Sophie's Pub Heritage Tours undertaken so far include:

National Inventory Pub Crawling Introduction

IThe CAMRA National Inventory of historic pub interiors, which was first published in 1999, had not impinged on my notice until August last year, when I started going out with a chap who has been pub-crawling his way around it for several years. Since then I have not only visited many superb pubs around the country, but also discovered that some of those in our own county are considered by CAMRA to have interiors of outstanding historic interest.

For the benefit of anyone who is unfamiliar with the National Inventory, I can give no better introduction than the first paragraph of the publication itself: "Of over 60,000 public houses in the United Kingdom, it is reckoned that less than four per cent have escaped drastic alteration in recent times. The number whose interiors might be considered of outstanding heritage interest has dwindled to fewer than 250, and safeguarding what is now left of the nation's pub heritage has become a very serious conservation challenge. The National Inventory is CAMRA's pioneering initiative for bringing greater recognition and protection to Britain's most priceless historic pubs."

Many of the National Inventory pubs are in the Good Beer Guide, but there are a few on the list that do not even sell real ale. It is, I think, much to CAMRA's credit that where it comes to the nation's building heritage, architecture is considered to be of even higher importance than beer. After all, landlords come and go, but once a pub interior is altered, another little bit of heritage is gone forever.

Having said that, pubs that have been removed from the National Inventory can still be well worth a visit, and this is the case with some of our hostelries here, as I discovered on the first 'National Inventory crawl' around Suffolk that I made with Andy, in February this year. Even relatively small changes to the interior can be enough for a pub to be removed from the inventory, and although it's always sad to know that we have missed seeing a truly original interior, we still take in 'first edition' pubs where we can. The trip that we made in February, which took us up the coast, was based around Andy's wish to visit two 'first edition' pubs - the Rumburgh Buck and the Walberswick Bell - with the rest of the day fitting nicely around them.

And what of the beer? Well, our first stop was the Rumburgh Buck, where we started with a surprisingly good pint of Greene King IPA - no offence to Greene King, but it isn't one of my favourite beers. However, this one was kept well enough to be pleasantly drinkable, and I did so whilst enjoying the interesting items pinned up on the walls, in particular the old village notices and an article about the East Anglian tradition of Molly dancing.

The next leg of the journey took us to the 600-year-old Walberswick Bell, where I was torn between Adnams Oyster Stout and Tally Ho. One doesn't see dark beers all that often, sadly; and in the end I made the most of it by having a half of each, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Leaving Walberswick, we went along a strange track for a couple of miles - I can't even call it an unmade road really; it's worse than that but rather fun. It wasn't a wrong turn; it's marked on the map and Andy fancied trying it. It's the kind of road they do cross-country trials on - winding, grass-grown, very bumpy and in some places (at that time of the year anyway) flooded for several yards. Hurrah for diesel engines!

When we reached Dunwich we went for a short walk along an incredibly bleak beach - a walk that was rapidly curtailed when we realised just how cold it was. An excellent pint of Broadside in the Ship warmed me up, while Andy made the aquaintance of Maldon's Midwinter Gold.

After Dunwich we left the coast and trundled over to Bury St Edmunds, where we met up with some friends in the UK's smallest pub, and the only pub of today's trip in the current National Inventory: the Nutshell. A most surreal conversation with the regulars about flocks of cows and sheep-shagging ensued, to the accompaniment of Pink Floyd and a pint of Greene King Abbott, which slipped down only too easily. I could have happily stayed all evening in this tiny, fascinating, one-roomed pub with its friendly clientele and its bizarre mummified cat dangling from the ceiling, but as the others don't get a chance to visit the area very often (coming as they do from Gloucestershire) we decided to see a bit more of Bury.

We didn't stay for long in the Grapes; the beer (IPA again) was OK, but the pub was very noisy; not that I have any objection to the Pogues, but we couldn't hear ourselves think, so we finished that one rapidly and headed off to our last stop of the day, the Old Cannon Brewery, where a couple of pints of Gunner's Daughter rounded off the day nicely.

All in all, it was an excellent day out; we had some superb beers and, with the aid of the CAMRA National Inventory, found some pubs that are really well worth looking at as well as drinking in. If you're looking for a new hobby, this is one I can definitely recommend!

Sophie Watson

PS. The Suffolk pubs on the current (2003) list are: Brent Eleigh Cock, Bury Nutshell, Ipswich Margaret Catchpole, Laxfield Low House, Pin Mill Butt & Oyster, Southwold Crown Hotel.