Pub entertainment in Southwest England
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Sloop Inn
Old Speckled Hen, Doom Bar and Bass ales make this beam-ceilinged boozer a favourite with St Ives' old boys. Settle into a booth seat for the night, or bag a spot on one of the wharfside tables.
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Pipe & Slippers
The Pipe is a solid bet for a solid pint and an equally solid meal - Bath Ales behind the bar and Pieminister pies make this ever popular with Bristol's boozer-cruisers.
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Pig & Fiddle
Fave with the Bath Spa students, especially for big-screen sports and table footie.
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Double Locks
A bit of a local legend, this atmospheric former lockhouse sits 2 miles south of the quay beside the Exeter Ship Canal. Scarred floorboards, creaking chairs, excellent ale and battered board games lend it a chilled vibe - helped by the real fires, waterside terrace and better than average bar food (available lunch and dinner).
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Poole Arms
Poole's harbour is lined with waterside watering holes. The green, tiled Poole Arms is the oldest pub on the quay and is thankfully unmessed-about-with - framed knot-samples and deeply worn wooden tables still rule. It also serves tasty bar food of the homemade fish soup and pie variety.
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Old Ale House
The pick of Truro's pubs, and a welcome change if you're getting sick of minimalist décor and designer cocktails. Here it's all burnished wood and beer mats; a selection of daily ales are chalked up behind the bar, and there's often a jazz troupe at weekends.
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Turk's Head
Penzance isn't short of a boozer or two, but the old Turk's Head - purportedly the town's oldest pub - is a personal favourite. Tobacco-stained walls, patchy carpets and a battered bar just add to the atmosphere of a well-used (and much-loved) watering hole.
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Dartmouth Arms
As an antidote to Dartmouth's sailing chic, join the locals for an unpretentious pint at the atmospheric Dartmouth Arms. There's polished wood everywhere, even on the ceilings, and navigational lights and cross-sections of ships dot the walls.
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Ship Inn
Wood coats the ceiling, floors and even the walls at this city-centre, heavily beamed boozer. It claims to have been Sir Francis Drake's favourite pub - bet he wouldn't have recognised the tunes pulsing from the jukebox.
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Hole in the Wall
This heavily beamed, tardis-like boozer claims to be the oldest in Torquay - the part-cobbled floor is actually listed. At the front, there's a tiny alley-cum-beer terrace on which to enjoy an al fresco pint.
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Harbour Inn
The trio of pubs clustered at the foot of the Cobb are great for harbourside bustle. The Harbour Inn, with stone walls and wooden settles, pips the others for atmosphere and sheer range of pub grub.
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White Lion
The fabulous panoramic platform at the Avon Gorge Hotel wins the views contest hands down. On hot days punters pack the terrace tables to watch the sun sink over the suspension bridge.
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Central
As its name suggests, this rowdy pre-club pub is right in the heart of town, and the outside patio is always overflowing on warm summer nights.
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Dolphin
The Dolphin is an unreconstructed Barbican boozer, with scuffed tables, padded bench seats and an authentic, no-nonsense atmosphere. It's also painter Beryl Cook's local.
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Raven
Recently given the nod by the Camra crowd, this fine city drinking den commands a devoted following for its real ales and authentic British-boozer décor.
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Heron
Two miles from the city along the river estuary, this creekside pub serves good beer and excellent grub, with outside benches where you sup your pint.
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Chain Locker
Shiver-me-timbers - a classic old sea-dog of a pub, with the all-important low ceilings, heart-stopping ales and hugger-mugger atmosphere.
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Haunch of Venison
Salisbury has plenty of decent pubs: try the medieval Haunch of Venison for a choice of more than 50 malt whiskies.
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Ox Row Inn
Salisbury has plenty of decent pubs: try the Ox Row Inn for local ales.
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Red Lion
Old surfer's pub with regular live music and plenty of ales on tap.
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Zerodegrees
Plentiful glass, chrome and steel in Bristol's boutique brewery. Options range from fruit beers and pale wheat ale to Czech-style Black and Pilsner lagers.
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Turk's Head
They pull a fine pint of real ale at this, the oldest boozer in Penzance. It's said a smugglers' tunnel used to link the pub with the harbour – handy for sneaking in that liquid contraband – and the bar's covered in maritime memorabilia.
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Star Inn
Not many pubs are registered relics, but the Star is – it still boasts many of its 19th-century bar fittings. It's the brewery tap for Bath-based Abbey Ales; some ales are served in traditional jugs, and you can ask for a pinch of snuff in the 'smaller bar'.
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