The White Lion
Good pubs are holding their own amid a wider economic decline in which many other small private enterprises are going to the wall. That's the theme of the latest edition of the guide to Britain's top inns, taverns and public houses, now in its 28th year of publication.
It's all down to the hard graft of that occasionally ridiculed species, the pub landlord and landlady, the guide says. The best of these dedicated overseers are applying all sorts of new ideas in order to thrive. They are not only brewing their own ale, for example, but also, as the number of pub wine drinkers grows, importing wine from small vineyards directly.
They are cutting food prices and may also even be heralding the return of the smallholding - some are rearing pigs, ducks, cattle and sheep. Let's hope they also know how to cook these beasts, because overpriced rural pub food, to take one case, still too often betrays its deep freezer origins.
Publicans' dedication comes at a price - not a very high one. Their average annual pay is £15,000 for a 15-hour day (half an hour less on Sundays!).
Sounds as if they deserve an award. Read on to see who got one in each of the guide's categories. Our illustrated excerpt from the Good Pub Guide 2010, spanking fresh in the shops now, culminates in the veritable palace of pubs - Britain's pub of the year.
