The Shrewsbury and West Shropshire Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the organisation which fights for traditional beer, cider and pubs, today announced the winners of the 2025 Pubs and Clubs of the Year Competition for Shrewsbury and West Shropshire. The overall big winner is The Bailey Head.

The West Shropshire area has 240 pubs and clubs selling real ale. In the first stage of the Pub of the Year competition, Branch members visit pubs and score the beer quality. Members then vote on the overall experience in these pubs to produce a shortlist of pubs – three in Shrewsbury, three in West Shropshire market towns and four from rural West Shropshire.

Shortlisted pubs are visited anonymously by experienced surveyors who mark the pub on beer quality and knowledge, cleanliness, commitment to the community and CAMRA, and service and overall experience using a nationally agreed scheme. This year’s competition was again finely balanced, with all the finalists within only a few marks of each other. The Branch overall winner goes on to compete with pubs across the country to win CAMRA’s Pub of the Year for the whole of the UK.

A parallel process takes place to find the Branch Cider Pub of The Year, and the Bailey Head also came out top in that competition.

Competition co-ordinator Norrie Porter said “The Bailey Head, which was declared CAMRA’s Regional Cider Pub of The Year and overall National Pub of The Year for 2024, really is an exceptional pub, offering great quality to a well-formed local community but also attracting many visitors to the town”.

Owners Grace Goodlad and Duncan Borrowman said “It is amazing to have won the Shrewsbury & West Shropshire Pub of the Year and Cider Pub of the Year awards again. It is an incredibly tough competition with almost 250 venues in an area with many superb pubs. I am incredibly grateful to our wonderful team, fabulous regulars and the people of Oswestry for their fantastic support”

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Yesterday we were presented with the CAMRA National Pub of the Year Award!

We were presented with the award by Laura Emson, CAMRA’s National Executive member responsible for awards, together with National Chair Ash Corbett-Collins and Helen Morgan MP.

Midlands Today coverage

The One Show

Here are some photos from what was an amazing day!

All photos by Graham Mitchell

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Regulars and visitors from far and wide came together to celebrate The Bailey Head pub in Oswestry receiving their certificate for becoming one of the four national finalists in the Campaign for Real Ale Pub of the Year award.

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We are astounded to have made it to the final four for the CAMRA National Pub of the Year!

Everyone is invited to the presentation of our finalists certificate at 1pm on Saturday, 23 November. The bar will feature three collaboration cask beers we are brewing with Riverhead (Ossett), Castle Rock and Stonehouse.

CAMRA said:

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has announced the four best pubs in the UK as part of its prestigious Pub of the Year 2024 competition

The Bailey Head has been named one of the four best pubs in the UK after winning a place in the Super Regional round of the Pub of the Year competition.

Nestled near the Welsh borders in the charming market town of Oswestry, the Bailey Head is a must visit for beer and cider lovers. The pub has one of the largest beer ranges of any in Shropshire, claiming to have sold over 3,400 different draught beers since opening in March 2016. Six constantly changing cask beers, always including one dark beer, are supplemented by eleven other draught beers, plus four ciders and a perry. The pub also has a substantial range of canned and bottled beers from across the UK and overseas.

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) named the pub the UK’s Best Rural Independent Craft Beer Pub or Bar in 2020, and it has been a finalist for the same award many times since. Grace, Duncan, and their team also organise regular tap takeovers and meet the brewer events for the local community.

Landlord Duncan Borrowman said: “To say we are shocked to make it into the final four is an understatement. I am not sure we will ever stop pinching ourselves. It is a testament to our hard-working small team of dedicated staff and our loyal regulars.”

Landlady Grace Goodlad said: “When we bought the pub nearly nine years ago, we never dreamt this could happen. It had been failing under the ownership of a major pub company and CAMRA had it protected as an Asset of Community Value. We couldn’t have done this without that happening.”

Shelly Bentley, West Midlands Regional Director for CAMRA, said:

“A huge congratulations is in order to all at the Bailey Head who have put in the phenomenally hard work to achieve this accolade. I applaud Duncan and Grace’s passion to delivering an exceptional range of beers for their customers, who are very clearly at the centre of Bailey Head’s heart.

“The journey from a tired pub that needed an Asset of Community Value protection, to now achieving Super Regional Pub of the Year is astounding. This is certainly reflected in Duncan, Grace and the rest of the team’s devotion to deliver great beer to their local community, and I hope regulars and new visitors alike will be raising a toast to them all during their next visit.”

National Pub of the Year Coordinator Andrea Briers said: “I am thrilled to unveil our top four pubs in the UK, and I could not hope for a better set of finalists. It gets harder each year to whittle down the regional and national top 17 pubs to just four places, such is the standard of the competition. These fantastic four are the epitome of what a good pub should be; welcoming to all, friendly hardworking staff and serve well maintained cask beer for a wonderful pub going experience. I am excited to find out which one will be crowned the best pub in the UK.”

“Pubs need our support more than ever, as the licensed trade continues to feel the strain under the burden of unfair tax, high costs and regulations. I urge all pub lovers and beer drinkers to experience not only our incredible Pub of the Year finalists, but support as many pubs as possible.”

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When regulars went along to The Bailey Head pub in Oswestry on Friday night they got a surprise.

The post Oswestry’s Bailey Head Pub wins surprise West Midlands Cider Award appeared first on The Bailey Head, Oswestry.

There is a really good article in the latest edition of My Shrewsbury Magazine about us and Stonehouse Brewery by Laura Hadland.

It is on page 59 here.

Buy tickets to our Tutored Beer Tasting with Laura Hadland on 20 June here.

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Just days after receiving a highly commended in the Society of Independent Brewers Best UK Independent Rural Craft Beer Pub or Bar Award we have won Shrewsbury & West Shropshire CAMRA Pub of the Year for the second year running and the third time overall, Shrewsbury & West Shropshire CAMRA Market Towns Pub of the Year for the eighth time and Cider Pub of the Year for the first time!

Grace said “The whole team at The Bailey Head are thrilled to be recognised by the Campaign for Real Ale with these awards. To win Shrewsbury and West Shropshire Pub of the Year, Market Towns Pub of the Year and Cider Pub of the Year is a massive achievement. I am incredibly grateful to our wonderful team, fabulous regulars and the people of Oswestry for their fantastic support.”

Duncan said: “We have been known for our beer range and quality since we opened eight years ago, but last year we decided to up our cider and perry game. We now have six draught ciders and perries and we ensure they are always ones made from apples, not from concentrate. I am especially pleased that we have been recognised for our efforts in providing real cider.”

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