“As Brits battle the country’s often-dire rail network”, railway pubs are sometimes the only thing that “keeps us sane amid countless delays, cancellations and strikes”, said Ed Cunningham on Time Out. If you find yourself at a loose end, or in need of travel refreshment, here are some of the best places across the country for a railway pint.
Tap on the Line, Kew, London
“Perched right on the platform at Kew Gardens station is a charming little boozer,” said Katie Forge on Secret London. London is known for its quirky pubs but few are this “unique”. The Tap on the Line (pictured above) is the only pub in the capital which sits directly on a tube station platform, and is one of the last remaining 19th-century stations. “It’s one of the very few places in the city where you can see your train coming, sink your pint, and still be on board by the time the train is ready to depart”. It also has regular live music, pub quizzes and a “wonderful atmosphere”.
The Sheffield Tap, Sheffield
“By my estimation the best station pub in Britain, the Sheffield Tap even stands out in a city full of excellent places for a pint,” said Will Hawkes in The Telegraph. This “Edwardian treasure” has been carved out of the station’s former “Refreshment Rooms”. It had been lying derelict until the mid-1970s, but has been given a second lease of life. It oozes class with a “mahogany bar, ornate barrel-plaster ceiling and terrazzo floor”, and even has a brewery in the “magnificent inner room”, which used to be the first class dining room. “A very elegant place for a pint indeed”.
Scott & Brassey, Carlisle, Cumbria
The Scott & Brassey has only been open since February, said Rachel Dixon in The Guardian, but you can still feel the history of the site. Its predecessor, the 301 Miles From London, closed in 2023, and customers can enjoy the same spot on platform 4, now with a “slick makeover”. There’s still the same original wooden entrance lobby, “hammerbeam roof and Tudor-style stone fireplaces”. Eight handpumps line the mahogany bar, and the feature wall behind is full of clocks, so there’s “no excuse for missing your train”.
Bank of Conwy, Conwy, North Wales
This warm, welcoming pub is across the road from the station at the “heart of this beautiful seaside town with a castle overlooking the harbour”, said Phil Mellows in The i Paper. It has been open since 2015, and has “warmly embraced modern craft beer”, with local favourites from Wild Horse Brewing down the coast at Llandudno. The building itself is a “nicely restored Grade II-listed former bank”, and has plenty of good cask ales on the pumps too, for “those of a more traditional disposition”.