INNS of interest!

Looking for an unusual tipple? Try these genuinely quirky British locals

- SHARON WRIGHT

Inns have always been at the heart of our communities, yet sadly so many pubs have called time that numbers are at an all-time low. There were 75,000 hostelries in Britain in the early 1970s but, 50 years on, we're now down to fewer than 47,000. So there's all the more reason to cherish the ones we have remaining.

Dancing queen

It might be nestled in the heart of London, but almost five centuries ago, the Olde Mitre Tavern was ruled by Cambridgeshire. That's because it was built in Holborn in 1546 for servants of the Bishop of Ely, who owned the land and lived in a grand residence nearby. The quaint, rebuilt building of today dates to the 18th century, when the Church sold the land to the Crown. But inside you can see the remains of the Tudor cherry tree Elizabeth I reputedly danced beneath with one of her favourites, LEE handsome bodyguard Sir Christopher Hatton.

BEVVY METAL