Dale Harvey is a man on a mission to champion and save British Pubs. A former publican, in March 2022 he, alongside his partner Holly Booth, set themselves the challenge to visit every pub in Notts. A year or two later, having completed this, they expanded to covering all the pubs in England, Scotland and Wales too. Thus the social media sensation The Great British Pub Crawl was born. Four years, 9500+ beers and over 300k social media followers later ‘Professional Drinker’ Dale is fast closing in on visiting his 10,000th pub…
When did your love of pubs first begin?
My dad used to take me over to the local club as a kid growing up in Bedford and give me a packet of crisps and a Panda Pop. At the age of fifteen I got my first ever job as a pot washer in a hotel. At eighteen I went to work for Whitbread, then at 21 they gave me my own Beefeater – The Flying Horse in Clophill. So it all stemmed from there. I love pubs. I think it's a big part of our culture and our history and something that makes us quintessentially British. Seeing them close down really upsets me.
What brought you to Nottingham?
I'm a Forest fan. Ever since the 1990 World Cup, when Stuart Pearce became my hero. I just loved everything about the guy. When he missed that penalty I was just like, "Whatever team he plays for, I’m going to support them." So I was driving up here to watch Forest all the time, and then I met Holly.
Where did you and Holly meet?
I bet you can’t guess… It was in a pub! It was June 2018 – the day England played Panama in the World Cup. We won 6-1 and Jesse Lingard scored an absolute worldie, something he never did at Forest. Holly had another boyfriend at the time, so I threw my hat in the ring and made my intentions known. It took another year of me chasing her to convince her to go on a date. Now the rest is history.
Did you ever run any pubs in or near Notts?
I was at The Otter in Kegworth, which was a Vintage Inns pub. I was also at The Nuthall in Cinderhill, just off Junction 26. I've worked for all of the big pub companies. When I was with Whitbread, they'd send me to trouble sites – places where they'd lost a manager, or there were problems. I became, in a sense, the Roy Hodgson of Beefeaters.
I love pubs. I think it's a big part of our culture and our history and something that makes us quintessentially British. Seeing them close down really upsets me
What are the modern day challenges landlords face?
The rising costs in this industry are a nightmare. When I first got into the game it wasn't anywhere near as hard as it is now. We're losing hundreds of pubs every year. National Living Wage has increased rapidly, but it just means there’s a lot less jobs. I've been crying out for a VAT reduction for hospitality. How many of us cut our teeth in the working world through hospitality? I learned people skills through those roles. If we lose them, the kids who are now looking for jobs will have nowhere to learn those things.
So how did the Great British Pub Crawl first begin?
Holly and I started it together, but it was only ever supposed to be a hobby. I read a Nottingham Post article listing the best five pubs in Notts. I said to Holly; "How do they know? They haven't been to every pub in Notts. I'm going to do that and I'll tell them the best five”. So we started doing it on weekends. When we did our 100th pub, someone on social media said, "Have you got a list of where you've been? Can you put it on the internet?" What I do now kind of grew from there. I'm still surprised when I look at how many followers we've got and the reach that we have. I visited my 9,500th pub only last week.
What's the plan for the 10,000th?
It's going to have to be in London, because I need a few new pubs I've not done – in all the other big cities like Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow, I've been to the best places. I'm going to try and do it on a Saturday down south, get some press down, and make it a big invite-everyone occasion.
For me on current form, it would take several years to visit 500 pubs. How long will it take you?
About five or six more weeks. It will probably be in late June or early July this year. I only drink halves and try to hit twenty pubs each crawl, but in some places it's more like seventeen or eighteen. I usually do this five nights a week, so it will probably be 25 to thirty more crawls.
You were recently elected to CAMRA’s National Executive board. Tell us about that…
The Campaign for Real Ale has been around since the 70s and has always been the driving force behind keeping real ale alive. It’s accomplished that mission, so real ale is still a thriving industry. CAMRA's voice holds a lot of weight with the government. They've got the respect, they've been there long enough. However, it is very difficult for independent brewers to get their beer onto bars with the pubcos these days. If we don't have any pubs to sell cask ale in, there is no cask ale. I want to help make CAMRA the driving force behind saving pubs as well as real ale.
If you were to write a blueprint for the perfect British pub, what would it be?
I genuinely think the micropub is the way forward. Less overheads, less risk. 99% of micropubs are free of ties from big companies, and can choose what beer they serve. The pubcos are bloodsuckers – they will literally drive a licensee into the ground, then get rid of them and do it to the next poor soul who thinks they're getting a chance to run a pub.
Finally, how is your liver?
According to my doctor, three months ago, it's alright. I probably drank more when I was a landlord, and had people trying to buy me Jagerbombs and Sambucas all night. I don't do any spirits anymore. I've actually lost a bit of weight since I started this too, which is madness. Although obviously I get a lot of exercise walking between the pubs – I regularly get 15-20,000 according to my phone. Plus this country is so hilly! Have you ever been to Steep Hill in Lincoln? I swear it’s actually a mountain.
Follow Dale and Holly’s adventures on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Look out for a longer chat with Dale on the LeftLion Interviews Podcast later this month.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
