Something positive for a change – I recently paid a visit to York, which reinforced my view that it is by far the finest pub-crawling town or city in England. It has a huge number of characterful, comfortable, welcoming pubs with a range of real ales, which I don’t believe any other city can come close to matching. The tourist trade is obviously a major factor, but other tourist-friendly cities such as Chester don’t remotely come close. Although now out of date, this is a superb guide to York’s pubs.