CAMRA unveils POTY finalists
Preston’s Black Horse Pub, The Three B’s in Bridlington, The Little Green Dragon in Winchmore Hill and Oswestry’s Bailey Head pub all made the final stage of the contest.
The front-runners were chosen from the 17 regional finalists in the consumer organisation’s competition, which were unveiled in August.
All the pubs in the competition have been selected by CAMRA volunteers and were judged on their “atmosphere, décor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix and quality of beer”.
Top four
The overall winner will be announced in January 2025 and the four overall finalists will be presented with their awards at local events over the coming weeks.
Previous winners include The Great British Pub Awards (GBPA) 2024 Best Pub for Beer winner The Tamworth Tap in Staffordshire.
National Pub of the Year coordinator Andrea Briers said: “I am thrilled to unveil our top four pubs in the UK, and I could not hope for a better set of finalists.
“It gets harder each year to whittle down the regional and national top 17 pubs to just four places, such is the standard of the competition.
Wonderful experience
“These fantastic four are the epitome of what a good pub should be; welcoming to all, friendly hardworking staff and serve well maintained cask beer for a wonderful pub going experience. I am excited to find out which one will be crowned the best pub in the UK.”
However, Briers added the sector needs support “more than ever” as firms continue to battle against economic headwinds.
In addition, earlier this week the campaign estimated more than 1,000 pubs were likely to shut this year due to planning issues.
Briers continued: “Pubs need our support more than ever, as the licensed trade continues to feel the strain under the burden of unfair tax, high costs and regulations. I urge all pub lovers and beer drinkers to experience not only our incredible Pub of the Year finalists, but support as many pubs as possible.”
CAMRA POTY 2024 finalists:
Black Horse, PrestonCAMRA described the Black Horse as a “visually stunning Victorian Grade II listed pub”.
Located opposite the historic Preston open market, the Black Horse serves ten handpumps including four changing guest beers from far and wide, plus a range of ciders.
Three B’s, Bridlington Run by a husband-and-wife team, the “popular” micropub boasts four cask beers with a focus on stocking local Yorkshire-based beers.
It has previously been named the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) Best City Independent Craft Beer Pub or Bar finalist in 2021 and was a CAMRA National Cider Pub of the Year finalist in 2023.
CAMRA said the Three B’s “represents what a micropub can bring to a community”.
Little Green Dragon, Winchmore HillPreviously a shop unit, the Enfield micropub opened its doors in 2017 and focuses on providing a “quality and diverse” range of cask beer, CAMRA said.
Traditional pub games such as table skittles and shove ha’penny are also available for pubgoers to play. The Little Green Dragon’s interior features an eclectic range of seating, from wall mounted benches to low sofas, and even repurposed bus seats.
Bailey Head, Oswestry Located near the Welsh border, the Bailey Head was described by CAMRA as a “must visit” for beer lovers, with six constantly changing cask beers, eleven other draught beers and four ciders.
SIBA named the pub the UK’s Best Rural Independent Craft Beer Pub or Bar in 2020, and it has been a finalist for the same award many times since. Regular tap takeovers and meet the brewer events, among other activities are also organised for the local community.
