Beer gardens aren’t what they used to be. The days of wobbly bench tables, collapsing umbrellas, and marauding wasps are over. (Well, mostly over.) Pandemic regulations provoked a wave of investment in outdoor areas that have made them more comfortable and more tempting, and as the hesitant summer finally asserts itself, people are searching out the sun traps and shady spots down the pub. We all have our favourites. In researching my book Beer Breaks in Britain and in my role as a judge for the Great British Pub Awards, I’ve seen a wide variety of fine beer gardens. They might have spectacular views over the countryside or across the sea; they might be nestled in cosy woodland or on the banks of a river. You can eat high-class food, find entertainment for the kids or simply sink a refreshing pint. This list strives to reflect all that, from the classy to the quirky; from the rural to the seaside and urban. (Beer Breaks in Britain by Phil Mellows and Kate Simon is out now. Conway, £20) (Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)

The Anchor Inn (Seatown, Dorset)

Pride of Palmer’s Brewery, you reach the Anchor via a network of country lanes that run down to the Dorset coast. It is one of those you have to seek out, but when you find it, you know it’s worth the journey. Hidden in an away-from-it-all spot beneath the cliffs just a few paces from the beach, the pub and its beer garden are in a prime position for views of the sea. But mostly it’s about the feeling of escape from the pressing world that such a place brings you – and the locally brewed ales, of course. (Photo: Stephen Banks)

The Black Friar (Salford, Greater Manchester)

After lying dormant for 15 years, The Black Friar was brought back to teeming life in 2021 by independent operators who have made it into a truly spectacular pub. That includes the creation of a breathtaking beer garden that conjures a floral forest glade, a feat recognised in the National Landscape Awards. Among other attractions, it has a heated “tavern” with its own fully stocked bar and a pair of handmade cabins decorated with murals by Manchester artist Melissa Hartley. (Photo: Supplied)

The Brisley Bell (Brisley, Norfolk)

There’s an unmistakable country manor atmosphere about the Brisley Bell. Renovated in 2017, it is a grand, luxurious pub, and that goes for its beautiful gardens, too (note the plural). Choose your spot for al fresco fine dining, on lawns sheltered by woods and hedges, or on the terrace. Or simply enjoy the fresh air with a pint in hand – it is still a proper pub that prides itself on its local cask ales. And the garden hosts live music, too, on summer afternoons when an outside bar is in operation. (Photo: Supplied)

The Britannia Inn (Elterwater, Cumbria)

There are plenty of good beer gardens in the Lake District. The Britannia’s might be a little more informal than some, but the terraces at the front of this charmingly rustic pub has incredible views out over a picturesque valley. Getting there is part of the experience: it is reached via a winding road up the hill from Grasmere, making it feel like a discovery. The other attraction is the beer. One of the pub’s owners also runs Langdale Brewery, so this is the best place to sample its ales. (Photo: prestongeorge/Getty/iStock Editorial)

Cheers Café Bar & Tavern (Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire)

Despite the port of Fraserburgh being so far north, the people at Cheers have made a great feature of its extensive beer garden, creating an outdoors-indoors feel that means it is a pleasant spot to drink, dine and be entertained whatever the weather. There is comfortable seating, sheltered areas, heating, TV screens, a pool table and a standalone bar – you’ve got everything you need. The pub doubles as a hotel, so you can even have a bed for the night. (Photo: coldsnowstorm/Getty)

The Fighting Cocks (Horton Kirby, Kent)

“There are pub gardens and there’s the Fighting Cocks,” says the pub’s promotional video, and you can see what they mean. It’s just outside the capital where the M20 meets the M25 but step out the back of The Fighting Cocks and you are in rural Kent. The immaculate beer garden runs down to the River Darent and is dotted with no fewer than 65 tables (and, if it’s a bit nippy, you can still enjoy the view from the conservatory). For the kids, there’s a play area, chickens and rabbits in pens and plastic duck races on the river, while grown-ups can indulge at the chef’s garden table or a barbecue. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty)

The Ferry (Wallasey, Wirral)

Ferry across the Mersey, anyone? This bright and airy pub is by an old terminal on the Wirral side of the river and its glass doors open out on a beer garden that enjoys an amazing view of the Liverpool skyline across the water. On a summer’s evening the locals like to stroll down the long promenade from New Brighton and land at The Ferry, where there is a warm welcome and a decent range of beers, too. (Photo: The Ferry)

The Final Whistle (Southwell, Nottinghamshire)

Just named Nottinghamshire Pub of the Year by the Campaign for Real Ale, this is a quirky little place on an old train line that’s been converted into a footpath. It embraces the railway theme with enthusiasm, and the beer garden has been done up like a colourful cartoon station with a strip of track, platforms with tables and seating, white picket fencing and hanging baskets brimming with flowers. Inside there are no fewer than 10 handpumps pouring ales – perfect while you’re waiting for a train that’s never going to arrive. (Photo: Supplied)

Gaggle of Geese (Buckland Newton, Dorset)

Spread across five acres of Dorset countryside, the beer garden at the Gaggle of Geese is more like a wildly informal holiday park. It has a skittle alley, crazy golf, archery, axe-throwing, wandering goats, a playbus and it hosts an annual music festival. If it all gets too much, you can stay over in the shepherd huts or crash in the campsite. Some even get married there. Best of all, it’s a proper family-run pub that really makes you feel welcome.

The Hayhurst Arms (Bostock Green, Cheshire)

In a former reading room provided for the local folk by their philanthropic landlord 180 years ago, The Hayhurst Arms today gives you a taste of Cheshire village life. The beer garden’s terrace and lawn spill out around the pub and you feel you have all the space and time you need, served with the quality beer and food that the company which owns it, Brunning & Price, is famous for. (Photo: Hayhurst Arms)

The Holly Tree (Forest Gate, London)

All you need to know about The Holly Tree’s beer garden is that it has a train running around it. That’s right: a proper, if scaled-down, railway you can ride around on for free, though it looks better if you’ve got a child with you so you can pretend it’s for them. Families are drawn here, of course (it’s right by Wanstead Flats – the southernmost part of Epping Forest (pictured) – if you want to make a day out of it), but grown-up rail enthusiasts come from all over the country, too. And if you couldn’t care less about miniature trains, there is a great range of beers. (Photo: Victoria Jones/PA)

The Jolly Fisherman (Craster, Northumberland)

The Jolly Fisherman sits in a perfect spot overlooking the little harbour in the village of Craster, and its decked terrace offers spectacular views of the North Sea and a splendid stretch of coastline haunted by the craggy ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle (pictured). The coastal path, in fact, cuts right through the middle of the garden between the tables where diners are tucking into the pub’s seafood specialities (including a legendary crab sandwich and kippers straight from Robson’s smokery across the road), washed down by local ales. (Photo: Karen Kasmauski/Getty/Corbis Documentary RF)

Myrtle Tavern (Meanwood, Leeds)

In one of the leafier suburbs of north Leeds on the Meanwood Valley Trail, the Myrtle makes the most of its huge outdoor area next to the cricket club. The beer garden itself nestles among greenery on the edge of the woods and has a pond, greenhouse and potting sheds, plus a marquee you can hire for parties. There is a play area for the kids, too, and in their own little garden a family of fluffy rabbits that, rest assured, won’t make it on to the menu. And the pub has built its own Alpine lodge and terrace. (Photo: Getty)

Pandora Inn (Restronguet Creek, Cornwall)

Parts of the Pandora Inn date back 800 years and, the story goes, it was run by the captain of the hapless HMS Pandora – the ship that, in 1791, went to capture the mutineers on the Bounty but, having captured 14 and with no sight of the others, sank on its return. All that need not bother you, though, as you sip your St Austell ale and watch the boats bob while perched on the pontoon that serves as a beer garden, surrounded by the limpid waters of a Cornish coastal creek. (Photo: Education Images/Getty)

The Plough (Prestbury, Gloucestershire)

With its thatched roof and atmospheric old bars, the 17th-century Plough would be attraction enough. But go out the back and you will find a truly beautiful beer garden rich with colourful shrubbery. There is plenty of space to eat and drink ales poured straight from the cask, plus a children’s play area, garden room and, at the bottom beside the stream, a boules pitch. Cheltenham Racecourse is a short walk away, but you might find this a more profitable place to be. (Photo: AP)

The Ram Inn (Firle, East Sussex)

Trees are great, aren’t they? Especially during the heat when, at the end of an energy-sapping country stroll through the Sussex Downs National Park, you reach The Ram Inn and a beer garden shaded all round by leafy boughs. It’s a famous old pub, a coaching inn whose foaming ales have slaked the thirsts of travellers for half a century. Yet it feels like your own personal discovery in some enchanted wood. (Photo: Peter Flude)

The Ship (Wandsworth, London)

Beer gardens aren’t just for sleepy afternoons in the sun. At The Ship you are just as likely to find yourself in the middle of a party in its expansive outdoor area that runs right down to the Thames. With views along the river, the garden has its own bar slinging cocktails and spritzers, a barbecue flipping burgers, a heated pergola, a banging sound system and lots of young folk doing what young folk ought to be doing. And when you feel the need to chill, you can always nip inside for a Young’s ale. (Photo: Supplied)

Tafarn Sinc (Rosebush, Pembrokeshire)

Wrapped around by the green rolling Preseli Hills, the Tafarn Sinc, or the “Tin Pub”, was built out of corrugated iron 150 years ago by an enterprising Englishman who wanted to create a spa resort there. He even put in a railway. That didn’t work out, but the station platform is still there and the beer garden has some lovely views. Today, the pub is owned by the local community and has retained its quirky charm with sawdust on the floor and farming implements hanging from the ceiling. Ask the staff to show you their castration pincers. (Photo: Aled Llywelyn/Crown Copyright/Visit Wales)

Teuchters Landing (Leith, Edinburgh)

Housed in the former waiting room of the Leith-to-Aberdeen steamboat ferry, Teuchters Landing is at the hub of Edinburgh’s docklands, gloriously reinvented as a food and drink destination. A traditional pub specialising in cask ale and whisky, it sits on the edge of the Water of Leith, with a large area of decking and a pontoon over the harbour forming the beer garden. There is nothing better than sinking a pint out here on a summer’s evening and finding out what The Proclaimers were singing about in “Sunshine on Leith”. (Photo: Supplied)

Tŷ Coch Inn (Porthdinllaen, Gwynedd)

This one is not so much a beer garden as beer beach. On the remote spit of land that is the Llŷn Peninsula, the Tŷ Coch is a pub famous for the fact that you can get there only on foot – the car park is a 20-minute walk away – and for its stunning location. Once at this stunning location, you will find an outdoor bar on the edge of a sandy bay where you can sit back and enjoy your beer while gazing out across the Irish Sea and see the peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia). Try to catch it at sunset. Simply idyllic. (Photo: Geraint Thomas/Panorama)