Alehouses and breweries to visit in the UK?

[Pint_of_Bitter]

I am heading to the UK for a 2 week tour and besides fitting in some official duties at a wedding I’ll be dedicating most of the time to breweries, public houses and ale. I am after your collective wisdom on places to go…

I have lived in London before but at the time never really woke up to real ale (regretting this now big time). I will be based in London but also planning to do an ale trail/ramble – most likely South Down Way or North Yorkshire.

I plan to study up a bit on CAMRA website, traditional pub websites and the like but if anyone has some first hand experiences of place to go, people to talk that you recommend that would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Martin Bridges]

If you're in Yorkshire I'd recommend a visit to Huddersfield (and not just because it's my old home town). There has been a surge of microbreweries opening around the town in the last few years, and there are 3 or 4 excellent free houses within easy reach of the town centre, each offering numerous different beers including (but not restricted to) the local ones.

Plus you could also take the opportunity to witness some excellent football and rugby league! :-)

[Stu McKinlay]

Flag all of the rest of the advice and head to Orkney (in Stromness on Orkney, funnily enough). Stop at Brewdog (Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire) and Harviestoun (Alva, Clackmannashire) and Traquair (Innerleithen, Borders) on the way. A nice road trip, great beer and far less Englishmen ;-)

[Mike Neilson]

If in Yorkshire I wouldnt normaly recomend this place but go to Bradford and stop in at the Fighting Cock, Brilliant place non chain and with about 15-20 of some of the best kept real ales on all the time!! To me it was a real english pub, Home made pork scratchings for bar snacks on the bar and old men talkin shet.

[colin m]

Less Englishmen cant be a bad thing.... Edinburgh: The Blue Blazer, Sandy Bells, The Royal Oak,The Auld Hundred, The Southsider ( Which I used to run)..... Glasgow: Clockwork Brewpub, The Scotia,The Three Judges, The Bon Accord....

[Stu McKinlay]

Edinburgh: The Sheep Heid

[colin m]

Indeed... named in honour of Mary Queens of Scots who used to go there for a bevvy, a game of skittles and a bowl of Sheeps Heid soup!

[Sam Possenniskie (TGM)]

Edinburgh: The Halfway House (with the added benefit that you can get your last pint in just seconds prior to your train leaving - I can vouch to this from experience)

[Greig McGill]

Oh yes, the Blue Blazer. What a fantastic pub. No idea why the barman was apologising for serving us microwaved haggis pie with our pints. It was great! :)

[Pint_of_Bitter]

Okay thanks for all the suggesstions...it seems the consensus is to go North (York) rather than South (South Downs). I suspect I'm in for a sensory overload which either way I go.

[Tom Jones]

YES, head North, young man!! If near Huddersfield, as close to my home county of Lancashire as you can, but sadly still in bloody Yorkshire, you got to go to the Sair Inn, Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linthwaite

Cheers, Tom

[Martin Bridges]

Ha, if even the dreaded Lancastrians are advising people to go to Huddersfield, then we truly have taken over the (beer) world!!

[Alelover]

Here Here! Yorkshire - Gods own