Chequers in Oxford and Red Lion in Northmoor back in guide for 2027
The Good Beer Guide 2027 has few surprises in and around Oxford, but the continuing excellence of a small number of pubs which appear in the guide year after year should be recognised. The only changes in the Oxford branch area are that the Chequers returns after dropping out for 2026, while the Red Lion in Northmoor returns after a two-year gap after a period of closure and change of tenancy.
Competition to get into the guide is fierce with only 24 spots available for Oxford branch, which also covers Abingdon, Witney, Kidlington and surrounding villages. Throughout Oxfordshire there are 67 pubs in the guide out of a nationwide total of about 4,500.
In Oxford CAMRA records going back to 1974, the Rose and Crown in Oxford claims top spot appearing 34 times, including every year except one since 1997 – a terrific achievement. Other exceptional pubs for real ale include the Masons Arms in Headington Quarry (every year since 2005), the Lamb & Flag in Oxford (every year since 2000 except 2022-24, when it was closed for two years), the Brewery Tap in Abingdon (every year since 2008), and the Royal Blenheim (every year except one since 2010).
Other local pubs with a long pedigree in the guide include the Chequers, the Gardeners Arms in Plantation Road, St Aldates Tavern, the White Hart in Headington, the White Rabbit and the Eagle Tavern in Witney.
A return to the guide for the Red Lion means a lot to the small village of Northmoor in West Oxfordshire, where Toby and Deb Merriden took over the Community-Owned pub in 2024 from long-serving tenants Lisa and Ian Neale. It may not offer the gourmet dishes that Ian cooked, but good pub grub continues to be served and traditional pub games have been introduced including Aunt Sally, cribbage, dominoes, shove ha’penny and darts plus quiz and open mic nights, and summer music sessions in the garden.
But well-kept real ale is the all-important criteria for inclusion in the guide, and the Red Lion excels with local breweries such as Hook Norton and Loose Cannon well represented. It is notable that most of the pubs around Oxford appearing most regularly in the guide are independent free houses able to choose their own beer, with pubs including the Lamb & Flag and White Rabbit making a particular point of supporting local breweries.
Graham Shelton, chair of the Community-Owned group that runs the Red Lion, said: “I am thrilled we are back in the guide. It’s a feather in the cap to be included as we are the only GBG pub around here, and inclusion does bring people in.
“Serving real ale well requires care and attention, and Toby spends a lot of time getting it right – it’s both an art and a science. We did a survey before re-opening which showed that what people really wanted was a traditional pub, and this is what we’ve got.”
CAMRA members throughout the country provide the online beer scores on which inclusion in the guide is based, and many good real ale pubs don’t get into the guide because they don’t get enough scores. The guide is regarded as the authoritative and trusted voice of cask beer drinkers and no pub can simply “buy its way in”.
The 2027 edition features 4,500 pubs, 1,700 brewers and 5,000 beers, and the foreword is written by Sir Ian Rankin. He, and his fictional detective Rebus, both frequent the Oxford Bar in Edinburgh, which features on the cover.
More than 800 new entries are included for 2027, but a similar number drop out as they have closed, changed management, no longer serve cask ale or couldn’t get enough scores. Although 57 new breweries are listed, 137 have closed since the 2026 edition was finalised.
“What makes the perfect pub?” asks Sir Ian. “Ask fifty people and you might get fifty different answers… My preferences might not be yours, but there are a few things we can probably agree on. We want the beer to be good and the welcome to be friendly. We want to see signs that the bar represents the best of its community or neighbourhood. We want to feel like we fit in.”
Buy the Good Beer Guide 2027 from the CAMRA website: shop1.camra.org.uk/product/the-good-beer-guide-2027/ and all good bookstores (standard retail price £16.99).
