There is almost a pub closing every week in the UK. That’s a travesty. In a time where the country’s soul is being fought over like a football, no matter what way you look at it, the public house is a cornerstone of British culture—from traditional boozers to upmarket gastropubs, microbreweries to Desi pubs.
That’s why we have to celebrate the British pub at every chance we get. And you couldn’t be living in a better city for ‘pub culture’ than Bristol. ‘The UK’s pub capital’ just attained a perfect score in this new research, revealing where in the UK is home to the best pub culture.
Travel experts at Big House Experience analysed thousands of data points across every UK postal town area—from pub density to CAMRA-approved venues and microbreweries, to create a national index. Researchers then created a comprehensive index awarding each location a ‘Pub Culture Score’ out of 100.
What makes Bristol the UK’s pub capital?
Bristol was crowned the winner with a perfect ‘Pub Culture Score’ of 100, while Edinburgh follows closely behind with 99.5, and Birmingham ranked third with 96.9. The city offers 1,211 pubs across the entire postal area, which is the equivalent of almost 25 pubs per 10,000 people (and 1 pub for every 400 people).
But it’s not just about quantity, but quality too, with 20 pubs approved by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and 10 listed in the Good Pub Guide. The legendary Cori Tap in Clifton, known for serving traditional Bristolian dry cider, gets namechecked by the study, but there are many, many brilliant pubs in the city.
Just some of my favourites include Beeses, the riverside pub best reachable by ferry; The Plough for Easton’s tight-knit community vibes; traditional cider pub The Orchard on Spike Island; the historic Christmas Steps; the Black Castle, because it’s literally a castle; and the home of the best Gunniess in Bristol, The Star in Fishponds.
Cardiff is the only Welsh location to feature in the top 20, ranking 17th with a score of 70.9. The South West and surrounding regions perform strongly in the latter half of the top 20, with Shrewsbury (15th), Hereford (16th), Worcester (18th) and Cirencester (19th) all earning their place in the list.
The UK’s top 20 pub culture locations
- Bristol (100)
- Edinburgh (99.5)
- Birmingham (96.9)
- Manchester (96.1)
- Reading (94.2)
- Newcastle upon Tyne (94.0)
- Sheffield (90.7)
- Glasgow (89.3)
- London (87.5)
- Chelmsford (82.3)
- Southampton (81.7)
- Ripon (79.5)
- Colchester (78.6)
- Chester (76.7)
- Shrewsbury (75.9)
- Hereford (71.2)
- Cardiff (70.9)
- Worcester (70.8)
- Circencester (68.2)
- Brighton and Hove (66.3)
You can see the full research and indexed data here.
