It’s that time of year again. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), an organisation dedicated to promoting real ale across the UK's pubs and bars, is gearing up to crown its next National Pub of the Year.
After naming 16 regional winners in August, CAMRA is now down to its final round of judging, with four finalists going head to head for the grand title. To be a cut above the rest, the pub must excel in everything from its atmosphere, décor and welcome to its value for money, customer mix and, naturally, the quality of the beer that it serves. The current titleholder is The Bailey Head in Oswestry, Shropshire.
In its announcement of the shortlist, ahead of the UK government’s autumn budget, CAMRA added that it is ‘a stark reminder of the challenges pubs are facing’.
Andrea Briers, the coordinator of the awards, said: ‘Every year we see pubs facing new pressures and to continue to thrive in the face of rising costs and other issues is humbling to see. We are calling on the Chancellor to give pubs a fair deal in the Autumn Budget, so they can keep serving their communities for many years to come.’
The four finalists for CAMRA’s 2025 National Pub of the Year Award
Here’s the lowdown of the four pubs in the running for Pub of the Year 2025. The winner will be announced in January.
Blackfriars Tavern, Great Yarmouth
Blackfriars Tavern already has a CAMRA accolade under its belt this year – at the start of October it was declared CAMRA’s Cider and Perry Pub of the Year. The boozer sits next to Great Yarmouth’s 13th century town walls and, as its most recent award would suggest, focuses on East Anglian produced cask, plus real ciders and perries.
Pelican Inn, Gloucester
Nestled in the Wye Valley, in the shadow of Gloucester Cathedral, the Pelican Inn is a favourite among passing cyclists, local rugby fans and tourists alike. It has featured in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide for almost a decade thanks to its lineup of ten cask beers, twelve ciders and six craft kegs as well as its canned collection of rarer beer styles, such as imperial porter.
In response to making the shortlist Mike Hall, licensee of the Pelican, said: ‘Our greatest strength is the support offered to us by Wye Valley Brewery, we showcase all of their beers but with a flexibility to offer a broader choice of beers than their portfolio alone. It’s a simple, traditional public house with a clear vision and fabulous, fabulous beer.’
Tamworth Tap, Tamworth
This pub slash microbrewery has held the title of CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year twice before – once in 2022 and again in 2023 (it’s the first ever pub to earn the title two years in a row). Occupying a 16th century building in Tamworth, it’s the home of Tamworth Brewing Company and has eight cask hand-pulls and 20 keg taps with a rotating line up of ales, stouts and lagers, as well as another six keg and four cask on gravity at the bar in its beer garden beneath Tamworth Castle.
Volunteer Arms (Staggs), Musselburgh
The Volunteer Arms has been run by the same family since 1858. It was named the National Pub of the Year way back in 1998 and made it into the final four again 20 years later in 2018. CAMRA points out that its interior is ‘of very special national historic interest’, with its late Victorian gantry topped with four old spirit casks, its traditional bar and snug, and its advertising mirrors from now closed local breweries.
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