There are few better places to be when the sun comes out than one of our great British unsung institutions – the traditional pub beer garden.
During a career as a UK-based travel and motoring writer, I’ve criss-crossed the country on road trips countless times. Often the places I remember most, however, are not the beauty spots or major attractions – they are the leafy pub terraces that combine the perfect pint with a perfect view.
From the Scillies to the Shetlands, I’ve been to hundreds of pub gardens in my time. My tip on finding the best wherever you are in the UK is ignore the adverts and social media hype, simply ask a local.
That’s what I’ve done all over the UK and now here is my pick of the best. It isn’t just a list, it’s a love letter to a great British institution chosen by someone who’s done the legwork for you.
SOUTH-WEST
Gaggle of Geese, Dorset
There are ordinary beer gardens, then there’s the Gaggle of Geese, a fabulous five acres of grassland and wildflowers extending back from a classic country pub. There’s plenty of room for crazy golf, skittles, pygmy goats, shepherd huts, a small campsite, wood-fired barbecue – and even some garden tables too.
Pandora Inn, Mylor Bridge, Cornwall
This is a world class view: the tables on a long wooden pontoon here offer views of yachts manoeuvring in this gorgeous sheltered wooded creek near Falmouth… and if that’s not enough, the ancient thatched whitewashed inn is surrounded by overhanging trees and pretty flower baskets. It’s impossible not to take photos of the scene.
Nobody Inn, Doddiscombleigh, Devon
You’ll have to find your way down high-hedged narrow winding lanes west of Exeter to reach the old whitewashed stone pub dating back to the Domesday Book. Today it’s famous for its homemade pies – and the best place to eat them is in the rambling traditional country garden with views across farmland.
THE SOUTH
The Pear Tree Inn, Whitley, Wiltshire
In rolling hills east of Bath, this sweet village gastropub is surrounded by trees and shrubs cleverly creating secluded garden ‘rooms’. There’s a thriving kitchen garden to explore too, supplying plenty of the restaurant’s ingredients.
The Thomas Lord, Hampshire
Named after the founder of the famous cricket ground, the old pub is full of sporting knick-knacks. You may not be allowed to play cricket outside but the glorious large leafy landscaped gardens will certainly bowl you over.
The Perch, Oxford
Inspectors Morse and Lewis (and me as a trainee journalist) were regulars at this thatched riverside pub that’s even as old as the university. The grassy gardens are huge with tables dotted around under weeping willow trees overlooking the River Isis.
LONDON & THE SOUTH-EAST
The Faltering Fullback, Finsbury Park, London
Want a country-pub vibe in the busy heart of North London? Step out from the lively bars of this Irish pub into a surprising huge maze-like four-tier beer garden behind.
The New Flying Horse, Wye, Kent
The massive garden at this rural inn on the edge of Kent’s Downs near Ashford includes its own veg allotments. A section of the garden once won a gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show.
The Star Inn, Old Heathfield, East Sussex
Hidden at the back of this creeper-covered village pub is one of Britain’s best beer gardens. There are wide countryside views, water features, classic herbaceous borders – and it’s all big enough to seat 80.
MIDLANDS
Tamworth Tap, Tamworth
The former tourist information centre has been turned into a pub and brewery that look like they’ve been there for centuries. Out the back door is an amazing atmospheric garden right under the towering Norman castle walls which are spectacularly floodlit after dark.
Nag’s Head, Malvern, Worcester
This loveably quirky flower-bedecked pub has the dramatic Malvern Hills rising steeply behind and charming seating areas among overflowing pots, baskets and flowerbeds around the outside.
Meynell Ingram Arms, Burton-on-Trent, Derbyshire
Five cosy heated pods in the leafy gardens and courtyards make this pub’s garden appealing all year round. Each of the heated bookable pods can seat six.
EAST
Brisley Bell, Norfolk
Al fresco eating and drinking is especially popular at this ivy-covered inn next to the village green. There are two acres of herb gardens, climber-covered pergolas, mature borders, wildflower meadows and croquet lawns to enjoy.
Queens Head, Bramfield, Suffolk
The walled garden of this 16th-century wattle-and-daub inn overlooks the village church next door. It’s a quiet and sheltered spot to tuck into award-winning pub food among cascading flowers.
The Plough, Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire
Picnic tables are dotted under the trees along the grassy Cam riverbank here. It’s a great location for a glass of Pimms watching regular college rowing races known locally as ‘The Bumps’.
WALES
Bell at Skenfrith, Monmouthshire
The pretty beer garden behind the pub extend into fields that have become their own extensive kitchen garden, with raised veg beds, espalier fruit trees and flowers grown to decorate the pub, all irrigated by the pub’s own spring.
Stackpole Inn, Pembrokeshire
In the summer the inn is almost submerged under climbing plants and its sheltered sunny garden is a glorious place to enjoy food and drink – all with the scent of honeysuckle in the air.
Ty Coch Inn, Morfa, North Wales
There are just rickety tables under an old canopy and a bare stone wall to sit on – but that’s all you need when your pub stands right on the shore of a remote sandy bay on the Llyn Peninsular of North Wales. What it lacks in horticulture, Ty Coch compensates with a panorama of distant mountains, bobbing yachts and the sea.
NORTH-WEST
The Drunken Duck Inn, Ambleside
The view is the key ingredient here: just eight simple tables stand on a small grassy bank on the other side of a lane from the pub. They look out over Lake Windermere and the mountains beyond. It’s spectacular enough to allow this humble spot to be repeatedly judged one of Britain’s best pub gardens.
The Ship at Freckleton, Lancashire
There’s a simple charm to the two-storey garden at this estuary pub: the upper terrace has better views but the lower garden has more flowers. Bird spotters particularly love the uninterrupted views across miles of marshes.
Swettenham Arms, Cheshire
Once a nunnery, this historic pub stands between the village church and an arboretum. Today its incredible unique feature is a vast field of swaying scented lavender leading from the pub’s garden tables.
NORTH-EAST
Pipe and Glass, South Dalton, East Yorkshire
The beautiful Michelin-starred gastropub has created a fabulous new garden – and claims that everything growing in it is edible. It means the kitchen staff raid the herbs, vegs, shrubs and even flowers for fresh ingredients, while customers can sit amid fragrant plants and giant garden sculptures.
Black Horse, Beamish, Durham
This pub is part of a 300-year-old country estate – so its outside tables are surrounded by a ten-acre landscape of vegetable gardens, swathes of lavender and rolling orchards.
The Beehive, Earsdon
Under thick bushes and through an arched gateway at the side of this 18th-century Whitley Bay inn you’ll discover a completely enclosed one-acre area they call The Secret Garden. There’s an outside bar and stage for performances here but usually it’s a leafy suntrap to escape completely.
SCOTLAND
The Taybank, Dunkeld, Perthshire
The pub’s riverbank is where the chef forages wild garlic and elderflowers and where diners sit gazing across the River Tay. In the summer there are seafood barbecues and an open-air cinema, while the most adventurous try wild swimming.
The Bridge Inn, Ratho, near Edinburgh
Sit among the flowers and shrubs on lawns and terraces overlooking the Union Canal – or eat on a restaurant barge moored alongside. This former farmhouse became a pub to serve canal builders 200 years ago – it’s been a popular boozer ever since.
The Black Ivy, Edinburgh
The ultra-cool outside terraces of this boutique restaurant and bar in Edinburgh’s trendy Bruntsfield may not be the traditional grassy pub garden – but they’ve been judged one of Scotland’s best beer gardens. Expect bustling atmosphere and a stylish mix of plants, canopies and heaters overlooking the glorious park opposite.
