One pub in Winchcombe and one in Chipping Norton have been named best of the year in two categories in the Good Pub Guide 2021 awards

This year has been a painful one for many businesses in the hospitality industry. It is estimated that over 2,000 pubs have closed in 2020 and many thousands more struggling financially. The second lockdown coupled with major tier resrictions placed on establishments serving alcohol mean that pubs continue to suffer.

The Cotswolds is known for its cosy, honey-coloured pubs that we all enjoy ducking into after a brisk country walk. It’s fair to say that we are big fans of the pub here, but it is still heartening to see Cotswold pubs being awarded with not one but two awards in the 2021 Good Pub Guide.

The guide has been published annually since 1982 in book form and since 2009 online as well and has become one of the pre-eminent publications to get a trusted pub recommendations. The 2021 guide is available from 10th December and features over 5,000 pubs from across the country.

There are 15 categories and the overall Pub of the Year award winner for 2021 was snatched by The Olive Branch in Leicestershire.

However, the Town Pub of the Year award went to The Lion Inn on Winchcombe’s pretty North Street and The Kings Head in Bledington scooped the Inn of the Year award.

Full list of national winners

• Pub of the Year: The Olive Branch, Rutland & Leicestershire

• Dining Pub of the Year: Unruly Pig, Bromeswell, Suffolk

• New Pub of the Year: The Boat, Erbistock, Wrexham (Wales)

• Own Brew Pub of the Year: Dipton Mill Inn, Northumbria

• Beer Pub of the Year: Fat Cat, Norwich, Norfolk

• Whisky Pub of the Year: Bon Accord, Glasgow (Scotland)

• Wine Pub of the Year: Woods, Dulverton, Somerset

• Pub of the Year: Cholmondeley Arms, Malpas, Cheshire

• Unspoilt Pub of the Year: White Lion, Barthomley, Crewe, Cheshire

• Town Pub of the Year: The Lion Inn, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

• Country Pub of the Year: Royal Oak, Fritham, Lyndhurst, Hampshire

• Inn of the Year: The Kings Head, Bledington, Oxfordshire

• Value Pub of the Year: Drake Manor, The Village, Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton, Devon

• Lincensees of the Year: Jeannette and Anthony Goodrich of the Rose & Crown, Snettisham, Norfolk

• Brewery of the Year: Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent

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