Pubs are a quintessential part of British culture. There are over 61,000 pubs in the UK at the moment and the figure is rising.

53,000 of these are in England and Wales, 5,200 are in Scotland and there are 1,600 in Northern Ireland. Pubs have been around for centuries. The Fighting Cocks is officially Britain's oldest pub and dates back to the 11th century.

The British like their beer. They drink an average of 99.4 litres of beer every year. More than 80% of this beer is drunk in pubs and clubs.

The Pub is an important social meeting place for the British. People go to the pub to talk eat, drink, meet their friends, do business, celebrate, have fun and also to get drunk!

English bars normally have two sections; one quiet section where people usually sit down and eat (the lounge) and a more lively section where people stand chatting and drinking (the bar). In the summer, a lot of UK pubs have beer gardens, which get packed on the hot sunny days.

Traditionally Britain's most popular beer was "bitter"; a dark drink served at room temperature. Nowadays, lager and Guinness are just as popular. They drink a lot of Cider in the west of England as that's where it comes from. The British normally drink pints as opposed to bottles or glass of beer.