10 of the best pubs

Fisherman’s Tavern, Tayside It was converted into an inn from a row of fishermen’s cottages in 1827 and has been dispensing fine ales with such discernment that it’s the only Scottish pub to have featured in every issue of the Good Beer Guide. A dozen different wines are served by the glass. Two coal fires do battle with the coastal chill and you can dine off seafood specialities at a ship’s table in the panelled snug. If the whisky selection disturbs your equilibrium you can sleep it off in the upstairs guest suites. 10-16 Fort Street, Broughty Ferry, ­Tayside, Scotland DD5 2AD; fishermanstavern.co.uk; 01382 775941
Photograph: Stephen Finn / Alamy/www.alamy.com

Bartons Arms, Birmingham Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Enrico Caruso used to imbibe here when appearing at the Aston Hippodrome. Its unsullied Victorian flamboyance makes it one of the most spectacular pub interiors in the land with palatial archways, original snob screens, a grand staircase and Minton Hollins tiling. It was saved from dereliction in 2002 and now ­offers the best range of bottled beers in the city, a menu of host and guest ales and a complement of Thai chefs. 144 High Street, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4UP; 0121 333 5988
Photograph: Edward Moss / Alamy/www.alamy.com

Black Friar, London A giggling black friar stands sentry above the door. Brethren in bronze relief harvest crops and make music round the coloured florentine marble walls of the inner “grotto” and wooden yoke-carrying monks dangle the pub lights from their shoulders. Before the range of resident and guest ales – and the weekday crowds – cloud your vision, look for the tributes to the joys of opium modelled into the fireplace. The gastronomic speciality here is pies. 174 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4EG; 020-7236 5474
Photograph: Karl Dolenc / Alamy/www.alamy.com

Blisland Inn, Cornwall King Buddha is the nickname of the landlord, (thanks to his expansive belly and serene temperament) who collects his six ever-changing ales from the local brewery in his own handmade barrels. Local cider and fruit wines are a sideline and meals, cooked by his wife, are plain and hearty. The granite building sits on the only village green in Cornwall. The Green, Blisland, Cornwall, PL30 4JF; bodminmoor.co.uk/blislandinn; 01208 850739
Photograph: Chris Ison/PA Archive

The Fat Cat, Norwich The other double victor of the Camra pub of the year awards and holder of the Good Pub Guide’s beer pub of the year title for 2010. Beer lovers from across the nation sample the 30 host ales, 80 varieties of bottled beer and the award-winning Fat Cat range from the in-house brewery. It’s a typical Victorian corner house in a residential part of town and old-fashioned utilitarian inside. Filled rolls and pies are the menu at lunchtimes; liquid nourishment only evenings and Sundays. 49 West End Street, Norwich, NR2 4NA; fatcatpub.co.uk; 01603 624364
Photograph: Anglia Images / Alamy/www.alamy.com

The Nursery Inn, Stockport This was the first brewery-owned pub to win the Campaign for Real Ale’s (Camra) pub of the year accolade – in 2001 – for its hospitable ­atmosphere and its wide-ranging liquid distractions, but you need to know it to find it. The 1930s still flourish inside the wood-panelled stain-glassed lounge and dining vault. And there are bowling sessions on the pub’s own bowling green out back. Homemade pies, fish and chips and sandwiches add ballast to the main business of consuming real ales. 258 Green Lane, Heaton Norris, Stockport SK4 2NA; 0161 432 2044 Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Old Spot, Gloucestershire Camra’s 2008 National Pub of the Year gives succour to walkers along the Cotswold Way. A tasteful porcine theme melds with brewery memorablia in the flagstoned, fire-lit bar. Five guest beers, most from micro breweries, are served in five snug drinking rooms and food is wholesome, plain and chip free. Dinners cease at 8pm to free up space for beer sampling. Hill Road, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 4JQ; oldspotinn.co.uk; 01453 542870
Photograph: Adrian Sherratt / Alamy/www.alamy.com

The Swan, Essex Saved from closure in 1996, the Swan is one of only two pubs to have won ­Camra’s pub of the year competition twice. All the ingredients of an ­ English idyll are here – low-slung, thick-beamed ceilings, a roaring fire, decent garden and a wisteria-frilled ­frontage. A favourite ale is Totham Parva, brewed down the road in ­Maldon and named after the ­village. Food is ­traditional, with the ­occasional exotic twist. School Road, Little Totham, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8LB; theswanpublichouse.co.uk; 01621 892689
Photograph: Philippe Hays / Alamy/www.alamy.com

Nag’s Head, Worcestershire When ex-military man Duncan Ironmonger took over, he transformed the locals’ drinking habits. “The more strictly I run it, the busier it becomes,” he told a newspaper. It is the beers that seduce – 16 of them on tap including one, Batham’s Best, that is kept ­partially hidden to prevent a run on it. Quaint rooms crammed with armchairs, pews and other sittable-on oddments add quirkiness. Food (fat sandwiches, fish and chips) is served in strict slots, as this is a primarily a drinker’s pub. 19-21 Bank Street, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 2JG; nagsheadmalvern.co.uk; 01684 574373 Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Square & Compass, Dorset It is one of only nine pubs to have made it in to all 37 editions of the Good Beer Guide (its homemade cider also won it Camra’s cider pub of the year in 2008). The views alone earn it a mention; it’s a 30-minute slog up the cliffs from the beach and resident chickens peck round your feet as you drink. The same family has run it for a century and their beach-combing hauls, ­including a fossil museum, decorate the walls. Pasties and pies are the ­staple fare. Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 3LF; squareandcompasspub.co.uk; 01929 439229
Photograph: dbphots / Alamy/www.alamy.com