As the nights grow longer and people seek refuge from the cold, certain pubs come into their own. An open fire helps, of course, but warmth comes too from a welcoming staff, convivial company and the fabric of the building, the tight corners and cavities, the timbered walls and sometimes the sheer history embedded there. Some pubs take you to a different time and place.
When you walk through the door, whether it’s a bolt-hole in a busy city or a remote rural hideaway, there are pubs that give you a big hug and make it hard for you to leave. Here’s a selection from across the country.
Cottage Loaf, Llandudno, Conwy
Discreetly tucked away behind a Wetherspoon’s, you’ll be surprised to come upon a pretty country pub in the middle of town. The Cottage Loaf takes its name from the former bakery that occupied these premises before it opened as a pub in 1981. Inside, the still warm atmosphere is created thanks – in part – to ancient timbers reclaimed from a wrecked ship and Llandudno’s old pier, while the stone floor came from the streets of Liverpool. A rather grand fireplace forms the focus of the main bar.
Crown Posada, Newcastle
One of the nation’s great pubs, the Crown Posada is a wonderful refuge from Newcastle city centre’s hectic streets. Behind the pre-Raphaelite stained-glass windows, you will find a long, narrow panelled bar stretching back almost as far as you can see, but the cosiest spot is the snug to your left as you go through the door – if you can find a seat. Originally just the Crown, legend has it that a Spanish sea captain added “Posada”, which in his own tongue means “resting place”. He certainly got that right.
Dyffryn Arms, Pontfaen, Pembrokeshire
Known to all as Bessie’s, after the long-serving landlady who died well into her nineties only a couple of years ago, this unassuming pub is a throwback to the beer houses of the middle 19th century, when a new law allowed people to serve ales in their own front rooms. And you’ll immediately feel at home in Bessie’s simply furnished parlour where Bass – the only draught beer here – is served from the cask via a jug through a hatch, probably by one of Bessie’s descendants, who are proudly keeping the tradition alive.
The Free Press, Cambridge
Nestled in the historic back streets of the university city, the name of the Free Press is a dig at a temperance newspaper that lasted one edition. In contrast, the pub has been going for nearly 200 years, which must tell you something. The tiny snug – which 59 students once squeezed into – is the original pub, and it has been extended in the same intimate style. Featuring open fires and walls that have accumulated a variety of knick-knacks over the years – including a rowing boat – all add to the welcoming ambience.
Falkland Arms, Great Tew, Oxfordshire
Dating from the 16th century, the Falkland Arms is the quintessential Cotswolds pub with its honeyed stone walls, flagstone floors and, of course, ingle-nook fireplace. It’s the perfect spot for those walking the hills to take respite, with plenty of nooks and crannies to curl up in with a pint of Wadworth’s ale. And if you really feel like you can’t leave, well, you don’t have to – the pub has half-a-dozen characterful rooms up the winding staircase. Just mind your head on the beams.
The Flying Childers Inn, Stanton-in-Peak, Derbyshire
Close to the prehistoric Nine Ladies Stone Circle on Stanton Moor, the Childers is an unspoilt gem and a haven of good beer and food for walkers exploring this corner of the Peak District National Park. It is divided into two cosy rooms, the main bar to your left is barely bigger than the snug to your right, and both are rustically furnished around an open fire. The pub is named after an unbeaten 18th century racehorse, but you don’t have to rush.
House of the Trembling Madness, Stonegate, York
Trembling madness may not sound like a relaxing state, but this lofty bolt-hole will transport you away from daily cares, into an atmospheric medieval ale house under a cat’s cradle of ancient beams decorated with stuffed animals. Not to be confused with the other Trembling Madness on Lendal Street, this one is hidden up some narrow stairs above a well-stocked off-licence. The timber-framed building can be traced back nearly 1,000 years. Today, the pub and shop both specialise in modern beers.
Kay’s Bar, Edinburgh
Wandering the chilly streets of Edinburgh’s sprawling New Town on a winter’s night, you might spot a rosy glow from Kay’s Bar and be drawn, irresistibly, into its warm, welcoming arms. Originally the headquarters of wine merchant John Kay, the Victorian offices were converted into a pub in the 1970s, making the most of historic features, including the cast iron pillars, the panelling, the barrels that line the wall opposite the bar, and an open fire. Mostly, though, it’s the redness that will stay with you.
King’s Head, Victoria Street, Bristol
Brought back to life in 2022 by local brewery Good Chemistry, the King’s Head is a special piece of architecture, preserving a strong sense of what it must have been like when it first opened its doors in the middle of the 19th century. The mirrored back bar is original, and one of the oldest surviving in the country, but it’s the curious Tramcar Bar behind it that will entrance the connoisseur of cosy. Designed, for some reason, like a tram-car, you can hide away in here and order beer from your own dedicated serving hatch.
Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater, Lake District
At the end of a long day roaming the fells, those in the know head for the 16th century Kirkstile Inn, perched between the shores of Loweswater and Crummock Water in the heart of some glorious Lakeland scenery. You can’t see all that when it’s dark, though, so come inside and gaze into the flames of a log fire while quaffing a cask beer from the pub’s own brewery, Cumbrian Ales, and dine on some top-quality dishes. There’s a restaurant, but the bar is the place to be, while you can wake up next morning to those views if you book into one of the letting rooms.
Lord Nelson, Southwold, East Suffolk
In the heart of the popular Suffolk seaside resort of Southwold, the Nellie has long been a destination for ale-lovers seeking out Adnams brews at their best (the brewery is around the corner). Built in the 18th century, and retaining its open fire, stone floors and simple wooden furniture, as you breathe in a whiff of the North Sea it’s not too great a stretch of the imagination to sit here sipping and cast your mind back to the days when it offered refuge and refreshment to old salts home from a voyage.
Old Barn Bar, Cross, Isle of Lewis
If you ever find yourself wandering the remote Butt of Lewis, the most northerly point in the Outer Hebrides, you can take shelter from the freezing winds which seem to blow all year round by dropping into the Old Barn Bar. Housed in a – yes, you guessed it – old barn around the back of the Cross Inn hotel on the road to the Port of Ness, it was converted into a pub in the 1980s. It’s nothing fancy, but there’s a peat fire to warm its whitewashed walls, beers brewed on the isles on tap, hearty dishes and a pool table to keep you amused through nights that last almost all day up here.
Old Windmill, Coventry
When the Luftwaffe bombed Coventry in the Second World War, they missed Spon Street, a mediaeval thoroughfare that pops up anachronistically on the edge of the modern shopping centre. It’s here you will find the Old Windmill, the city’s oldest pub, parts of which date back to the 15th century. Explore its timbered rooms and quaff an ale in front of the magnificent fireplace. There are also the relics of a brewery which hasn’t been in service for 100 years, but are still here because they couldn’t get them out of the door.
Rashleigh Inn, Polkerris, Cornwall
There’s something about strolling along a secluded Cornish beach out of season, and the experience is made all the more special if you’ve got a pub like the Rashleigh Inn, with its open fires, ready to welcome you inside its stone walls. A former boathouse on the edge of the shore at the bottom of a steep, narrow lane, most visitors come for the food (it opens for breakfast from 10am) but there’s also an interesting selection of beers, showcasing the work of lesser-known local brewers.
The Pot Still, Glasgow
More than 1,000 bottles of whisky line the walls of this small, family-run bar in the middle of Glasgow’s bustling streets, and you can almost feel the glow from them as you settle into a seat surrounded by polished wood and gleaming brass. Locally brewed cask ales are drawn from Scottish Aitken fonts which use compressed air, rather than biceps, to pull the beer from the cellar – tuck into a pie to keep your insides warm and ready for winter’s bite.
Royal Oak, Wineham, West Sussex
Only a few minutes off the M23 yet feeling like a lost rural gem deep in the Sussex countryside, the Royal Oak has been serving the locals since the 18th century. The building itself dates from the 1400s, and fascinating original features survive in its multiple rooms, with a choice of open fires to huddle around. Harvey’s ale is poured straight from the cask – who needs those new-fangled hand pumps?
Sam’s Chop House, Manchester
Like many cosy haunts, Sam’s is hard to find, half-underground down a set of stairs on Chapel Walks that open on to a wood-panelled, low-ceilinged room
with a Victorian feel, at the centre of which is a large fireplace with an ornate mantelpiece. Propping up the bar you’ll find one of the regulars – a life-sized sculpture of artist LS Lowry, who once frequented the place. Politely squeeze past him and you’re in a restaurant – the kind where the waiters shuffle around silently wearing starched aprons. Yep, it’s quirky.
Tan Hill Inn, near Richmond, North Yorkshire
The very place where 70s celebrity farmer Ted Moult dropped a feather to prove that double-glazing works is still there, a 17th century inn perched high above Swaledale, defying the elements to fulfil its destiny as Britain’s most elevated pub, 1,732ft above sea level. Weary travellers are welcomed to a seat by the blazing fire, where you might find yourself accompanied by the odd sheep that has come inside to warm up.
Ye Olde Mitre, Holborn, London
Squeezed into an alleyway behind the backs of Hatton Garden’s diamond dealers lies a real gem. Ye Olde Mitre comprises two bars, a snug, a tiny courtyard and a secret room up the creaking stairs, all tightly wound about each other and generously smothered in wood panels where somehow a fossilised cherry tree has found a home. Originally quarters for a 16th century bishop’s servants, this is exactly what you expect of an historic London – atmospheric and sedimented with the lost souls of many drinkers.
Ypres Castle Inn, Rye, East Sussex
Halfway up the steps to Rye’s 14th century Ypres Tower is a handy pub, decked in white weatherboard. With no entrance from the street, this is another one you have to make an effort to discover. Choose your beer carefully, as this place specialises in serving a great range of cask and craft ales, then find your seat in front of the splendid log fire.
‘Beer Breaks in Britain’ by Phil Mellows and Kate Simon is out now (Conway, £20)
