12 Pubs Of Christmas

Good Beer Guide editor and St Albans resident Roger Protz chooses his favourite Herts pubs at Christmas – 12 historic inns that hit the festive spot for drinks, food and atmosphere

ST ALBANS

St Albans offers two sharply contrasting pubs. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, officially the country’s oldest pub, all ancient beams, settles and blazing fires, will feature live entertainment over the Christmas period, with carols on December 19 and a pub quiz the following day. This Good Beer Guide-listed pub will serve a remarkable 30 cask beers. Festive food includes French onion soup, smoked salmon, squash, chestnut and sage roll, Suffolk turkey, beef Wellington, grilled trout, wild mushroom, goats’ cheese and black truffle pie, followed by Christmas pudding, tiramisu or chocolate brownie.

The Verulam Arms is also known as The Foragers, as the owners scour the countryside for wild ingredients. The festive menu includes borscht beetroot soup (vegan option), Scottish monkfish tails with chestnuts and potatoes, the quaintly-named badger’s balls, a vegetarian dish of mixed greens and mushrooms, hog belly with scrumpy and apple sauce, Verulam burger with Douglas fir needles, duck glazed with sea buckthorn, pumpkin Wellington, apple and sweet woodruff cheesecake, boozy Christmas pud and sticky toffee pudding.

ALDBURY

The Valiant Trooper in Aldbury is a celebrated 17th-century inn in the stunning Chiltern Hills and is the local CAMRA pub of the year, with beers from Chiltern and Tring breweries. Christmas meals are offered at £24 for three courses and £19 for two and include wild mushroom and chestnut soup, spiced ham hock croquettes, soused herring with horse radish rémoulade, turkey, ham and cranberry pie, seafood and spinach lasagne, chestnut and Wensleydale sausage roll, venison and stilt on burger, mince pie with Christmas pudding and ice cream, coconut and lime posset with brandy snap.

OLD WELWYN