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

[Tom Jones]

Aye, its not a BAD place, but there's only ONE GOOD ROAD, an thats the motorway BACK across the Pennines...!!

[Tom Jones]

its close enuff we don't have to spend too long across the Dark Side. An anyway, its the birthplace of Rugby League, so it can't be THAT bad... ;-)

[Kempicus]

Rugby League is the best game in the world....closely followed by cricket of course!

[Stu McKinlay]

Cricket is better than league.
It's almost as good as football and chess.

[Kempicus]

Chess...rugby league
potato...potato

[Stu McKinlay]

5 day cricket is the closest any sport comes to chess (I don't play much but I would like to).
Rugby League is just a a better form of rugby. It's still rugby. It ain't as good as Aussie Rules or Gaelic Football (or that Italian game that is like both of those crossed with gladiators), and none of them are as good as football.

[Kempicus]

5 day cricket is the ONLY cricket i watch, love that game! twenty20...pah! one dayers...yawn
Football is probably 3rd on my list....my team is not doing to badly this year...4th in the premier league which is a massive surprise...possibility of a champions league spot....looking forward to getting to some games when i get over there!

[Sam Possenniskie (TGM)]

Lawn bowls is up there too (and I don't even play the game - but I want to)
Any sport played pre-1990 is good value
But 5-day cricket is #1 for me.
Rugby Union is a game for those without imagination these day

[Tony]

here,here. I really like those 19th century sports where they used to stand 50 yards from each other, then shot the crap out of each other, until the last man!

It's was even better on horse back!

[Sam Possenniskie (TGM)]

And why they got the backwards sprint and the three-legged race out of the Olympics is beyond me

[Tony]

Just to throw my 2 cents in, mate just drive from wherever you land to wherever you are going, off the main motorways. Drive through the country lanes and stop at any Free House that takes your fancy (or all of them). You won't be disappointed. OK, you may find the odd lemon, but hey, write your own book and you will have a great experience, guaranteed.

[Stu McKinlay]

That's what Robert Burn's would've said... the best laid plans eh!?