The four finalists for National Pub of the Year 2026 have been revealed

Maybe you love your local for the Sunday roast, the quiz you never win or the bar staff who start pouring your usual before you’ve even sat down. But Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has a slightly stricter checklist. CAMRA has just revealed the four pubs in the running for its National Pub of the Year 2026, with contenders from London, Merseyside, North Yorkshire and Staffordshire.  

The four were picked from the 16 regional winners CAMRA announced in August, and they’ve already made it through a round of super-regional judging to get here. The final decision rests on how it feels to walk through the door, how you’re treated once you’re inside and, above all, how good the cask beer, real cider and perry are.

There’s a nice balance of experience and new blood this year. Two of the finalists had never won a regional title before 2026. Another is the Tamworth Tap, which won for a record third time in January and is now chasing a fourth.

CAMRA’s Pub of the Year coordinator Andrea Briers praised the finalists for thriving in a tough climate for the industry, calling all four ‘amazing places that are definitely worth a visit’. Here’s what you need to know about the pubs in the running. The winner will be revealed in January.

The four finalists for CAMRA’s 2026 National Pub of the Year award

The Cockpit, Chislehurst

Flying the flag for London is a pub that’s not even six years old. The Cockpit opened at the end of 2020 and was Chislehurst’s first micropub. It takes its name from the ancient cockpit on nearby Chislehurst Common, and in a charming quirk it still shares its space with Roses Florist. Don’t let the buckets of flowers fool you into thinking it’s cramped, though. The cask ales come from small independent breweries up and down the country and are kept cool in a back room, and there’s room to settle in. Licensee Adam Miller described the news as a source of ‘frenetic jubilation’ among staff and regulars alike.

The Countryman’s Inn, Hunton

Locals in this small North Yorkshire village took over the Countryman’s Inn as a community-owned pub, and four years on, it’s clearly paid off. It’s a free house with a focus on Yorkshire brewers, and you’ll always find something from Pennine Brewery on the bar. Come in winter for a seat by the stove or in summer for the beer garden, and keep an eye out for its coffee mornings and charity quiz nights. There’s a nice bit of local history at stake too, as the George and Dragon in Hudswell, under ten miles down the road, took the national crown in 2016. Licensee Dan Male said the team was ‘absolutely delighted’ to make the last four.

Tamworth Tap, Tamworth 

The reigning champion needs little introduction. The Tamworth Tap won in 2022, again in 2023 and then once more this January, and it now has its sights on a fourth title. It’s the taproom of Tamworth Brewing Company, set in a Tudor building whose courtyard terrace looks straight up at Tamworth’s Norman castle. Inside, eight handpulls pour cask beer from local and national brewers, with plenty of cider, gin, wine and bottles besides. Beer nerds should head for the staircase, which is decorated to look like a shelf of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guides. Licensee George Greenaway said reaching the final again feels ‘just as exciting as it did the first time’.

Turks Head, St Helens

The Turks Head is a Tudor-style pub near St Helens town centre, and dates back to the 1870s. It’s no stranger to CAMRA recognition either, having won in its region before and reached the top 16 in 2024. The main bar is a serious spot for cask fans, with 14 rotating hand pulls, alongside real ciders and a hefty whisky and gin selection. Upstairs, the Tower Lounge switches to craft and continental beers and doubles as a venue for gigs and local community groups. ‘To say we’re over the moon is an understatement!’ said licensee Clare Harrison, who credited her team, regulars and the wider town for the result.

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