I love pubs and I usually enjoy a pint after a walk – but not always. If I’m driving a fair distance home, or I’m dehydrated and extremely thirsty, I know that a real ale is not going to make me feel great or allow a speedy recovery. While I applaud the coffee-drinking revolution, who wants a steaming cappuccino after a ramble?
In the lively town of Rawtenstall, south Lancashire, there is a genuine alternative: Mr Fitzpatrick’s, the last traditional temperance bar in the UK. Locally loved, regionally revered, it really should be nationally esteemed – and emulated. Not, I should add, because we need a moral revolution, but because a cool pint of dandelion and burdock is delicious and refreshing (though I have a friend who swears by sarsaparilla), and such abundant choice of alcohol-free drinks is not normally the hallmark of the British beverage sector.
