Ale and hearty after 30 years

Thirty years ago, the Black Country Ale Tairsters set about their mission – to drink a pint of ale in every one of Great Britain's estimated 48,000 pubs.

Although not there just yet, founding members Peter Hill and John Drew have now visited 18,000 of the country's boozers.

The Express & Star caught up with some of the regulars to find out what it is about the nation's public houses that keeps them coming back for more.

"I think we'll stay at this pub for a while yet, but we may squeeze in number 18,001 later on this evening."

The Saxon Penny in Lichfield was number 18,000 and 58-year-old Peter Hill, from West Bromwich, has no plans to stop his epic quest anytime soon.

"I am still as excited about going on the trips now as when we started all those years back," he said.

"It is always a new area, a new place to see and experience. It sounds silly after 30 years but it's true. We had never been to Solihull but we did that on Saturday and we had a cracking time. We did 14 pubs over there and went to a bar at the Christmas Market – but we won't be including that on the official list."

It all started for the Ale Tairsters in 1984 when Peter founded the group with his dad, Joe Hill, who died earlier this year, and close friend John Drew. Having become bored of always visiting the same pub, the trio began their ambitious quest by visiting each and every one of the Banks's pubs.

But when those ran dry – the group having conquered the Black Country by 1990 – it was time to expand their horizons.

As well as weekly trips to a new watering hole, there are monthly excursions for the 12 to 15 members on a rented minibus and the numbers quickly begin to add up. So far the group has travelled a total of 265,260 miles.

Between them, they speculate they could have downed a staggering 36,000 pints.

Every pub they visit is rated, photos are taken and information is noted down.

Peter has accumulated 140 box folders full of paperwork recording their visits and has captured the memories with more than 35,000 photos.

He said: "Although it may be a big surprise to people, we're not massive drinkers. We just love pubs and everything about them.

"We have our own score cards to fill in and we write the number of the pub on the card and ask the landlord to sign the book we have which has information from every bar we go to.

"We also keep a record of the pubs we go to by taking a photo of the pub, inside and out, and make a note of anything special about the place."

The Ale Tairsters, who wear uniforms made out of waistcoats fashioned from old beer towels, have grown in numbers over the years. From the founding three members, there are around 12 to 15 regulars and there is always a rush for seats on the monthly minibus.

"For me it is the adventure, the camaraderie between us all. It's a great bunch of lads," said 70-year-old Mac Maynard, from Tipton.

Having been with the group since 2001, he knows a thing or two about what makes a good pub. He added: "It is all about the real ale. Some of the pubs have just got keg beers or lager which just isn't going to cut it.

"It is those pubs as well which are completely unique. You find out so much stuff that without doing this and without visiting the pubs we would never have discovered."

Neil Henwood, 42, from Tipton, a regular for the last eight years, admits he has lost track of how many pubs he has been in.

"It is good fun – we have a good laugh," he said. "We have got a good team of lads who all drink together in the week at local pubs anyway.

"What makes an especially good pub is a good atmosphere, good beer, friendly locals and friendly bar staff. The pub can look run down but it doesn't matter, as long as it has got an atmosphere. That is the key." The group unquestionably like a drink – but they also like to do it in the right way. It is less about bingeing and more about enjoying the company of friends.

Neil added: "The trick is not to go mad. Even when we go for a day-out I make sure I don't go over the top.

"You haven't got to get absolutely paralytic and be stumbling all over the place. You have got to take your time and enjoy yourself."

It is a view shared by all of the Ale Tairsters including one of the youngest recruits, 24-year-old Nathan Ellis, from Tipton.

"We all have days where we detox," he said.

"And when we are out it is not always about having a session. A lot of the lads don't drink at home and often we will have just one or two." When they are not sampling the local tickle, the Ale Tairsters are raising money for charity.

In every pub they ask for a £1 donation, with the money going to the children's ward at Sandwell Hospital. So far they have collected £18,500.

Nathan added: "I think it all probably started as just a bit of a laugh. It became more of a challenge and then after that, a hobby.

"Now part of the reason we stick at it is the charity side of things. We have raised a lot of money and what Pete has done over the years is great."

For all the group Peter is the one who holds them together. He is their leader and strategist.

Under his stewardship, the Ale Tairsters bagged the record for being the first to travel to pubs around the entire coastline of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

And last year they completed a seven-year mission to visit all 3,905 pubs in Wales, raising £11,000 in the progress.

At 58 he has no intention of walking away from the quest anytime soon.

He said: "We are just going to keep going until our livers give out, or at least something gives out. It turned from a bit of fun to a serious hobby.

"I'll be doing this for as long as I can – I intend to visit every pub I can. Although I'll soon be 60 and I wonder where all the years have gone."

Peter is always looking for the group's next adventure but admits since Wales he has had to reassess how they go about their quest.

He added: "We are having to look at the way we work now as we have had various drivers but I think they have started to have enough. I think Wales pretty much killed them off.

"To be honest we have all had enough of travelling on the roads by car. We are looking at using the trains now where we could get some good deals to some of the bigger cities and towns."

The Ale Tairsters are also closing in on yet another milestone.

By March next year they hope to have drunk an ale in every single pub in the West Midlands.

But having travelled the region over 30 years, Peter is having to check which ones have opened up which he may have missed first time around.

"It is alright when they open here in West Bromwich because I'm likely to hear about it," he said. "When you have been to so many you do tend to forget a few."

There are, however, plenty which stick in Peter's memory.

"The Highwayman Inn in Stourton in Devon," he says. "We went in 1984, right back at the start, but that is still the most unique. The then landlady is still there now. We have exchanged Christmas cards ever since."

The Black Country still ranks as one of the best areas in the country, according to Peter, at which to find a good ale.

On Saturday the Ale Tairsters went back to their Black Country routes and popped into the Christmas Festival at Wolverhampton's Banks's brewery shop. But as usual the group couldn't stay for too long and were soon back on the road to continue their quest.

Peter said: "We would never live long enough to have a drink in every pub in England.

"But we have so much fun doing this that we will keep going on and just see how far we can take it."