The UK’s Friendliest Pubs - 2025 Rundown

Key Findings & Statistics

• The UK’s Friendliest Pub: Fishers Arms, Horncliffe tops the list with an 8.57/10 friendliness score, praised in 66% of Tripadvisor reviews.
• Top 3 Friendliest Pubs in the UK:

  1. Fishers Arms, Horncliffe – 8.57/10 friendliness score.

  2. White Hart Inn, St Dogmaels – 8.27/10, strong global community support.

  3. Case is Altered, Bentley – 8.22/10, known for community events.

• The UK’s Friendliest Region: East Midlands leads with a 6.95/10 friendliness score, with 44% of reviews highlighting its welcoming nature.
• The UK’s Least Friendly Region: London ranks lowest at 0.56/10, with 24% of reviews mentioning ‘unfriendly’ or ‘hostile’.
• Safety & Crime:

  1. The East of England is the safest friendly region (350/1,000 median crime score).

  2. London has one of the highest crime rates (543/1,000).

• Tripadvisor Trends:

  1. The friendliest pubs average 4.5/5 stars.

  2. Over 50% of reviews in the South West mention a welcoming atmosphere.

Which Are the Friendliest Pubs in the UK in 2025?

Horncliffe’s Fishers Arms has been named the friendliest pub in the UK.

1. Fishers Arms, Horncliffe, Berwick-upon-Tweed - 8.57/10 Friendliness Score

The Fishers Arms in Horncliffe, Berwick-upon-Tweed, tops the list as the friendliest pub in the UK, scoring 8.57 out of 10. After its closure in October 2021, a community group was established to raise enough funds to purchase the pub. £200,000 was raised, and the freehold was purchased in July 2022 before the pub officially reopened in December 2023.

With 66.67% of its total Tripadvisor reviews commending the pub for its friendliness, it’s no surprise that The Fishers Arms receives a five-star rating. The area surrounding the pub has a median crime score of 409 out of 1,000, which is 203 points lower than the average for the North East area.

2. White Hart Inn, St Dogmaels, Wales - 8.27/10 Friendliness Score

In second place is The White Hart Inn, scoring 8.27 out of 10. The pub, located in the St Dogmaels area of Cardigan in Wales, has a five-star rating on Tripadvisor. In addition, 66.67% of its reviews mention the words ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’. The nearby area has a median crime score of 609 out of 1,000, with just 39 crimes being reported in 2024.

Before its closure in May 2019, The White Hart Inn was the last traditional pub in the village. After two years of community fundraising, the pub was officially purchased, with supporters even hailing from the likes of Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada.

3. Case is Altered, Bentley, Ipswich - 8.22/10 Friendliness Score

The Case is Altered pub in Bentley, Ipswich, placed third, with a friendliness score of 8.22 out of 10. The establishment, which is owned and run by the local community, was purchased from Punch Taverns in February 2014. It now holds regular events such as open mic nights, quizzes and games nights, and has also previously won the Cask Marque Award.

The area surrounding Case is Altered has a median crime score of 579 out of 1,000, which falls within the typical range of between 382 and 644 for Ipswich. Over 68% of the pub’s Tripadvisor reviews mention its friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and it also has a 4.5 out of five rating.

Which Is the Friendliest Region in the UK?

The East Midlands is the home of the UK’s friendliest pubs.

1. East Midlands - 6.95/10 friendliness score

The East Midlands tops the list as the region with the friendliest pubs, scoring 6.95 out of 10. Almost 44% of Tripadvisor reviews for community pubs in the region mention the words ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’, and they also have an average review score of 4.5 out of five. On average, areas nearby to the region’s community pubs have a median crime score of 350 out of 1,000.

The Thorold, located in the Marston area of Grantham, is the highest-rated East Midlands pub on our list, earning the full five stars. Almost 53% of its Tripadvisor reviews commend the pub for its friendly and welcoming staff. It offers a selection of locally sourced beverages and meals, showing support to trades and small businesses in the surrounding area.

2. East of England - 6.67/10 friendliness score

Next on the list is the East of England, scoring 6.67 out of 10. With an average Tripadvisor review score of 4.5 and over 48% of reviews mentioning the words ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’, it’s no surprise that the area placed so high in the ranking. Pubs in the East Midlands have an average median crime score of 394 out of 1,000, meaning crime doesn’t frequently occur.

There are multiple five-star rated community pubs in the East of England, including The Station in Knebworth, The Pheasant in Great Chishill and The King’s Head in Pebmarsh.

3. South West - 6.11/10 friendliness score

In third place is the South West, which achieved a friendliness score of 6.11 out of 10. The New Inn, located in the Shipton Gorge area of Bridport, became a community-owned pub in 2006 after its closure in the previous year. The traditional countryside pub is perfect to visit in any weather, as you can enjoy a cool beverage in the ‘Secret Garden’ in the summer or cosy up by the log burner inside during the winter months.

Community pubs in the South West have an average median crime score of 405 out of 1,000 and an average Tripadvisor review score of 4.4 out of five. Over 50% of reviews mention their friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

Which Regions Are Considered the Unfriendliest?

London has earned the title of the UK Region with the unfriendliest pubs.

1. London - 0.56/10 Friendliness Score

London tops the list as the region with the least friendly pubs, earning a friendliness score of just 0.56 out of 10. Almost 24% of the area’s community pub reviews mention the words ‘unfriendly’, ‘hostile’ and ‘rude, suggesting that the atmosphere might not be very welcoming. The areas nearby to the pubs on our list also have an average median crime score of 543 out of 1,000, which is the third-highest of all analysed regions.

2. Yorkshire - 2.78/10 Friendliness Score

Yorkshire is in second place, with a friendliness score of 2.78 out of 10. The region’s community pubs are considerably more friendly than those in London, as just 1.27% of their reviews mention an unwelcoming atmosphere or rude behaviour. However, they have an average Tripadvisor review score of 4.3 out of 5, which is the lowest on the list, alongside London and the West Midlands.

3. Wales - 3.89/10 Friendliness Score

Wales places third on the list with a friendliness score of 3.89 out of 10. Pubs in the area have an average median crime score of 566 out of 1,000, which is the highest of all analysed regions. In addition, almost 2% of Tripadvisor reviews for community pubs in Wales refer to them as being ‘unfriendly’, ‘hostile’ or ‘rude. Despite this, the region’s average Tripadvisor review score stands at 4.5 out of five.

How to Create a Safe Environment in a Pub?

A friendly pub atmosphere isn’t just about good service—it’s about safety, security, and effective management. The best pubs in the UK often employ trained security professionals who help maintain a welcoming and secure environment for all visitors.

For anyone working in a pub, whether you’re the owner, manager or bar staff, creating a safe environment should be one of your top priorities. If customers feel relaxed and at ease in your establishment, they are more likely to spend a lot of time there which is of course beneficial to the business.

If you’re able to, it’s helpful to have a number of staff members take part in door supervisor training and personal licence training (APLH) Level 2 By doing this, they will be educated on how to handle a variety of situations, such as managing crowds, checking IDs, de-escalating conflict and dealing with emergencies. It’s important that all of these tasks are carried out efficiently in order to protect customers, staff and the business itself and ensure pub safety.

It’s also a good idea to initiate a safety campaign in your pub to help customers understand and implement safety measures for secure nightlife such as ‘Ask for Angela.’ This allows vulnerable customers to discretely ask a staff member for help if they feel as though they’re in a dangerous or uncomfortable situation, for instance, if they suspect drink spiking or feel threatened by someone. The trained staff member then assists the customer by removing them from the situation, whether that’s reuniting them with a friend, finding them a taxi or even calling the police if necessary.

Any incidents like these should be reported and noted down with as much detail as possible. This further ensures the safety of all customers and staff in the future.

Enhancing Pub Safety and Hospitality with Professional Security Training

At Get Licensed, we offer a range of SIA-approved security training courses, including door supervisor training, security guard training and CCTV training which provide the skills necessary to protect businesses and enhance customer experience. Door supervisors, security guards, and CCTV operators play a key role in managing crowds, handling disputes, and ensuring the safety of customers and staff, enhancing overall pub safety.

Whether you’re a pub owner looking to improve security or an individual seeking a career in the security industry, our courses equip you with the knowledge and certification needed to make a difference and improve pub safety.

By investing in security training, pubs can create safer environments, boost customer confidence, and ultimately enhance their reputation as welcoming spaces for everyone. Explore our courses today to start your journey toward a safer and more secure hospitality industry.

Methodology

• Building Our Pub List: We started by putting together a list of community-owned pubs across the UK. To do this, we pulled information from sources like Camra, Chronicle Live, Pembrokeshire Herald and Halen Mon
• Gathering Review Data: Next, we turned to Tripadvisor to see what customers were saying. We collected each pub’s overall rating, the total number of reviews, and how often words like ‘friendly,’ ‘welcoming,’ ‘unfriendly,’ ‘hostile,’ and ‘rude’ appeared. This helped us calculate the percentage of reviews with positive and negative sentiments.
• Checking Crime Rates: To get a sense of pub safety in each area, we used Crime Rate to find the median crime score based on postcode data. If we couldn’t find crime stats for a pub, we had to remove it from our list.
• Scoring & Ranking: Finally, we gave each factor a normalised score out of 10 and averaged them to create a final friendliness score. We repeated this process to pinpoint the regions with the friendliest and least friendly pubs.