There are hundreds of pubs in Cornwall and more than a few of them are going have something from St. Austell Brewery on tap. To find it, look for a beer that begins with a ‘T’ and ends in ‘ribute’. Their Cornish pale ales are tough to beat, and they taste at their absolute best right from their source. So pay a visit to the St Austell Brewery Visitor Centre and get sipping.
Pubs in Cornwall
During its recent refurbishment, the Hicks Bar was renovated into a space where visitors could go to taste St. Austell’s ales, along with exclusive small batches of beer concocted in collaboration with brewers from across the world. As if that wasn’t enough, they also do surprisingly good pub grub and their own coffee.
A guide to the best pubs in Cornwall simply has to have a place for The Blue Anchor, which is just a five-minute drive from our Helston hotel. As well as being a public house, they’ve also been brewing their own ales here for over 600 years. In fact, it’s the oldest of four inns in Britain to still be brewing their own beer. Today, you can take your pick from four of their ‘Spingo’ beers – the most popular is a Cornish bitter called ‘Middle’ and was originally brewed to welcome home the men that fought in World War l. Traditions are taken seriously here at The Blue Anchor, so there aren’t any slot machines – and the only music you’ll hear is from live performances. It’s a blast from the past, but you’ll love it.
Thankfully, there are a lot of dog friendly pubs in Cornwall, including The Crows Nest Inn in Liskeard, on the Easter edge of Bodmin Moor. The Inn dates back to the 16th century, and if you’re around during the winter, we’d recommend you take shelter by their large open fire and tuck into their delicious fish pie. The setting is open to debate – it looks like the inn hasn’t been decorated in decades – but visitors rather like that it’s retained the character of a proper old miners’ pub. Good Cornish ales are on tap, and they offer a classic Sunday roast.
We’ll end this guide of pubs in Cornwall with a bit of a curveball. Beerwolf Books Freehouse in Falmouth is a pub inside a bookshop, or a bookshop inside a pub (we can’t decide). It’s a quirky place with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covering all sorts – peruse them at your leisure, pick out something that sounds interesting, and flick through the pages while lounging on one of the comfy vintage armchairs. The music is great too, covering Nick Cave and Nina Simone. And, if you can tear yourself away from the fantastic beers on tap, you’ll discover the coffee’s good and cheap as well. Sadly, they don’t serve food – but you can bring your own, so it's no big deal
Cornwall Pubs
St. Austell Brewery
