Shame there are fewer and fewer every day, mind you. Still, a rather lovely image.

I can see the Crask Inn.

*saves at Kenneth*

Growing up in the seventies my home town had 62 pubs (my parents owned one of them) and a population of under 30,000.
Sadly a huge number of those are now long since closed and the ones that are left are not what they used to be. I’d be surprised if half of that number are still open now.

My wife’s village, population 600, has 7 bars. Come to Spain: when it comes to drinking they’re even worse than we are 🙂

I’m fairly sure there should be a few more in the Highlands and in Orkney

Amazed there are that many in Wales, given how dry the place was while under the influence of too much religion.

Usk used to have an ungodly number of pubs for its size, a lot of them are gone now.

I’m not sure I’m getting the map – does each dot represent a pub? Or a number of pubs?

If so, the SW coast of Ireland (and most of the rest of it) is all wrong. There are dozens of pubs in Dingle alone (west tip of top peninsula of those three sticking out bottom left).

I’m amazed people think pubs are important. :-/

Amazed there are that many in Wales, given how dry the place was while under the influence of too much religion.

Definitely the biggest downside of living in N.Wales (exc. rain)… and I don’t even drink!

Cool.
Shame theres always some grump who doesnt like them, but still feels the need to comment negatively. I miss the old top gear threads…. 🙁

I love stuff like this – which is why this is one of my favourite books. I’m guessing the ‘noise’ below Britian is the north coast of France. If accurate, we appear to have a drink problem in comparison to the Frenchies!

Growing up in the seventies my home town had 62 pubs (my parents owned one of them) and a population of under 30,000.
Sadly a huge number of those are now long since closed

I like a good pub as much as the next man, but in a weird way the demise of a society capable of sustaining a pub per 500 head of population is not altogether a bad thing.

I’m amazed people think pubs are important.

A decent local boozer is a basic human right, you monster!

It’s probably a good thing if it means we are drinking less alcohol

I’m not sure that’s the case, a million sky channels, the internet etc provide plenty of other distractions these days, possibly less social but certainly better for you than sitting in a fag smoke clogged boozer

Smoking ban has surely had an impact, but supermarkets are a big factor, there was legislation afoot for a minimum price per unit that would have helped pubs an awful lot, and possibly reduced problem drinking too, bit the govt caved under pressure from supetmarket lobbyists and that was that.

It’s probably a good thing if it means we are drinking less alcohol

They’re not drinking less alcohol. They’re just not going to the pub to do it, and are getting pissed at home instead.

This is actually a profound cultural shift. It ultimately means less fights outside kebab houses, and people getting shagged over those big biffa wheely bins in back alleys, but an increase in women (or men, actually) going into work having ‘walked into a door’

Four in Leatherhead town centre and they’re all crap. 😥

I think a lot the pubs were traditionally financed by the man of the house pissing up the household income whilst avoided childcare responsibilities and the fun police stopped that. The social bit of a good local where you know folk when you walk in is hard to beat though.

The definition of “pub” is probably important here and why some rural areas might look more sparse than experience would suggest.

True. In Scotland there are a lot of small hotels with a bar that might as well be the local pub.

My home town has gone from 8 in the 80’s to four now, two have disappeared and the other two are now restaurants. I always laugh at people who say how lovely the old slate floor is when I remember how many people I’ve seen passed out, throwing up and fighting each other on them 😆

The Supermarkets are a big reason for this imho. If I had my way I’d ban them from having licenses and let a few decent specialist off-licences take their place. I’d do the same with tobacco too but they’d probably have to be made to look like a ‘Private Shop’ to satisfy the no advertising rule!

A lot of pubs have closed because they were utter shitholes run by miserable bastards, who’s idea of service would make the most surly and resentful frenchman come across like a particularly breezy waitress in a californian diner. Simple as that

I lived in Ironbridge, it had (counts fingers and toes) 13 pubs (I’ve included Coalbrookdale and Coalport) that I know of. I went back there last year to re live the memories and took the bike (naturally) and I took MrsBouy around the village and valley, all the Pubs are still there I’m glad to say.

One in particular hasn’t changed one bit since I went in last back in 96′ except there are now more white trainers being worn 😆

I used to spend a lot of time in that particular one, would work the bar in there for ohhh 5years on a Fri/Sat eve and I have to say it was superb, very much a community spirit and very very few of the locals I new got totally smashed, just gentle good natured drinking and frolics.

I’ve found two in Hampshire I love, but I have to drive to them.. Not the same that.

They’re not drinking less alcohol.

You sure about that?

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/07/daily-chart-alcohol-consumption-around-world

We’ve changed the way we socialise now, Friday EDL threads are the modern pub !

Has there really been an increase in domestic violence as pubs declined ned ?

Quite a few have opened in recent years round my way. I’ve just been in quite a pleasant little bar that opened only 2 months ago.