I've visited 24,000 boozers & knocked back 60,000 pints on ‘world's longest pub crawl' – here are my top 5 picks in UK

Scottish Sun

18 hours ago

Peter has even secured a Guinness World Record for the world's longest pub crawl
DRINK IT IN I've visited 24,000 boozers & knocked back 60,000 pints on 'world's longest pub crawl' – here are my top 5 picks in UK
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A REAL ale fan celebrated visiting visiting 24,000 boozers and downing 60,000 pints after more than 40 years on the "world's longest pub crawl".
Peter Hill, from West Bromwich, drank to his 69th birthday after reaching his milestone at the Elephant & Castle in the West Midlands on June 20.
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Peter Hill (front left) and friends started trying out different pubs in 1984
Credit: SWNS
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Peter (second right) then started average 11 pub visits a week
Credit: SWNS
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His group received a Guinness World Record title in 2017 after visiting 20,000 pubs
Credit: SWNS
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Peter Hill (front right) and co have now visited their 24,000th pub for his 69th birthday
Credit: SWNS
The father-of-two has travelled 400,000 miles across the country, and averaged 11 pubs each week, since starting on his expedition in 1984.
This involved having a pint on 69 islands around the UK, visiting a boozer in every British county, and drinking at very pub in Wales.
When Peter started, a pint cost 64p.
Where it all started
Peter started testing out different boozers with his mates when they got bored of drinking at the same one all the time, and they soon became known as the Black Country Ale Tairsters.
After testing out a different pub from a map that was given out by the local Banks brewery in Wolverhampton, the Black Country Ale Tairsters then set out to visit all 300 pubs listed.
Peter then had the aim of of visiting every pub on the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) guide.
"Then we sort of said 'shall we get to 1,000?' - then it was 2,000, then 3,000 and it just never stopped from there."
The now retired engineer, Peter, eventually entered record books by trekking to all corners of Britain.
His group set a record for the longest pub crawl, but that was never the main focus for Peter.
He began to raise money for charities, like children's hospitals and the Air Ambulance, and raised over £35,000 over the years as each challenge became more and more ambitious.
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Peter said: "It's been a great adventure and I've met some amazing people along the way.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever stop, as I still really enjoy it.
"There's still hundreds of pubs to go, so I'll keep on going while I can."
Whilst numbers in the Black Country Ale Tairsters have gone up and down as life has gone on, Peter has persevered with the expedition, sometimes even going by himself.
"We used to get a little drunk in the early days but it's more of a mature hobby now and I always take it easy and pace myself. We don't drink to excess," he added.
"I mainly stick to the real ales but we'll try the odd stout and mild too. It's brilliant fun, you can't be a good pub."
"I love the characters you meet."
One of the rooms in Hills' home now contains 280-arch lever files which log every pub with pictures, menus and other memorabilia from the adventures.
What makes a good pub
For Peter, the best kinds of pubs are the "old-fashioned traditional boozers".
He likes when then have just a couple of rooms, and provide a warm welcome too.
He added: "And it helps if they have a good beer on."
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Peter has an extensive collection of folders documenting all the pubs he has visited
Credit: SWNS
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The Black Country Ale Tairsters celebrated their 40th anniversary of pub crawls last year
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Throughout the years, Peter has seen the industry go through drastic changes with an increasing number of pubs struggling.
However, he never goes for the pints that can reach up to seven or even ten quid.
But to record that he has visited a pub, Peter leaves a calling card which he gets a staff member to sign.
"The wife is OK with it, she just accepts it's my hobby."
Peter and his wife Dawn, 66, plan to next go to Greenwich for their anniversary where they will down a few more pints.
"I'm trying to do my bit to keep the pub scene alive. I'll keep going until the beer runs out."
Peter's top 5 pubs
Peter and his Black Country Ale Tairsters group achieved their Guinness World Record for the Longest Pub Crawl in 2017, after reaching their 20,000th pub.
The now real ale connoisseur has revealed his top pubs in the UK, and why.
The Black Lion, Consall Forge, Staffs: out in the wild, has an old steam train running past, next to a canal, lovely beer garden. Yew Tree Inn, Caulden, Staffs: 88-year-old landlord still remembers Peter visiting in the early days in 1987 as pub number 1,052. Old place full of antiques and great atmosphere. The Mug House, Claines, Worcester: has three little rooms, by lovely little churchyard. Peter also has a pal there who he sees often. The Rising Sun, Tipton, West Midlands: has been Peter's local pub for years, welcoming and friendly faces. Payton Arms, Stoke Lyne, Oxon: unique place full of cobwebs and spiders, old fashioned and hard to describe.
Peter also added: "My favourites are Oakham Cistra, Abbeydale Moonshine or Deception, Ossett White Rat and Black Country Ales.
"We've been to the Shetlands, Orkneys, Jersey, Guernsey.
"And to parts of Europe too as we like to visit military and war sites, like the Somme."
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The Black Lion, Consall Forge, Staffs is in Peter's top 5 list of pubs
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His local pub, The Rising Sun, also remains among his favourites
Credit: SWNS