The recently-published Good Pub Guide 2014 has predicted the loss of between 2500 and 4000 UK pubs in the next 12 months. According to the guide’s introduction, the pubs set to go out of business “still behave as if we are stuck in the 1980s – happy with indifferent food, drink, service and surroundings.” The guide’s editors cite poor service as “the number one reason for writing off a pub”.
However, things are not all doom and gloom – according to the guide, over 1000 new pubs are set to open over the next year, many of which will bring “fresh life to former pubs that had been shuttered for months or years”. The editors also praise the landlords and landladies that motivate and inspire their young staff to improve service standards, citing an increase in vocational training and qualifications and recently-launched schemes for work experience placements and apprenticeships.
Edited by Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley, The Good Pub Guide 2014 is an up-to-date travel resource dedicated to the UK’s leading pubs. Organised by county, the guide features over 4700 venues, each with an informative description. Each section highlights Main Entries, which have been fully inspected to warrant their place, followed by shorter Worth a Visit descriptions, where outstanding pubs are clearly starred. This year’s guide welcomes 163 new Main Entries, which cater to all pub tastes but share the same emphasis on quality.
