CAMRA's 'fab four' UK pubs revealed
CAMRA has announced the four pubs that will race to take home the National Pub of the Year title in the competition’s final stretch.
The competition to be named CAMRA's cream of the crop is heating up, with just four pubs remaining in the National Pub of the Year 2025 competition following months of rigorous judging.
The four finalists will now compete in a bid to bag the overall Pub of the Year crown. The final round of judging is now underway, with the result set to be revealed in early 2026. Two former CAMRA Pub of the Year winners are in the running, along with this year's Cider and Perry Pub of the Year.
Beating thousands of entries, these venues have been judged on categories including atmosphere, décor, welcome, service, inclusivity, overall impression and quality cask beer, real cider and perry.
The 2025 finalists are:
- Blackfriars Tavern, Great Yarmouth – awarded CAMRA's Cider and Perry Pub of the Year just weeks ago, this Victorian corner pub, next to the 13th-century town walls, focuses on East Anglian-produced cask, plus real ciders and perries.
- Pelican Inn, Gloucester – dating back to 1679, this Grade II-listed, family-run traditional ale house offers up to 10 cask beers, 12 ciders and six craft kegs at all times, plus a collection of rarer beer styles in cans.
- Tamworth Tap, Tamworth – twice winner of the National Pub of the Year (2022 and 2023), this Tudor building and historic courtyard beer terrace offers striking views of Tamworth's Norman Castle. Home to Tamworth Brewing Company and its tap, it features eight handpulls, with cask from near and far alongside a wide range of ciders, gins, wines and bottled beers.
- Volunteer Arms (Staggs), Musselburgh – a pub run by the same family since 1858, it features a traditional bar and snug, wooden floors, wood panelling and mirrors from now closed local breweries. It offers a range of regularly changing cask beers and has won many awards, including CAMRA's National Pub of the Year in 1998, also reaching the top four in 2018.
Andrea Briers, CAMRA's Pub of the Year coordinator, comments: "I am delighted to announce who has reached the top pubs for 2025. It is always hard-fought and close competition, with judges having an incredibly difficult job whittling them down to just four.
"They are shining examples of what makes our pubs so incredibly special, vital to our communities and providing a wonderful welcome to all."
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