In this issue: (click
on a title to jump straight to the article)
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The Pub Walker
The official newsletter
of MyFavouritePubWalks.com
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Issue No.5
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The Pub Walker says ...
The Future
of Our Pubs is at Risk
A recent CAMRA survey found that 57 pubs close for good
each month, every month. This is sad news, not just for
those of us who relish combining the pleasures of walking
with a stop at a favourite pub, but also for the communities
that these pubs serve. The plight of villages in particular
losing their pubs, as well as their shops and schools, is
well known but the problem goes much deeper.
The challenges faced by our publicans have been highlighted
in recent research by the trade magazine The Publican,
commissioned to mark the first anniversary of the smoking
ban on 1st July. 1500 licensees were surveyed and over half
reported a drop in trade over the past year. Although the
main reason given was the credit crunch, in second place
came the smoking ban followed by the budget hike in alcohol
duty, then rises in costs of raw materials and of course
the poor weather last summer. Only 10% of licensees reported
that business was up over this period.
Our pubs are such an integral part of our cultural heritage
that it will be tragedy if we do nothing to stem the tide
of closures and instead just sit back and watch them be
redeveloped for residential or other purposes.
One of the reasons I started MyFavouritePubWalks.com
was to promote our best pubs to the walking community for
the benefit of publicans and walkers alike. Another interesting
survey, this time by Sport England, says there are 8 million
of us who walk for pleasure at least once a month. Just
think what a difference we walkers could make to the survival
of our pubs if we planned more of our walks around where
we would stop for our refreshment afterwards?
Support
Your Local - Put it on the Walkers' Map Today!
Please remember, there is nothing like a good pub walk
for leading hungry and thirsty customers straight to the
door of you local. If you want to ensure the continued survival
of any pub you feel embodies the best of our great pub heritage
then creating a pub walk and adding it to the national on-line
database at MyFavouritePubWalks.com
is an excellent way to play your part. It's stating the
obvious I know but once each of these pubs is gone, it's
gone for good and a little bit more of our culture is nibbled
away. Just click
to add a pub walk and see how easy it is to support
your local.
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Award-Winning Pubs - and where to find them
We continue our regular feature highlighting a selection
of pubs who have demonstrated excellence in an area that
is of interest to pub walkers. This may range from how they
cater for families, the quality of their food or real ale,
or simply their good old customer service. Where the list
is long, we have just included a selection with a link to
the full list on our website.
We hope that by highlighting the winners here, more of us
can try them for ourselves and support the best in our pub
tradition and help them to thrive. Even better, wouldn't
it be great to use this list as a source for ideas for where
to create your next pub walk? Either way, please email us
with your experiences at leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
The Good Pub Guide 2008 - National Awards
| PUB
NAME |
LOCATION |
CATEGORY
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| Nags Head |
Malvern, Worcestershire |
Pub of the Year |
| Fat Cat |
Norwich, Norfolk |
Beer Pub of the Year |
| Appletree |
Marton, Yorkshire |
National Dining Pub of the
Year |
| Harrow |
Steep, Hampshire |
Unspoilt Pub of the Year |
| For
a complete list of winners click on Good
Pub Guide 2008 National Pubs of the Year Awards |
The Good Pub Guide 2008 - County Dining Pubs of the Year
Sawday's Pub Awards 2008
| PUB NAME |
LOCATION |
CATEGORY
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| Highwayman |
Burrow, Lancashire |
Local, Seasonal & Organic
Produce Award |
| Devonshire Arms |
Beeley, Derbyshire |
Pub with Rooms Award |
| King's Head |
Laxfield, Suffolk |
Authentic Pub Award |
| Lamb Inn |
Sandford, Devon |
Community Pub Award |
| For
a complete list of winners click on Sawday's Pub Awards 2008
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If you try any of these award-winning pubs and would like
to give feedback, please send any comments to Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
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New Pub Walks to Enjoy - and Some Updates
Recent
Additions
Since our last newsletter, we have found many more pub
walks and are working hard to get these published as fast
as we can. In the last two months we have added more pub
walks in the following areas:
We are always looking for more pub walks so please keep
them coming. It's easy to add
a pub walk to the database! With more than half of England's
counties already represented, we always want to hear about
your other favourite pub walks especially for the missing
English counties, as well as for Wales and Scotland.
QuickSearch
for a Pub Walk
You can do an instant search for a pub walk simply by entering
your search term into the box below. If you cannot find one
in your area, you can now get some help by posting a comment
on The Pub Walker blog
- if we have some nearly ready for publishing then we'll see
if we can bring them forward in the queue; and if we don't
have any yet then we'll do our best to track some down for
you!
Some More
Quick Updates
One
of the advantages of an on-line database is the ability
to keep information updated whereas a book can quickly become
out of date as pubs change hands, footpaths become blocked
(or even roads collapse, as you may recall happened for
the New Inn, Cropthorne, now thankfully accessible once
again!). A few important updates on some of our pub walks
are below.
- Cross Keys, Cambridge, Cambs - now re-opened
and in new hands so why not try the Cross
Keys pub walk and let us know what you think.
- Harrier Inn, Hamble, Hants - has also just changed
hands, making a good excuse to download the Harrier
Inn pub walk and enjoy a stroll along part of the
River Hamble and the Solent Way.
If you have any other updates you can give us on any of
the pub walks featured on MyFavouritePubWalks.com
then please do email us at Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
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Special
Offers!
As you are reading this, I think it's safe to assume that
you love pub walks, like me. So here are a few special offers
that caught my eye and which I hope you find interesting too.
If you know any other places where we can get 2-for-1 vouchers
off pub meals or other special offers you think it is worth
sharing with fellow pub walkers then please do send them in
to us at Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
MoneySavingExpert.com
- Money Off Vouchers
This site is highly recommended for all kinds of money-saving
ideas but the reason that I have featured it here is that
it included details of how you can get £5 off when you
spend £10 at a Slug
and Lettuce. OK I know they are bars rather than pubs
but they serve decent real ale and I've had some excellent
meals at the Winchester one.
Money Off
Vouchers for Pub Meals - Local Secrets.com
If you are visiting Cambridgeshire, it is always worth visiting
LocalSecrets.com
to download free vouchers redeemable at some of our favourite
pubs. We currently have 20 Cambridgeshire
pub walks on the site and some of these feature from time
to time so do check it out. The Axe and Compass at Hemingford
Abbots currently has a variety of offers on the site. Choose
from vouchers
offering £5 off £20 spent in the restaurant, or
a free bottle of bubbly for the birthday boy (or girl) or
even 10% off weekday lunches and Monday to Wednesday evening
meals. Sounds like a good excuse to try the Axe
and Compass pub walk!
Pub Guides
- 50% Off
Have you seen that the AA
2008 Pub Guide is still half price on Amazon?
It is a real pleasure to use and is in full colour throughout
with numerous photos. The 2000+ entries cannot compete in
number with the 5000+ entries of The
Good Pub Guide 2008 but it screams AA quality and compliments
the other very well with often less overlap than you may think.
So at the offer price it may be time to try it yourself.
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Dates
for your Diary - special events, festivals and deadlines
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DATE
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EVENT
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Jul
1 - Jul 31
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Hampshire
Food Festival comprises 120 different events celebrating
the county's food and drink. Many pubs will be taking
part, organising beer festivals, offering special local
dishes and running fun events. One of the sponsors is
Fullers Brewery and their pubs will be laying on some
special dishes including the Wykeham Arms in Winchester
(see our Wykeham
Arms pub walk and other Hampshire
pub walks). |
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Jul
12 - Jul 13
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Dorset
Seafood Festival is a free event at Waterfront
Weymouth and local pubs will no doubt have some special
offers for the festival. Weymouth's location on the South
West Coast Path makes it a great destination for some
fantastic walking too and you could try one of our Dorset
pub walks along the way.
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Jul
13 - Jul 20
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Proud
of Pubs Week, sponsored by the Publican trade
magazine, is aimed at showcasing "the fantastic things
pubs, licensees and their staff are doing in their communities".
It is a chance for all of us to demonstrate our support
for our pubs and that we are proud of our pub tradition |
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Aug
5 - Aug 9
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Great
British Beer Festival at Earl's Court is Britain's
biggest beer festival. Ranging from bitters to golden
ales, stouts to cider, there will be at least 450 beers
to choose from during this CAMRA event. |
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Aug
30
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Hike
Against Cruelty to Kids (HACK) is the annual 25
mile challenge set in the stunning Peak District for those
who want to support the NSPCC while enjoying some of the
most picturesque landscapes of the area. A great cause
and it will no doubt also be a memorable event for those
taking part. |
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Sep
5 - Sep 21
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Seafood
Fortnight will generate a host of special offers
from pubs, so keep your eyes open especially near the
coast where pubs traditionally specialise in recipes using
locally caught fish. Due to its success over the last
7 years, Seafood Fortnight is extended from a week this
year, potentially doubling the special offers we should
find. |
If there are any events you think we should include here in
our next edition then please do let us know by emailing Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
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Have
you seen The Pub Walker blog?
Our blog is updated a two or three times a week with topical
news about pubs, walking and the countryside together with
"This Week's Pub Walk". If you have a pub walk you
think we should feature then please let us know by emailing
Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
Why not check out our blog now to find out about new pub
walks and hear the news on pubs and walking first? Take a
look at http://thepubwalker.blogspot.com
and remember to subscribe.
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What
are you thinking?
We mean it when we say your views are important to us so please
send us your feedback, good or bad, to Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
What do you think makes a great pub walk? Is
the pub or the walk the most important element or do you consider
them as equal? Please write and tell us what you look for
in a pub walk by emailing to Leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
And what about this newsletter? Is once every 2 months the
right frequency for The Pub Walker? Should the articles be
longer or shorter, more or fewer? Or maybe you would like
to see features on particular pub walks, pubs, or special
events? Maybe you have an article you would like to submit?
We'd love to hear whatever you have to say!
If you prefer post to email, please address your comments
to:
Leigh Salkeld
The Pub Walker
MyFavouritePubWalks.com
Norwood
Southdown Road
Shawford
Winchester
England
SO21 2BX
Leigh Salkeld
Website Founder
MyFavouritePubWalks.com,
MyFavouritePubWalks.co.uk,
The Pub Walker blog
and The Pub Walker newsletter are owned by Trailblazing Ltd,
a company registered in England and Wales, Company No. 5921609.
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Newsletter
Archive
Remember if you have missed any of our earlier editions of
The Pub Walker, you can catch up by visiting
our Newsletter
Archive which we have recently added to our site.
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or Unsubscribe
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The Pub Walker
The official newsletter
of MyFavouritePubWalks.com |
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