Derbyshire Dales are best for ales

It's a tricky time for pubs, so it’s heartening to hear one area's still got it when it comes to wetting your whistle, say MILO BOYD and DAVID DUBAS-FISHER

- MILO BOYD and DAVID DUBAS-FISHER

The pub capital of the UK has been crowned, and it’s a beautiful part of the country with its cosy inns and rolling hills. Step forward the glorious Derbyshire Dales. Our data team has crunched the numbers and found that drinkers in this area get more pubs than anywhere else in England and Wales.

However, it’s been a rough year for the pub trade. Many are facing increasingly tricky futures. And a report by UKHospitality warned that six venues will close every day this year without support - a total of more than 2,000.

That far outstrips the 378 that closed in 2025, according to the Institute of Licensing.

The British Beer and Pub Association also worries pubs will need to sell an extra 1.3 billion pints of beer a year to offset surging taxes.

But there are still thousands of incredible pubs across the country, and areas where the trade thrives.

The area which came out top, the Derbyshire Dales, has a total of 152 pubs and bars within its borders. That works out as the equivalent of 25 for every 10,000 adults living there.