Pick of the public houses

In these times of increasingly shrill media frenzy about binge-drinking (and the rights or wrongs of the England cricket team’s boozy Ashes celebrations), it’s vital to be able to get away from all the nonsense by having a nice beer in a nice pub.

But that’s not always as easy as it sounds, particularly if you enjoy real ale. You’re by no means guaranteed a good pint - or even a half-decent atmosphere - if you pop into a pub at random, with the rise and rise of the identikit high street pub chain sometimes meaning choice of beers is limited.

So researching where you’re going is the thing – and the Campaign for Real Ale has just made that easier by launching the 2006 edition of its renowned and exhaustive Good Beer Guide.