There is a whole country outside of London

[Theakston]

I appreciate the posters here giving generally sound information about seeking out good pubs and real (cask conditioned) ale.
Most seem to ignore the fact that there is a whole country outside of London where the pubs are prettier, the locals friendlier and the beer cheaper and generally better.

These days you can fly direct from many US cities to Manchester from where you can soon be in the beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire dales, the English Lakes etc. You can go for long walks in the countryside to work up a thirst and many of the pubs do Bed and Breakfast too! (cheaper than hotels and it makes for an easy stagger to bed).

If you prefer city life then Manchester and Leeds have lots of interesting pubs with good beer, often in Victorian buildings.

If you get out of Londond you will feel you have visited another country instead of just another major international city. On the beer front, While london has several good beers. The variety in the North West is much better. It costs a lot less, and the people will generally have time to talk to you.

I agree that the CAMRA guide is recommended. I seem to remember it also lists pubs that do B&B.

[beer editor]

Even if you fly into London it is easy (and not too expensive) to hop on a train and head out into the country. You can spend a few days in London, leave the bulk of yor luggage at your hotel and take what you need in a backpack.

The Yorkshire dales are wonderful, but so is the area to the south (near Dorset, and on to the coast).

CAMRA's Good Beer Guide is available in plenty of London bookstores. I'd also suggest Britain's 500 Best Pubs by Roger Protz.

Prosit,
Stan

[Richard English]

I did not mean to suggest in my postings that London is the only place in the UK that has good beer! It was simply that this was the place that was being asked about.

There are good beers in all parts of the UK (and bad ones, too) and it's also true that there are some interesting places to visit throughout the UK - I know, I've been to just about every part of the UK from Aberdeen to Brighton and from Belfast to Norwich!

Manchester is, I agree, a very good centre and it is also true that the beer usually costs less. I particularly recommend the Marble Arch in the Rochdale Road (I assume it's still there) for those visiting Manchester - always a good selection of beers and a very interesting example of a Victorian pub.

It is unwise to assume that any one area automatically will have a greater range of beers than another. Although Greater Manchester has 24 breweries whereas Greater London has but 15 but this is not the whole story. Because London, like it or not, is the capital (and it far, far larger than any other UK city) it tends to have a greater range of most things, including beer.

For example, although it is possible to get Thwaite's beers in London, it would probably be very difficult to get, say Young's beers in Blackburn (or even Leeds).

That's not to say that it's not a good idea to see some parts of the UK other than London, and those who live outside the UK can take advantage of the substantial reductions that are available on rail travel by buying a foreign visitors' rail pass. However, you have to get them before you leave; they are not sold in the UK.