The Derbyshire Dales has been named the pub capital of the UK, boasting 152 pubs and bars, according to an analysis of government data by the Daily Mirror. This rural area in Derbyshire has the highest density of pubs per adult population in England and Wales, with 25 pubs for every 10,000 adults.
The rankings exclude the City of London and the Isles of Scilly due to their extremely low population numbers skewing the figures. The City of London has 188 pubs (132 per 10,000 adults) and the Isles of Scilly have six pubs (29 per 10,000). Westminster follows closely with 407 pubs, equivalent to 23 per 10,000 adults, while Powys also has 23 per 10,000 with 259 pubs.
Pembrokeshire comes next with 21 pubs per 10,000 adults, followed by Westmorland and Furness, North Yorkshire, Gwynedd, and Ceredigion, each with 18 pubs per 10,000 adults. The data comes amid a challenging year for the pub trade, with a report by UK Hospitality warning that six venues could close daily without support, totaling over 2,000 closures.
In terms of geographic density, London boroughs dominate the top 10. The City of London has 169 pubs per square mile, Westminster 49, Islington 40, Camden 29, Hackney 22, and Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham each 20 per square mile. Outside London, Liverpool has the highest density with nearly 12 pubs per square mile, followed by Manchester (10), Portsmouth and Blackpool (9 each), and Norwich, Brighton, and Bristol (8 each).
