Society is just changing, if I meet up with mates midweek then it's generally for a coffee. I would not even consider a pub midweek.

jimmy, you were going to the wrong pubs…

officially the best pub in Britain

i understand that pubs don't make much profit-per-pint, and so they need us in there for quite a while, often, drinking lots, to make a decent profit.

i don't know anyone with lots of spare time; there's too much diy, working, climbing and biking going on in my circle of friends, in a few years i suspect there'll be kids coming along to complicate things aswell.

i sneak in a pint or 2 during the week, then a few on friday and saturday nights. i'm a rubbish customer, and suspect i'm not unique.

it's not the price of beer that stops me drinking more, i just hate hang-overs.

The Smoking ban isnt killing pubs its pubs killing themselves.

If I think of the amount of pubs that I find appealling in Manchester- they are a fair distance away from me.

Too many focus on price (Wetherspoons are horrifically dull), others are drab and souless places. Alot of pubs are fitted out in newish yet horrific 80's decor. Why do some pub refurbers think this is nice?!

In addition, alot of the places loose the focus of what they are- they stock the standard pints, wife beater and a couple of other generic-same pub pumps. Pubs that stock Thwaites and Robinsons are bland IMO.

Customers definitely like variety now- something different and interesting. The old guard of punters are dying out (along with their fags).

Whens the last time you went into any pub and thought 'glasses of wine taste fantastic here'?

Same with the bar food in alot of them and those sodding fruit machines etc.

The Head of Steam and the Grove in Huddersfield are trying. Still souless places mind.

The only place that I can think of locally that I actually like is the Marble in Chorlton (3miles from home).

Geronimo – Member
when we think of pubs what do we think of?
This..
this.. or this..

Yes.

Society is just changing, if I meet up with mates midweek then it's generally for a coffee. I would not even consider a pub midweek.

Aye. Gone are the days when the working man went to the pub for his social life every night to avoid the trouble and strife. Now we go down to the Gym or sit in a seperate room talking to other Anglosaxon men on the internet.

Plus, as a rule I dont like any public house that doesnt allow dogs in.

I would not even consider a pub midweek.

I do whatever I fancy (as long as my wife lets me 😉 ) – I didn't think there had to be a set rule for when you can/cannot have a pint.

but I don't want the kind of friends who think sitting all evening in a pub or drinking is a sensible allocation of time

yeah, I mean we all just sit there silently supping pint after pint

A good local is somewhere where you can drop in for a quick one and see someone you havn't for a while, catch up with local news, get invited out on a fishing trip or to take part in a friendly game of Cricket, maybe have a game of darts or dominos, try an ale you've not had before, get warm in front of the fire on a wet and cold winter's night and swap adventure stories, etc etc etc

It's a social occasion, a bit like a bogtrotters ride (I imagine), except that instead of standing around chatting on the side of a hill you do it in the warmth with a pint in your hand.

It's a social occasion, a bit like a bogtrotters ride (I imagine),

yeah, half an hour is OK 🙂

Hora – we all know you only frequent gay cabaret bars anyway. Chorlton has a few great pubs as well as the Marble. The Trev is my favourite. A proper boozer.

I love what happened a couple of years ago. A gang attempted an armed robbery on the place. The regulars took exception to this invasion of their personal space, dissarmed them, gave them a kicking, then sent them packing. Now thats the kind of pub I like drinking in 🙂

The Trev's just an older persons boozer. Generic beers ontap with two ales though. Its got alot of potential.

Whats that one at the 4 banks? At least they offer numerous different beers to tempt (and keep) new customers going in/interested.

Trev does allow dogs though. Thats a brucey-bonus. I love dogs in pubs. It changes the atmosphere of the place and chills people.

I love dogs in pubs. It changes the atmosphere of the place and chills people.

I hate dogs in pubs, they slobber on you, beg for food and smell bad 🙁

As much as this pains me to write, I actually agree with Hora on this pubs are killing themselves, agood pub offering what local punters want will always thrive.

I have there fabulous pubs within a ten minute walk of my flat.

1 a Witherspoons that sells Real Ale
1 a Local pub with a Microbrewery out back

These two charge under £2 a pint and that's in London, the other two are more upmarket and aiming at the yummy mummy, more cash brigade and have a great beer and wine selection.

They're all very busy and in the pub with the microbrewery business is booming.

Good pubs do well, it's a case of knowing your locals which sadly too many aren't really bothering with or alternatively finding a niche to fill.

Thats a badly behaved and mistreated dog SFB.

Why are pubs dying?

Think of it this way. Would you go into a Indian restaurant that had 70's old decor, a limited menu with bland food?

No- before anyone mentions that shithole in West Didsbury 🙄

When I worked in a pub, it was fantastically busy every night (this is about 15 years ago mind you). But the landlord made an effort. He did themed food nights, real home-cooked food (their steak pie was amazing and they couldn't make enough to keep up with demand), pub Olympics, malt whiskey night (he would choose two from his collection of around 80 and heavily discount them). There was an annual bonfire party with great fireworks and free nibbles, a tug-o-war over the river on boxing day against the rival pub on the other side of the bridge.

Basically he MADE the place, he made people want to go there. I worked there for about 8 years and knew loads of people, people I still know to talk to now. I even met my wife there. There was a real sense of community spirit about the place.

It is a shit-hole now and every time I pass, no matter the day or time, it is empty.

Thinking back.

When I lived in Croydon I loved the Oval. A mix of people, lots to chose from and things to do (events).

When I lived in West Hampstead there was Scruffy Murphy's. The name says it all 😀

The pubs where I am are all thriving, but then again this is Aberystwyth where about 1 in 3 people are students.

Most of these pubs are actually quite samey, selling the same collection of horse-p*ss, battery acid and a token Welsh "bitter," the infamous Admiral being the drink of choice for many (4 vodkas and an energy drink)

There are however a handful that do things properly. There's a Wetherspoons that's reasonably nice and sells various beers for £1.80. It is however IMO outdone by the Ship and Castle, which despite being about 70p extra a pint is thriving with a large selection of good-quality beers (they seem to do better than Spoons at this, certainly at the moment), pool table and friendly staff.

Back home there are only two pubs in my village, both of which are often half-empty and with almost no one under 30 present. People my age tend to go to the pubs down in town instead for a few drinks and then on to the only nightclub in town. These pubs are completely void of character mostly and are overpriced. They only exist because people need to get taxis into town and the drivers (understandably) don't like driving wasted people around.

Having spent my uni days at aber id say the difference is
there is **** all else to do in that town but drink!

i strongly suspect liver disease is way above the national average

but i think mf has it right if you make it good enough they will come
a lot of boozers rely on crap food and crap beer and the footy as their only draw

No- before anyone mentions that shithole in West Didsbury

Er, you do know it's moved into the old video shop next door?

PS Good to chat on Sat – let me know if you're interested in the car.

But the landlord made an effort. Basically he MADE the place, he made people want to go there.

This sounds just like the Red Lion in Bloxham (Oxfordshire – a village that still has 4 pubs). It was run by a husband and wife who, long before the concept of the gastro pub, got in a decent chef and served good food, with themed nights (French, Mexican, etc.). Beer was local (Hook Norton, natch) and he created an atmosphere that had the place heaving.

It was bought by Fullers, who changed the basis of what it did well and the place was instantly deserted.

The landlord and landlady then took over another local pub (Say & Sele Arms, Broughton), and immediately created somewhere for his old clientele to go.

As I said up there ^^^^ all pubs need a USP to get people to go.

I'm pleased to say that my local is doing well and always pretty full. It's location has been key though you'd have a fair hike to any other pub or shop. So Friday after work it's heaving.
He does a great St Georges day mini beer festival to showcase local breweries. Good BBQs and a popular firework night as well as occasional bands. He seems to be pretty clued up i.e he knows if has bands every week on a certain day he'll loose a percentage of regulars that don't want to listen to it, if he is carefull with planning he'll get new if only temporary business as well as keeping his old customers.
Good little place.
The Hare in Southcott Village, and only thirty odd yards away 🙂

Er, you do know it's moved into the old video shop next door?

They've probably taken that deep-pile dirty carpet with them….

PS Good to chat on Sat – let me know if you're interested in the car.

Cleaned up/ and now advertised my Subaru Forester. Plan is pick up a reliable snotter (a STWer's Primera on another other thread for bike and baby duties) and then I can have my car for 80% of my journey's (including the weekly 50mile curry run) 😀

😐

Ahhh

On topic- the pubs have been getting soo bland over the years that I've actually gravitated towards really rough pubs or oddities.

I think the pubs are their own victims. Innovate or die.

Here (Switzerland) it’s just Saturday night the ‘bars’ are packed. Friday just a quick meet to plan sports the next day. There are festival days when the bars are crowded but these are rare – it’s just not in the culture.

One of my friends runs a pub in Yorkshire, and has seen her turnover go to a record high over the past year, but its in a nice middle class/posh area and completely services the needs of its market.

Some pubs must be going out of business due to Punch. The same friend wanted to take on a lease on a local pub that is in a great location, and used to be be packed. However Punch bought the pub about 5 years ago. Apparently in a Punch pub, the more sucessful you are ie the more you sell, the more of your margin you have to pay to Punch ! Also they only let you supply products bought from them. Hence perhaps why some pubs become empty as its not worth taking on a lease with Punch….

Let them die off.

I've been to the pub maybe 4 times in 3 years.
Don't see the attraction at all now I'm 45 and besides, the British have changed their drinking habits.

Insipid warm, vile white wine, lukewarm weak bitter, cheese & onion crisps, microwave meals, washed out males propping up the bar, stinking loos, dour brown / tobacco decor – yuck! – all very 20th century!

Not helped by all the half-wits with their tobacco and nicotine polluting everyone's lungs in the garden. Yuk!

No thank you.

Innovate or die.

C'est ca exactement. +un.

Ti29er disagree:

the British have changed their drinking habits.

They want to go out. British (maybe generalising) like to investigate and try different things/see different environments. When a pub is bland/chain your own living room has more allure than a blando-no music pub.

Agree!:

Insipid warm, vile white wine, lukewarm weak bitter, cheese & onion crisps, microwave meals, washed out males propping up the bar, stinking loos, dour brown / tobacco deco

Some great posts on here, but I tend to agree with those that say it's changing times that are causing certain pubs to suffer.

I'm 27 and (other than university) there's never been a period in my life where pubs were regularly more than a weekend thing. We no longer live in an age of small, tight knit communities where people worked near to their homes and would pass the pub on the way back in the evening. A huge proportion of the population now drive to industrial estates out of town or to the next town/city to work, so a pint on the way home becomes a lot less inviting. We also move further from home for work, so many aren't so deeply rooted in a local community that the local is full of old friends. Then when we get home there's more choice on the tv, the internet, dvds, computer games, plus I'd wager our homes have become more comfortable, better heated and insulated and generally nicer places to be on a cold winter's evening than they might have been 30 years ago. There's also possibly a perception (whether true or not) that our streets aren't as safe at night as they used to be.

Where I live now in Bath, I have a couple of nasty pubs very close to my home, but the nearest one worth it's salt is about a 15 minute walk – it's a Bath Ales pub that is traditional, but clean and cosy and serves fantastic ales and ciders as well as the odd big brand lager. The more local pubs are dingey old spit and sawdust outfits that feel very unwelcoming to 'outsiders' and are hardly likely to appeal to young women. My prefered local is friendly and open, it feels like a proper English pub and it serves proper English beer if you want it, but the customers are a mixed bag of all ages, sexes and backgrounds and it's just a nice place to be.

The smoking ban has had little to do with it imo, many of the pubs in Bath have no covered smoking area, but the good ones are still packed on a busy night. Pubs are far more pleasant places to be since the ban.

Correction: the smoking ban has driven the stinking filth into the beer gardens, thus making most every beer garden I can think of 'round these parts a most unpleasant experience.

The warmer months, when sitting out in the beer garden was a pleasant enough way of whiling away an hour on a summer's eve was pretty much the only time I (non smoker) ventured out to the 4 local pubs in the village here. Don't bother at all now – I have no interest in breathing in 2nd hand filth.

I mostly used to go to pubs for social stuff and conversation. Its almost impossible in a lot of them now due to big screen TV's. They detract from conversations, you must keep the line of sight clear so cant stand in groups and even if you are lucky enough not to face them, the volume is turned up so loud its hard to talk around it. Its like being trapped in some TV obsessed persons living room instead of going out to do something fun.

I am begining to wonder if people are still capable of chatting or making thier own entertainment as everything has to be supplied complete and not requireing effort – TV, internet, console games and iPod. Its like everyone has lost all imagination and any ability to make the smallest personal effort, it all has to be constantly drip fed to the brain dead.

There's always a Weatherspoon's pub!
Seriouslly, if you look at the rate they've managed to expand, it's an impressive business model in a difficult market.
If you find them too loud then can I suggest the local Conservative club or the Royal British Legion. Pipe and slippers required!

it's an impressive business model

It is – out of all the chains it is the one I am happiest in. But they buy in short-dated beer on the cheap and therefore can sell it cheap.

Pubs are dying? No one told Scotland

Beer was always cheap in supermarkets, I remember the days when I could buy a 24 crate of hooch from asda for pocket money, and I was the least-well-pocket-moneyed kid in the village I think! Pubs are very pricey in comparison, in general, in England. Most of my old locals are now nearing the £3 a pint mark, I refuse to pay that sort of cash for the same drink I could have for a quid in the supermarket, in the comfort of my own home, with my mates around.

Pubs formed the very hub of the community

Jesus christ, I hope not. It would be sad day when a drinking establishment formed the hub of a community. As if all the people stopped communicating and meeting up just because theres no communal over-priced alcohol source.

From my own point of view, I've grown up. I have sufficient distractions to mean I never really visit a pub, if I do it's for a special occasion (christmas) or for food. The rest of the time, why bother?

As said above though, not seen many Scottish pubs closing. Loads of shops and businesses but takeaway and pubs seem to be thriving, regardless of smoking bans?

Pubs are dying? No one told Scotland

Ah, I can not wait to return to my love, Byrony bar in Edinburgh for copious amounts of Caledonia80 😀

Many relevant comments on here ! Seems to me that pubs are failing for a variety of reasons.

Why visit a pub?

To drink good quality beer how it should be enjoyed perhaps?

To relax and just chat with people.

To watch people and the world go by.

I probably go at least once or twice a week usually drink two or three pints each time, chat to the staff natter to randoms, maybe watch some sport, sit and read a paper.

I'll fairly routinely head to the pub with a book and read and drink good beer for a couple of hours.

Sitting at home drinking supermarket beer yeah I could do that or I could see what's happening around me and interact with people and drinking good beer how it should be enjoyed.

I like beer and I like proper pubs.

Funny but the way I see it, the smoking ban only seems to have an impact for smokers and on crappy pubs.

All the nice pubs that serve good food and offer good environment for the family don't seems to have suffer from the smoking ban.

I think you should look at things a different way. Drinking is bad, no need to burry your head in the sand it is. Pub have refused to adapt. If you're a tea total like me (and don't get em wrong I love to go to the pub several people on here will confirm) you have choice between coke, diet coke and crappy chemical fruit juices. I'd love a pub that can offer nice soft drinks or at least fresh juices.
Plus most of the pubs are shit dead in terms of entertainments. I will happily go to a pub that offers plenty of live music.

In southampton 2 of the best pubs are owned by the same landlord and offer plenty of entertainment for all kind of people (not the just the loosy student).