The end of the Good Pub Guide as we know it?

The End of the Good Pub Guide as we know it?

According to The Publican yesterday, pubs are set to be charged up to £200 for the privilege of appearing in the Good Pub Guide from next year.

Fiona Stapley, who has edited the book for 27 years, said the charges will be introduced for the 2012 edition. Fees will be either £99 or £199, depending on the size of the outlet.

Pretty shocking news for a guide that proclaims its independence. This must surely have the potential to undermine its integrity. If a significant number of pubs decline to pay up, will the guide become a slimmed down version of its former self? Or will it relax its standards in an attempt to maintain its current coverage?

Even if it maintains its standards for inclusion, discrimination on the basis of willingness to pay will introduce a perception of bias which can only hurt its sales as we all know from a customer relations perspective, perception is reality.

If the publishers need to increase revenue then in my view a better approach would be to offer pubs the option of upgrading the size of the entry for a price or even allowing them to pay for advertising on some colour pages, but let's leave the basic entry free and the integrity of the guide intact.

Sorry GPG, this is altogether a disappointing decision for both pubs and pub-goers and threatens your long-standing and well-deserved reputation as the pub-goers bible. Listen to your loyal customers and publicans and think again.

The Pub Walker

The official blog of MyFavouritePubWalks.com

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New Tesco Food Magazine Features MyFavouritePubWalks.com

www.MyFavouritePubWalks.com in New Tesco Food Magazine

If you have seen the newly launched Tesco Food magazine, then I do hope you noticed us on page 11. Their editor asked us to suggest three of our favourite walks to pubs and you can see the ones we chose in the extract below.

(click image to enlarge)

All those really get my gastric juices flowing and I hope they do the same for you. The detailed route directions can be found by clicking on the names of the pubs below:

PLOUGH AND HARROW, Monknash, Glamorgan
JOLLY FARMER, Cookham Dean, Berkshire
BELL INN, St Cross, Winchester, Hampshire

If you see us appearing in any other publications then please do tell us. We discovered by accident that we had been mentioned recently in the BII Business (the magazine of the British Institute of Innkeeping) and have now started gathering together the ones we know about which also includes the Ramblers' Walk magazine and The Publican trade magazine . If you are interested in seeing these then just click on Press and Media Coverage page.

The Pub Walker

The official blog of MyFavouritePubWalks.com

Follow us at twitter.com/PubWalker for live updates

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Spectacular Pub Walk Around Malhamdale

Spectacular Pub Walk Around Malhamdale

This is our favourite walk around Malhamdale. Starting off in Malham itself, the walk begins with a traditional Yorkshire backdrop of stone walls and gently rolling hills.



Easy going for a while but as you approach the sheer face of Malham Cove, you start to appreciate the scale of the climb ahead of you. It's manageable though, but probably best not to count all those steps as you go (was it 400?). Climbing up the left hand side of the cliff face, on reaching the top you have to turn around and take in the view from here!



We took a brief rest here before proceeding across the limestone pavement and down into the valley to Gordale Bridge. It is definitely worth the short linear detour from here to the impressive Gordale Scar gorge and waterfall. Somehow it seems irresistible for people to remove their boots and socks and dip their toes into the cooling water.



From Gordale Bridge, the return route takes you through very different scenery, leaving the open moorland behind as you discover the hidden Janet's Foss. This is a complete contrast to what you have seen before, under heavy deciduous woodland whose canopy seems to hold in the humidity created by the waterfall and pool.



On leaving the woodland behind and emerging once more into open country, the late afternoon light created a striking image of these cows with their black and white colouring creating a stong contrast against the rich green of the pasture and grey/blue of the sky.



From here we touched the Pennine Way for just a short stretch and with the light fading we continued on our way back to Malham.



Now here there is a choice of two pubs, neither at the budget end of the spectrum but fairly priced for the good quality food they both offer. This time we visited the creeper-covered Lister Arms which has plenty of outdoor seating overlooking the green and I thoroughly enjoyed my Steak and Thwaites Nutty Black Ale Pie.



Next time I shall try The Buck Inn which offers award-winning sausages and their 'Malham and Masham pie' and, better still, all their dishes come with vegetables included - not always the case with the Lister Arms!



To download the walking leaflet for this and other pub walks in the area, simply go to Malhamdale pub walks.

The Pub Walker

The official blog of MyFavouritePubWalks.com

Follow us at twitter.com/PubWalker for live updates

Register for The Pub Walker Bulletin for email alerts