CAMRA's Wild Pub Walks by Daniel Neilson

I was delighted to get an email from a Vatican functionary CAMRA staff member asking if I would be interested in getting a review copy of their “Wild Pub Walks” book. A free book, and a chance to help with god's work spreading the good news about the one true living beer, what's not to like?

I’ve also had a cracking time using other pub walks books in the series, and have been to a lot of what pass for wild places in Britain. As this one has “wild” in the title it suggests that unlike with the London guide you would have to earn your beer. A new author, Daniel Neilson, has been found for this book, and looking at the blurb on the back I see he edits OriginalGravity% magazine (what’s with the pointless percentage?*) and has done the Mountain Leader award training . I was going for that qualification myself before a scholarship to study Brewing and Distilling gave me an altogether better way of being paid for one of my hobbies. 

The 22 walks are divided into nine areas across Britain, and I’m pleased to say I’ve walked and drank beer in all of them. This lead to me flicking through to the areas I know best to see which walks and pubs are covered. Langdale in the Lake District has a walk to Pavey Ark starting from the ODG, though the Stickelbarn and the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel also get a mention. Wales starts with a walk up Snowdon, with the Pen-Y-Gwyrd hotel listed as the main refreshment stop, with Plas-Y-Brenin and the Tyn-Y-Coed inn as alternatives. As it seemed to be going with the classic walk and pub for each area I then flicked back to Glen Coe, and sure enough it's Buachaille Etive Mor and the Clachaig Inn. 

The walk descriptions are detailed and include a map, though when the maps go over two pages it's hard to read near where the pages join. It also has the boxes filled with the fascinating facts that make guidebooks worthwhile. Who knew that Presbyterians and Episcopalians came into armed conflict Scotland's Pentland hills? Not me. There's also the usual safety section guidebooks like this have at the start: take a map, take a compass, and don't drink more than six pints before setting off on the walks. OK, I made that last bit up. 

Not all of the pubs are Good Beer Guide ticks, and with 22 walks covering the whole of mainland Great Britain it's a highly selective guide. So if you're going somewhere for more than a weekend a local guidebook and a copy of the good book would be more useful. But having said that the walks listed are excellent, and it's great to see a walking guide with pub suggestions. I'll certainly be taking it next time I visit an area I'm not familiar with.

* I suppose some people write degrees Plato as %, but then they tend to call it Original Extract rather than Original Gravity. And anyway, beers are labelled with ABV not OG nowadays.