The press is currently filled with news of the demise of the great British pub. But is it really all doom and gloom?
We hear that the rate of pub closures has risen to 52 per week, up one third on just 6 months ago. In the same week CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) forces an investigation by The Office of Fair Trading into the crippling effect on tied pubs of high rents and beer prices charged by the monopolistic pub companies.
But there continues to be more positive anecdotal news of individual pubs adapting to the changing needs of the customers with more locally sourced food, special offers and entertainment (not just Sky Sports!). Some of the pubs I “follow” on Twitter are even now reporting record takings.
Not every pub can survive (and we all have stories of pubs that shouldn’t!) but there are many living on the brink of closure that it would be a tragedy to lose not just for their local communities but also for all of us who treasure their existence.
So what can we do? Well my aim throughout this summer is to support at least one pub each week (after a walk of course), sample their menu and if I’m impressed I’ll then spread the word by letting people know on MyFavouritePubWalks.com, this blog and Twitter for all who may be interested.
If you love our pub heritage too and like to include refreshment stops on your walks, I encourage you to join me and do the same to help our best pubs through this recession… and enjoy the exercise at the same time of course!
Please do share details of any gems you find on the way by commenting on www.myfavouritepubwalks.com, http://thepubwalker.blogspot.com or http://twitter.com/pubwalker as we’d all love to hear your experiences. And if you need inspiration for a pub walk to try then you can find it by following any of those links too.
Finally, why not even submit a pub walk for everyone to download?
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