There are few better places to be when the sun comes out than one of Britain's traditional pub beer gardens. A travel and motoring writer has compiled a list of 27 of the best beer gardens across Britain, emphasizing the value of local recommendations over advertising and social media hype.
South-West England
The Gaggle of Geese in Dorset is situated on five acres of grassland and wildflowers, featuring amenities like crazy golf, skittles, pygmy goats, and a small campsite. The Pandora Inn in Cornwall offers views of yachts in a sheltered creek from its wooden pontoon seating, with the ancient thatched inn surrounded by trees and flower baskets.
In Devon, the Nobody Inn, a whitewashed stone pub dating back to the Domesday Book, is known for its homemade pies, best enjoyed in its rambling country garden with farmland views. The Pear Tree Inn in Whitley, Wiltshire, features a gastropub surrounded by trees and shrubs that create secluded garden 'rooms,' along with a thriving kitchen garden. The Thomas Lord in Hampshire, named after the founder of a famous cricket ground, boasts large, leafy landscaped gardens.
The Perch in Oxford, a thatched riverside pub, has expansive grassy gardens with tables under weeping willow trees overlooking the River Isis.
London & South-East England
The Faltering Fullback in Finsbury Park, London, offers a country pub feel with a surprisingly large, maze-like four-tier beer garden. It is also noted as a good spot to watch football due to its many screens. The New Flying Horse in Wye, Kent, has a massive garden that includes its own vegetable allotments, with a section having previously won a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show. In East Sussex, The Star Inn at Old Heathfield features a hidden beer garden with countryside views, water features, and herbaceous borders, capable of seating 80.
The Midlands
The Tamworth Tap in Tamworth, a pub and brewery in a former tourist information centre, has a garden located beneath the floodlit Norman castle walls. It is also brewing a special pale ale for the World Cup. The Nag's Head in Malvern, Worcester, is a quirky pub adorned with flowers, set against the backdrop of the Malvern Hills, with charming seating areas among its many pots and flowerbeds. The Meynell Ingram Arms in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, offers five cosy heated pods in its leafy gardens and courtyards, available year-round and accommodating up to six people each.
East Anglia
The Brisley Bell in Norfolk, an ivy-covered inn, provides two acres of herb gardens, pergolas, borders, wildflower meadows, and croquet lawns. The Queens Head in Bramfield, Suffolk, is a 16th-century inn with a walled garden overlooking the village church, offering a quiet setting among cascading flowers. The Plough in Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire, features picnic tables along the grassy Cam riverbank, providing views of college rowing races and equipped with screens for sporting events.
Wales
The Bell at Skenfrith in Monmouthshire has a beer garden that extends into fields, serving as an extensive kitchen garden with raised vegetable beds and fruit trees. The Stackpole Inn in Pembrokeshire has a sheltered, sunny garden that is covered in climbing plants during summer, offering the scent of honeysuckle. Ty Coch Inn in Morfa, North Wales, is uniquely situated on a remote sandy bay with views of distant mountains and the sea, offering a simple setting on the shore.
North-West England
The Drunken Duck Inn in Ambleside offers spectacular views over Lake Windermere and the mountains from its small grassy bank seating area, recognized as one of Britain's best pub gardens. The Ship at Freckleton in Lancashire has a two-storey garden with the upper terrace providing better views across marshes and the estuary, while the lower garden features more flowers. Swettenham Arms in Cheshire, a historic pub, is noted for its unique feature: a vast field of scented lavender leading from the pub's garden tables.
North-East England
The Pipe and Glass in South Dalton, East Yorkshire, a Michelin-starred gastropub, has a garden where all the plants are edible, used by kitchen staff for ingredients and providing a fragrant setting for diners amid garden sculptures. The Black Horse in Beamish, Durham, part of a country estate, is surrounded by ten acres of vegetable gardens, lavender fields, and orchards. The Beehive in Earsdon offers