The Great British Pub Crawl swings by Stamford

The duo behind The Great British Pub Crawl have visited Stamford on what was the 561st day of their mammoth pub challenge.

Dale Harvey and Holly Booth, a Nottingham-based couple passionate about great boozers, are attempting to visit every pub in the country, and recently visited some popular locals in one of Lincolnshire's most scenic historic market towns.

On 7 October, the couple took the short journey to Stamford, Lincolnshire, where they said it "pretty darn close" to being one of the best places that they have discovered on their gigantic pub crawl.

They said: "We NEED to talk about Stamford... and this isn't like 'Fight Club' where the first rule of Stamford is that you can't talk about Stamford because Stamford absolutely NEEDS to be talked about...

"We instructed our driver for the day to drop us at 'something nice and old looking' which, as we soon found out, doesn't narrow it down in Stamford at all.

"Our first stop off was the 'London Inn' which is a huge pub doing great quality bar food that is separated into a bar side, with plenty of TV's for the sport and food side.

"The pub was absolutely packed - and I do mean packed - and in the bar area there was barely an empty seat. It was mind blowing to us that Stamford was bustling in the way that it was by the time we arrived at around 5pm. The London Inn is clearly a very old pub with some beautiful features and looks to tick all the boxes, when we wandered back past at around midnight it was still kicking with some music blaring out from it's walls and looks to be a fun party vibe! A great start.

The London Inn is a popular spot in Stamford for sport. Image credit: Nub News.

The duo's next stop was The Millstone, just a short walk up the hill past one of Stamford's five beautiful town centre churches.

They continued: "A couple of well worn down stone steps at the front door, gave us some indication that this beautiful pub was another very, very old one! They don't look to offer a traditional food menu inside, but never fear, because as you wander into their beer garden, which just happens to be one of the most impressive looking beer gardens we've ever seen."

They enjoyed the character features, beer garden and wood fired pizza oven in this venue, before heading out the back door and stumbling across their next venue, The Golden Fleece.

You can find The Golden Fleece by Stamford's Sheepmarket. Image credit: Nub News.

They said: "While I am starting to feel a little like I'm repeating myself, I don't really know how else to say that this is another beautiful, old, little pub. There is a nice seating area out the front where you can take stock of your surroundings with a pint in hand. They do offer food at a very reasonable price with a basic British pub style menu that includes things like Jacket Potatoes and Sandwiches. Operated by Everards who are a big Leicestershire pub operator, it's nice to find one of their pubs outside the Leicestershire border."

Just across the road, their next stop with The Stamford Post, Stamford's Wetherspoons. From there, they ventured on to Twelve All Saints.

The duo wrote: "Twelve All Saints is a rustic looking corner bar set on multiple levels. The staff were really friendly and there is a real charm about the place. We headed on upstairs to grab a seat and were lucky enough to sit in a lovely window space that had a coffee table that wouldn't look out of place in Game Of Thrones, where we could look out on the lovely cobbled street below. A really nice atmosphere and good age range mix amongst the customers."

Next up on the crawl was a former Whiskey and Wine Merchants building that now houses 'Paten & Co'.

Dale and Holly added: "The manager, Phil, is knowledgeable and passionate about the business and gave us plenty of insight into the old place even down to the smallest details of certain aspects of the decor that have been sourced from local Stamford landmarks and places, such as the school where they acquired a beautiful long table from that now covers where the old barrel store hatch would have been.

"This quirky and unique pub has a party atmosphere about it and is certainly the more 'upbeat' of the three premises in Stamford currently occupied by the company 'Knead Pubs', who pride themselves on buying very old and historical places to house their pubs in.

"We've never heard of Knead Pubs before but were honestly blown away by what they have to offer and made sure we visited all three in Stamford!"

These included Paten & Co, The Crown Hotel and The Tobie Norris.

The duo didn't stop there: "We then set off to have a bit more of a random trawl through the streets and see what we stumbled across and were lucky enough to find another little gem that is basically in the shadow of yet another of Stamford's grand looking church buildings, The King's Head which quotes 1675 as it's year of origin.

"This exquisite little pub isn't the biggest in size, but it is certainly big in heart and again, you can feel the love and the passion from the staff and guys running it, who just can't do enough for you. It's table service, which is perfect because it means that the pub remains uncluttered by bodies trying to stand and drink and you can actually enjoy and take in your surroundings as you enjoy a beer from their well stocked beer board."

They then decided that The Lord Burghley would be their next stop, as "it was just too beautiful looking to walk past."

Their final stop of the night, and a top spot for the later night, party atmosphere was Mama Liz's.

Mama Liz's was the final stop of the night for The Great British Pub Crawl duo. Image credit: Nub News.

They said: "From the moment we arrived, it's clear to see why this is Stamford's number one destination for those wanting a laid back party atmosphere and a late drink. A great pub with a dance floor room, an ample courtyard space for warmer nights and a chill out room with sofas as well as the option to open up an additional floor for busy nights and special occasions."

The question is, did the duo change their minds, and is Stamford the best place that they have visited thus far?

The answer was: "Yes, I think it is, and if date night vibes, old pubs, friendly people and cobbled streets, mixed in with great architecture is your kind of thing, then we would urge you to check out Stamford. We cannot wait to go back and do the other half of the town."

Check out their antics from this fateful visit on Youtube: