Britain’s weird and wonderful boozers: Map shows the oldest, smallest, highest, most haunted and wonkiest pubs in the UK (including a cave, the bar with a human hand and one made of SKIN)
- Britain’s pubs are steeped in some wacky history – from pirates to monks
- One boozer in Bristol claims its door is made from the skin of a hanged convict
- While another in Kent is only big enough to fit just six punters inside
A trip to the pub is as much ingrained into Britons’ veins as hopping to the local fish and chip shop on a Friday night.
The culture of the British tavern can be traced back thousands of years to 43 AD when the Romans first invaded our island’s shores.
From there the seeds – or hops – were sown and brew houses and inns continued to adapt and change under the Anglo-Saxons.
Fast-forward to today and the beloved alehouses up and down the country are still seen by locals as a way to catch up with loved ones and friends.
With so much history it, perhaps, is therefore not that surprising to have some pretty wacky boozers – from the wonkiest, doors made out of human skin, and a slide, to one so remote the only way to get there is either a two-day hike or a 40 minute ferry ride.
Here are some of the most weird and wonderful pubs in the UK well worth adding to the bucket list.
From the wonkiest to the most remote mainland pub where the only way to get there is either a two-day hike or by sea ferry, the UK has some pretty wacky and wonderful boozers
The oldest pub…built by hermit monks
The George Inn in Norton St Philip, Somerset
The George Inn in Norton St Philip, Somerset, has the most ‘substantial claim’ of being Britain’s oldest, according to Historic England
Many pubs across the country have laid claim to being the oldest. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Albans, Hertfordshire, once held the Guinness Book of Records title, but Historic England poured cold water on that back in December.
Archaeologists discovered the current building dates back to the 1600s, and so it’s 120 miles west to The George Inn in the village of Norton St Philip, near Bath, in Somerset which has the ‘strongest claim’ of being the UK’s oldest boozer.
The building is thought to have been built after 1345 by the Carthusian monks – a small community of hermits – to provide shelter for merchants travelling to the fair.
Today the Grade I-listed Tudor inn is a bustling watering hole with wooden beams and spectacular views of the countryside.
The MailOnline took a look inside the charming pub in 2022 with its timber frame, wonky floors and ancient galleried courtyard all oozing with authenticity.
Th wonkiest (where pool balls roll up instead of down)
The Tilted Barrel Inn, Tipton, West Midlands
The Tilted Barrel, in Tipton, wants to take up the mantelpiece as the UK’s wonkiest after the untimely demise of nearby The Crooked House
The Crooked House in Dudley used to the UK’s wonkiest pub before it was controversially demolished after a mysterious fire
The mysterious fire and controversial bulldozing of The Crooked House in Dudley means nearby The Tilted Barrel in Tipton has taken up the mantelpiece as the ‘wonkiest’.
The celebrated Crooked House had been around since the 1940s and got its name from the effects of mining subsidence in the 19th century.
Just five miles from its predecessor, the Tilted Barrel stands on a slant after the 1930s building dropped through from being built on a mine.
Here you will find pool balls that seemingly roll up than down, an uneven bar, and a door more crooked than the building.
Previous owners levelled off the floor to make room for pool tables but new landlady Haych Mann, 38, as reinstated the slanted flooring.
The highest – where punters get trapped in winter
Tan Hill Inn, Richmond, Yorkshire Dales
The Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales hit national headlines back in 2021 when a blizzard trapped punters inside when 5ft of snow was dumped on their cars
There is no debate around the highest pub in Britain, with the Tan Hill Inn in Richmond, Yorkshire Dales, hitting national headlines in 2021 when an icy blizzard trapped punters inside and dumped 5ft of snow onto their cars.
The world-famous 17th century pub is situated on a ‘lonely hill’ 1,732ft above sea level, meaning there are stunning views of the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Swaledale.
Inside are ‘exposed beams, stone-flagged floor, delicious food and welcoming fire’.
Rooms are available to book if you fancy staying over, or you can even tie the knot to your loved one there with it being the ‘first Public House to obtain a licence to hold wedding ceremonies in places other than a church or registry office’.
Lowest pub
The Admiral Wells, Holme, Huntingdonshire
The Admiral Wells in Holme, near Peterborough, claims to be Britain’s lowest pub and was built on former lake Whittlesey Mere, once the largest lake south of Windemere
If heights aren’t your thing then at the other end of the spectrum is The Admiral Wells in the quaint village of Holme, near Peterborough.
At 9ft below sea level it was officially recognised as the country’s lowest pub in 2017.
The 17th century boozer sits on a former lake – Whittlesey Mere, once the UK’s largest lake south of Windemere, and was drained by Liberal Party politician William Wells who then built the pub some years later and named it in honour of his grandfather – former Royal Navy officer Thomas Wells.
The pub is today independently family-run and in recent years underwent a massive refurbishment and serves home cooked grub.
The largest pub…featuring its own slide and bowling
BrewDog, Waterloo, London
BrewDog’s pub inside Waterloo station opened in 2022 and has 60 taps across two floors, hidden cocktail bar, duckpin bowling, coffee shop, beer tasting and even a slide
Fancy a pint and riding on a slide? Then BrewDog’s Waterloo watering hole is the place for you.
Housed inside Waterloo station, the 27,500sq ft venue can entertain 1,775 punters.
It opened in 2022 and has 60 taps across two floors, hidden cocktail bar, duckpin bowling, coffee shop, beer tasting, micro-brewery and even a slide to ‘chute’ down.
Food options include Wagyu burgers, plant-based burgers from Redefine Meat, pizza and salads, and Korean BBQ chicken wings.
James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, said at the time: ‘London has supported us since the very beginning, so whether you live in the capital, work in the city or are just visiting, get ready for the biggest BrewDog Bar on Earth.
‘Minutes from the landmarks, moments from the platforms, great beer and food are seconds away.’
Only six punters can squeeze inside UK’s smallest pub
The Little Prince, Margate, Kent
The Little Prince, in Margate, Kent, was recognised as the country’s smallest pub by the Guinness Book of Records back in 2016. It measures just 6.6ft by 11ft
With enough space to squeeze in just about six people, it means there isn’t much elbow-room to sip a cool pint of ale or prosecco inside The Little Prince in Margate, Kent.
Measuring just 6.6ft by 11ft, Andy Barrett’s brainchild wrestled the Guinness Book of Records title from Bury St Edmund’s The Nutshell back in 2016.
The Nutshell’s boss Jack Burton didn’t hold any hard feelings and told The Express: ‘To be honest, I’m surprised the record has stood for as long as it has.
‘We’ve had a good run of it and I’d be interested to see what The Little Prince has done with the space.
‘Small is certainly beautiful as far as pubs are concerned – they have a much cosier atmosphere than the bigger pubs.’
Boozer in the middle of nowhere: Most remote mainland pub
The Old Forge Pub, Inverie, Scotland
The Old Forge Pub in Inverie, Scotland, was taken over by the community in 2022. You can only get there through a two-day hike or using a sea ferry
Situated in the ‘middle of nowhere’ next to Loch Nevis, the only way to get to The Old Forge Pub, in Inverie, Scotland is by a 40-minute sea ferry or a two-day 18-mile hike across the Highlands.
Completed cut off of Scotland’s road network, it then is perhaps surprising that this boozer continues to attract pub-goers.
READ MORE: Victory for locals who won back Britain’s remotest pub: The Old Forge reopens on wild Scottish peninsula deep in the Highlands after residents raised £1million to buy it from unpopular Belgian proprietor
Just to add to its charm, most of the 120 residents who live in the village own a stake in the pub after the community bought it in 2022.
Locals raised £1million to buy the Old Forge.
It was ran by its previous Belgian owner for nine years, who reportedly clashed with locals concerned that closing during winter months and reduced staffing were failing to attract new people to the area.
Locals set up The Old Forge Community Benefit Society and raised over £1million through crowdfunding and grants.
The money was used to both purchase and refurbish the old building.
The pub was closed in January for an eight month refurbishment and reopened in August.
Speaking last week, Stephanie Harris, 34, the business development manager of The Old Forge Community Benefit Society, said: ‘Reopening was all a bit of a blur.
‘It came down to the wire. On 3pm on Friday we finally had everything in place.
‘We posted on social media that we would be opening tonight and within an hour people were waiting outside.
‘Within half-an-hour of opening the place was absolutely packed.’
A message on the pub’s site reads: ‘Community is at the heart of everything we do here, and you don’t have to live on Knoydart to be a part of that. Come along, get the craic, and join the pub family – we’d love to see you.’
Most haunted…where ghost wanders the corridors
The Golden Fleece, York
With York supposedly the most haunted place in the world, by proxy, its most haunted pub, The Golden Fleece, must be where the you can find an abundance of spirits
Nothing shrieks ‘haunted’ like a skull in a display case. And that’s exactly what you’ll find at The Golden Fleece in York.
The macabre exhibit is a replica of a skull of Elizabeth Johnson – the last woman hanged at York’s Tyburn in 1800.
READ MORE: Is this the ghost of a pub landlord who hanged himself? Spooky figure of a man is pictured in supposedly haunted bar
The skull was stolen back on New Year’s Day in 2022 – which no doubt would have irked the spirits further.
It was returned some weeks later with Yorkshire Police giving a man aged in his 20s a slap on the wrist for the theft.
The pub dates back to the 16th century and is claimed to be haunted by Lady Alice Peckett, a previous owner, and 14 other ghosts.
Many guests spooked by Lady Peckett’s spirit say they have seen her wandering the corridors and moving furniture around.
In 2015, ghost hunters claimed they had snapped a photo of one of the pub’s former landlords who had hanged himself.
A spokesman for the Golden Fleece said at the time: “It is no surprise that people who live and work in the Golden Fleece have some hair-raising tales to tell. In fact several of them have described how their hair was pulled as if by invisible hands.’
Landlord Steph Yates added: ‘It’s a very, very creepy place. I never believed in any of that stuff before I took over the pub but there has been so many weird goings on that now I am sure there is something odd about the pub.’
The pub also featured in television show Most Haunted.
Runner-up spooky boozer: Haunch of Venison, Wiltshire
A mummified cursed severed hand is kept safely behind an iron gate at the supposedly haunted Haunch of Venison in Wiltshire
Be careful not to cheat in any card games at the Haunch of Venison – the last person who did lost their hand for it.
That’s right, this supposedly haunted hostelry is home to a real human hand, smoke-preserved and mummified since the 18th century. And just to add to the drama it is apparently cursed.
After a number of attempted thefts, the hand is safely stored behind an iron gate.
The ‘Horsebox’ bar at the front of the building was also reputedly used by Winston Churchill and Dwight D Eisenhower in planning the 1944 D-Day landings.
So follow in the former prime minister’s footsteps and head there to toast to glorious Great Britain.
Weirdest pub – with a fire breathing dragon and pumpkin
The Highwayman, Sourton, Devon
The Highwayman, Sourton, in Devon, got quite the makeover when Sally Thomson, 64, (right pictured alongside her husband Bruce) from her father Buster Jones
You won’t find many boozers like The Highwayman in Sourton, Devon.
With a horse-drawn carriage for a front door, a pumpkin house, and a fire breathing dragon this has to be ‘Britain’s most unusual pub’.
Sally Thomson, 64, inherited The Highwayman Inn from her father Buster Jones who had bought the watering hole in Sourton, Devon, in 1959. She perhaps got a bit carried away when refurbishing the 13th century pub.
She told MailOnline in 2019: ‘There are stone walls and big doors that open on to parlours, one of which has a sailing galleon, in that room there is a sea monster that sways towards you.
‘There are other doors towards other rooms, each filled with things – one has a 6ft minotaur inside.’
Pub where landlord pulled up a bucket of blood
The Bucket of Blood, Hayle, Cornwall
The pub sign outside The Bucket of Blood in Hayle, Cornwall, pays homage to how it got its name with an image of a spooked landlord holding his hands up in horror after seeing a bucket full of blood
The Bucket of Blood sounds more like a heavy metal band, and the origins of the Cornwall pub’s blood-curdingly name are even more hellish.
The local legend is that the landlord of the pub in Hayle went to a well to fetch a pail of water, but instead pulled up a bucket full of blood with the severed head of a tax collector bobbing about in the pool of liquid.
In 1980 the pub changed its name to The Bucket of Blood in reference to the tale.
The pub sign hanging outside the building pays homage to the legend with an image of a spooked landlord holding his hands up in horror as blood spills from the bucket into the well.
The toilet pub – loved by Elbow’s Guy Garvey
The Temple Bar, Manchester
The Temple bar in Manchester is loved by Elbow’s Guy Garvey and used to be a Victorian public toilet. The singer wrote many of the band’s songs at the bar and was the inspiration for some of the lyrics in Grounds for Divorce
Elbow’s Guy Garvey is apparently a fan, reported Time Out magazine, of this former Victorian public toilet.
READ MORE: You’re barred! Revellers reveal the most ridiculous reasons they’ve been kicked out of the pub
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Beneath a white canopy and down some steps in Oxford Road, you will find Manchester’s The Temple Bar.
But don’t be fooled by its history, this place is anything but a stinker and has become a favourite with locals.
In 2011, Garvey took BBC Radio 2’s Jo Wiley to the bar where he spoke of his love for the place and where he written some of the lyrics for his songs, including being the inspiration for song Grounds for Divorce.
He said during the interview: ‘I think what I love about this place the most is that some of the people who I’ve met in here I’ve known for years now… some of the people we hang out with… you’ve got physicists talking to people who commission art in the city talking to policeman talking to students.
‘When we won the Mercury in 2008 [for album The Seldom Seen Kid], it didn’t feel like we won it until we came down here.’
The pub made of human skin
The Hatchet Inn, Bristol
The Hatchet Inn, in Bristol dates back to 1606. Local legend says the door is layered with human skin of a hanged convict
There is some debate whether this is true or not, but The Hatchet Inn itself boats of its door being made from human skin.
The Tudor pub and Bristol’s oldest watering hole’s skin-crawling tale is in all the guided tour books and on Visit Bristol’s website.
The pub dates back to 1606 and according to legend, the door is layered with tanned skin, reputed to be that of a hanged convict – although the coating of tar and paint has never been removed to prove the claim.
It is also rumoured to have served ale to pirate Blackbeard in his time.
Britain’s only pub built into the side of a cliff
The Grotto, Marsden, South Shields
The Marsden Grotto in Marsden, South Shields, is the only pub in Britain that has been built into a cliff. Rhe rooms inside are surrounded with cave walls
The Marsden Grotto in Marsden, South Shields, is the only pub in Britain which has been built into a cliff.
Its origins date back to the 18th century when Jack Bates – aka Jake the Blaster – used dynamite to blast a hole into the rock to create a cave home next to the beach.
A century later it was turned into an inn and now has ‘legendary’ status, according to its website.
There’s no escaping its location inside with rooms surrounded with cave walls, and its criminal past as a hub for smuggled pirate booty attracts tourists and visitors to this day.
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