'Tube map' for pubs is proving a winner

The Pub Stops range began when John Coats decided to map his hometown of Sheffield and realised he had “stumbled on a good idea”.

He said: "That design has been tremendously well received. I think almost 5,000 copies have sold over the last eight or nine years and its still going very strong. We've otherwise tended to concentrate on places where breweries have been interested in sponsoring our designs. Student towns and touristy areas tend to do very well.

The company has now produced guides of around 40 towns, cities and counties as well as branching out into worldwide lists.

Coats said the choice of locations so far, which have ranged from Huddersfield to Henley, has been driven by local brewers wanting to sponsor the maps.

He said: “I think pubs see this as something positive in that it promotes the pub industry as a whole. I’m confident that people have tried out different pubs as a result. We often get emails from people telling us they’ve had a pint in every pub on a poster."

Maps of Wigan, Lancaster, Macclesfield, Stockport and Burton on Trent are all planned for the coming months.

To find out more go to www.pubstops.co.uk​.