavoured breads created by apprentice bakers at The School of Artisan Food, also based in Welbeck. Moreover, another award winner on the Christmas pudding front is LillyPuds, established in 2015 by Alison Lily of Chelmsford, in the first year of production she produced two Christmas puddings that utilized beer in the recipe, sourced from breweries based in the east of England. A traditional version made with Chockwork Orange (6.5%) from nearby Brentwood Brewery, and a gluten free version made with St Peter’s (of Bungay, Suffolk) gluten free Cream Stout (6.5%). Her puddings use 50% fruit (but no mixed peel), vegetable suet, 5% sugar and beer. The finished concoction has often been described as light and fruity. Although neither puddings are officially released through the breweries in question, they quickly established her status as a commercial baker in the region. Clare Youell writing in Essex Live back in 2017 reported, “in the first year she sold 600 of her beautifully gift-boxed Christmas puddings to shops, as well as 500 mini puddings to restaurants and pubs. In the first year, she trebled her turnover, selling 2,000 of the desserts to shops and private customers and 3,000 to eateries.”[5] Both the traditional pudding and the gluten free version take up 20% of the company’s total orders. The puddings were sold to businesses based all over Essex, including retail stores, pubs, restaurants and garden centres; in 2017 alone, a total of 20,000 puddings were created in order to meet demand. Building on this success, these puddings have received a number of Great Taste awards including most recently in 2021 when it was finalist in the hot puddings category and managed to get the Highly Commended award. To this day, the puddings continue to be sold online and are widely available in retail outlets across Essex.

 

Although the instances of breweries producing and releasing Christmas puddings is vanishingly small on the scale of things, it remains an intriguing cottage industry. The idea of breweries risking commercial disaster in order to release a Christmas pudding utilizing one of their beers understandably puts most breweries off the idea, however for the ones who have taken the plunger like Adnams, Chiltern and Harvey’s for instance, the results have paid off and have proved successful, even to the point of serving as a useful marketing tool for their beers. Sometimes the relationship goes the other way round, rather than being produced in-house or on a commission related basis, there have been examples of a number of independent and commercial bakers who have taken it upon themselves to produce a Christmas pudding using a locally produced beer. The likes of LillyPuds are perhaps the most successful and enduring example of this practise, where through perseverance it has sowed a lot of good fortune for the company. Although there are number of beers out there that go well with a Christmas pudding, such as Saint Petersburg (7.4%) – Thornbridge, Plum Porter (4.9%) – Titanic, 1845 (6.3%) – Fullers, or Plum Pudding (4.8%) – J.W Lees, some of which are mentioned in this fascinating article from the Morning Advertiser. The idea of combining iconic beers directly in the production of Christmas puddings remains an intriguing one, and when the opportunity of finding a commercially release Christmas pudding out there that features a beer in its recipe, the opportunity is difficult to resist.

List of References 

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[1] 'Ale is the new Christmas pud,' The Morning Advertiser, 4^th October 2007

[2] ‘Harvey’s Christmas Ale’ by Harvey’s.

[3] ‘Saltaire Triple Choc Stout Christmas Pudding’, Thomas the Baker, 11^th November 2013

[4] ‘Welbeck Abbey - Portland Black’ by CAMRA

[5] ‘Chelmsford woman makes 10,000 Christmas puddings ready for the big day’ by Clare Youell, Essex Live, 7^th December 2017 

Pub Guides: The Swan, Bushey

Address: 25 Park Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, WD23 3EE

 

Opening Hours: Mon – Sat (11:00am – 11:00pm), Sun (12:00pm – 10:30pm)

 

Tel: 020 8950 2256

 

Tucked away on a residential street resides an intriguing looking pub, although relatively small in size for a boozer, it ticks all the boxes as a quintessential community local. Built in 1867 by local entrepreneur Jane Farmer, the building was originally a beer-house for local brewer Thomas Wild, since then the pub has since changed ownership a dozen or so times, although uniquely for the area it is still a free house. The pub’s mid-Victorian interior has largely remained unchanged since it was built, the embossed windows, wood panelled walls, double fireplace and bar counter are all original, enough to award this place one star by CAMRA’s historic pub interiors scheme, yet its despite its historic status it is not a listed building. As you walk into the pub, it is quickly noticeable that its rather small and compact, no larger than an average sized living room; a mishmash of dining and small circular tables line the vicinity all closely packed together, and a row of stools line the bar for extra seating, despite all this when the pub gets busy, it can be rather on the crowded side. Despite this the pub has some rather intriguing features that help give its unique character, the walls are adorned with the photos from the pub’s illustrious past that includes an extensive collection featuring the pub’s long running Darts league and the Cricket team, along with old snaps of the building and the local area in general. Also featured is a collection of army insignias, club ties, scale models of ships and air balloons, along with a wide array of Breweriania, that includes jugs, beer bottles, embossed mirrors and a slew of posters featuring the likes of Guinness, Glen Spey, Timothy Taylor and former local brewery Benskins, on the later note there is a large array of Benskins related memorabilia, indeed this was the location where the very last pint of Benskins was served in 2002. Dotted along the shelves resides a mini-library of books that include past CAMRA Beer Guides, local history books, Cricketers almanacs, pub walk guides and even a Bradshaw edition, that would keep any bookworm engrossed for hours on end.

 

To add to the list of ecclectic features, there is an extensive pub garden at the back which is almost as large as the pub itself, that allows for extra seating during the Summer months; a wide selection of TV monitors stacked closely together continuously showing an array of sports and a Darts area towards the back of the building, which sits precariously between a selection of neatly stacked board games and the entrance to the Gents toilet. Rather curiously and if not unsurprisingly for a pub of this size, the Ladies’ toilet is unusally situated outside around the back with no access from within the pub. For the discerning drinker, the pub has a small variety of cask ales on offer that have relatively remained unchanged over the years, including the likes of Landlord (4.3%), Abbot Ale (5%) and London Original (3.7%) which were available that the day, The pub also sports a large range of keg beers, and a hand-pull for Real Cider, there is additionally a large range of wines available and an extensive collection of spirits, some of which are seldom found in most pubs. However this pub does not feature a restaurant menu as such, although it does serve hot meat pies and toasties on request, and intriguingly it also features the largest and most eclectic range of bar-snacks that I have yet seen in a pub, including a wide variety of crisps, pork scratchings, r jerky, Pepperami, olives, pickled cockles, beef jerky, rice cakes, Bombay mix, pickled eggs, giant pretzels and every type of nut, that the pub proudly exclaims. You certainly won’t leave hungry whenever you visit this pub.

On the whole, despite it being diminutive in size, this pub more than makes its up with its treasure trove of features that are dotted around the vicinity. This place exudes a charming, warming and inviting atmosphere, whether your local or new to the place you’re always greeted with the same warm welcome that encourages one to visit this place time and time again. It is easy to why the pub has featured in the CAMRA Pub Guide on more than several occasions, and was notably voted pub of the area by the local Watford and District CAMRA in 2002, this pub is essentially a classic example of a community local that has been much revered by generations of customers. If you’re ever passing the area, this pub is definitively one to visit.  

Barnet Heritage Pub Walk

After a day full of feasting and drinking, I sought to give myself some much-needed isometrics with my annual Boxing Day walk. After much deliberation on where to go, I settled on the Dollis Valley Green Walk which is a green chain walk in North London that goes along most of the confluence of the Dollis Brook, it is a 10 mile walk that stretches from the northern extremities of Mill Hill to the fringes of Hampstead Garden Suburb. Now I was in no mood to do the entire 10 mile stretch so I began my walk in Mill Hill East with the aim of going to some pubs along the way towards Chipping Barnet. This stretch of the trail up to Totteridge is mostly flat with very few gradients, along the way I went through parkland, allotments, playing fields and outdoor playgrounds. By the time I reached Whetstone, I was feeling a bit out of shape so I strove up to my first pub The Griffin. An imposing looking building situated on the High Road, the pub was formerly a Coaching Inn dating back to the 16^th century, in 1837 it was taken over by Meux Brewery and turned into a pub. The exterior is a combination of Tudorbethan timber work and mid-Victorian engineering with a touch of the gothic, the multi-turreted chimney stacks are a particularly notable feature. The interior has wooden flooring and the walls are partly wood-panelled with teal blue bare panels adorning the rest, most of the interior was renovated in the 1930’s although some remnants of the original building remain including the brick lined double fireplaces, the matchboard panelled celing and the doors to the former stables yard. The pub has three front doors which used to lead into the public, off-sales and saloon bar areas respectively, but have since been knocked through with the central bar now taking pride of place; although the place is listed as a Heritage Pub by CAMRA, it is not a listed building. On the day of my visit there were hardly any cask ales available, so I had to settle for Landlord (4.3%) by Timothy Taylor’s, it was well kept and rather refreshing with pleasant hoppy overtones and malty notes that denoted a hint of syrupiness with a lingering bitterness. I've had this beer quite a number of times on cask, and I have often found it to be a reliable drink, especially when the cask selection was limited.

 

By the time I finished my drink, it was getting close to 3pm and since it was on one of the shortest days of the year, time was of the essence, so I quickly hotfooted back onto the trail. My plan was to walk up towards Barnet Lane in order to reach Chipping Barnet before nightfall, the last stretch of the trail was hardly eventful apart from the multiple bends of the Dollis Brook and a double footpath to contend with. Before long I had reached Barnet Lane and was soon on my way up the hill towards Chipping Barnet, a historic market town situated along the Great North Road. Understandably the high street has a large number of pubs, with a good proportion dating back a few centuries or more. On this occasion I sought much needed libation at the Ye Olde Mitre, the oldest and most architecturally intriguing pub in the town, it dates from c.1533 and is a former Coaching Inn. The interior has exposed beams and brickwork, it is rather narrow with multiple levels leading towards the seating areas at the back of the building and the adjacent courtyard. A number of knick-knacks and brewerania adorn the walls, it also has a good selection of board games and vintage books, including a 1976 edition of the CAMRA Beer Guide. The bar area is wood panelled with an fascinating stain-glass motif above the area that features the name of the pub, it also has an extensive cask ale selection (perhaps one of the most extensive in the local high street) boasting around eight hand-pulls and even some real cider. Understandably the building is Grade II listed and has been awarded Pub of the year by the Enfield and Barnet CAMRA branch on several occasions. Although the pub has plenty of seating, it can get rather busy quite often at peak times; so it is easy to see why its cosy interior is attractive to visitors as one feels like stepping back in time to a quaint bygone age before bland corporate modernity took over. With it being Christmas season, there was a large array of festive themed ales on offer and after much deliberation I settled on Good King (4.9%) by Vale Brewery. A cracking winter warmer, it was dark ruby in colour and replete with flavours of plums, figs, raisins and spices that sum up the spirit of the season; it was rather fruity yet a notable roasted bitterness present in the background.

Dusk was encroaching as I departed from the pub and walked through the maze of Victorian era suburbs towards my final destination on my walk before heading home. Nestled on a quiet back-street is The Seabright Arms; although currently a McMullens house, the pub itself dates from 1891 around the time when much of the local residential area was built, and is one of two surviving examples of neighbourhood pubs in the locality (with The Lord Nelson being the other). Rather uniquely for a pub in this day and age, it still has separate public and saloon bars, which are only accessible via a small hallway by the entrance. Despite some modern renovations, much of the original late Victorian features remain including the wood panelled bar, although for a pub dating from this era it is still relatively spartan in its appearance through its lack of ornate architecture and bare painted walls, it effectively has the look of a quiet country pub despite being nestled within the middle of a bustling neighbourhood. Moreover there is a good amount of seating in both areas, a large beer garden at the back and a pool table to while away the hours. The pub has gained a popular following with locals and in 2016, Trevor and Martina Kinsella took over the then ailing pub and turned it into a communal hub for the local area, with quiz nights, live music gigs and family fun days becoming a regular fixture. The support for local causes and charities is of prime importance, and was quite evidently present in its cask ale selection. Due to the diminutive size of the pub, it only supports enough space for three hand-pulls, although only two were available that day including AK Mild (3.7%) and a guest beer, Sebright Ale (4.3%), a limited-edition brew produced by a local charity, it was a rather sessionable number with a fairly bitter aftertaste and a trickle of hoppy notes coming through in the background. The beer had a rather malty and pleasant character, although rather quaffable it was nothing to shout home about. Feeling a bit peckish I sought nourishment from a pack of Ox flavoured crisps and a complementary mince pie, which suited the beer rather well.

Overall, my walk was festooned with a variety of pubs that boasted long-standing heritage status, each of the places that I visited had intriguing, distinct and unique architectural features that are seldom seen in most pubs. As a keen walker, I have always been on the look out for quality pubs for much rewarded refreshment, often in search of the finest ales the local area has to offer. Wherever or whenever you arrange your walk over the Christmas and New Year period, I would implore you to visit and include a few pubs of heritage value into your itinerary, you’d be pleasantly surprised and intrigued by their historical background and links to the local area.