A students’ guide to some of the best-loved local pubs

The pub remains one of Britain’s best-loved institutions, and as community spaces continue to be shut down and society becomes increasingly atomised, it seems they remain more important than ever. However, last summer saw eight pub closures a week, as many local institutions were unable to keep their doors open. With this in mind, The Boar has reached out to several student writers, asking them to share their thoughts on their favourite local pubs, with the hope of recording them in case they’re replaced with yet another hairdresser’s.

The Benjamin Satchwell: A port in the storm of £6 pints by Amelia Farmer

Whether your local Wetherspoons is named after a deceased white man of minute significance to your community or a conventional British noun phrase such as ‘The Jolly Sailor’ or ‘The White Hart’, one thing I’m sure we can all agree on is that it forms the backbone of British pub culture, if not Leamington Spa itself. Whilst many local pubs are under threat due to economic challenges along with a cultural shift towards sobriety, it is safe to say that any Wetherspoons in a student-dominated town are sure to stay in business.

If you prefer to remain incognito, the app provides a guise through which you can pretend to peruse your messages, when in reality you are consulting the encyclopaedia of alcohol as if it were the first book ever written

Its magnetism is irresistible, with the promise of running into at least one familiar face or witnessing a tussle. Yet, if you prefer to remain incognito, the app provides a guise through which you can pretend to peruse your messages, when in reality you are consulting the encyclopaedia of alcohol as if it were the first book ever written. No matter the night out you are planning, the likelihood is that it will start or end in spoons, the soft siren song of the capital W beckoning with prices that won’t make you want to bring up your previous drink.

The Copper Pot full of gold at the end of the rainbow by Emily Cornish

The Copper Pot is one of the many treasured institutions in North Leam, alongside the likes of the Clarendon and the Greyhound. Its average-priced drinks and run-of-the-mill atmosphere mean it doesn’t particularly stand out, and yet many students flock to its doors when in need of somewhere to go on a bar crawl.

The Copper Pot is a valued part of student nightlife in Leamington; you neither love it nor hate it. It’s purely medium

It has many attractive features. Offering live music, bringing together students and Leamington locals, and even housing a statue of a random footballer, whose presence is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

Overall, The Copper Pot is a valued part of student nightlife in Leamington; you neither love it nor hate it. It’s purely medium. But be warned, your pint might also come with a complimentary performance of live bongos!

A charming simplicity: The Dirty Duck by Nikolai Morton

The Dirty Duck is the prime spot for a post-seminar pint, and the pub you’ll frequent most often as a Warwick student.

While the drinks offering has shapeshifted over the years (RIP Staropramen and Wingman, welcome Alpacalypse), there’s still something for all, and the affordable food options – from your Thai dishes to your classic burger and pint combos – do the job. The food service is usually rapid too (perhaps worryingly so), although the rare exception may see you waiting a century for your hard-earned meal. Regrettably enough, I was compelled to write a Google review of the place last summer when the bar staff forced me to repeat a transaction that – for them at least – “hadn’t gone through”. It was a wound which somewhat tarnished my affection for the establishment.

But the venue’s lack of sympathy for student finance is covered by its charming ambience and quirks (quacks?). The Duck provides it all, from forgetting your table number and running back to squint at the repurposed Jack Daniels bottle, to doing the rounds in the midst of an institutional seat shortage to ask whether empty chairs are being used, or simply not being ready to order when the staff make eye contact due to the distracting amount of duck-related ephemera lining the shelves behind them.

The Duck is synonymous with good vibes and good times. I’ll miss it dearly when I graduate. It may be simple, but it’s a charming simplicity, and allows you to revisit that first-year ‘campus bubble’ feeling you thought you’d never capture again

The regular karaoke and quiz nights, both of which go on far too long, are admittedly some further highlights. And you can also choose from a magnificent array of seating options, including cosy out-of-the-way booths, high tables from which to gaze down at your fellow diners, those large armchairs where half of the seat material seems to have been mauled by a dog, exposing the foam beneath, and those long tables where you can’t speak to half the people all night. And then in summer, the outside tables provide serene views of campus – if you look beyond the sorry state of Whitefields, that is.

In short, the Duck is synonymous with good vibes and good times. I’ll miss it dearly when I graduate. It may be simple, but it’s a charming simplicity, and allows you to revisit that first-year ‘campus bubble’ feeling you thought you’d never capture again.

More than meets the eye: Meet the pub that does it all by Rachel Gore

A short walk down from Leamington Spa’s parade is The Micro Pug, a cosy pub which provides the perfect spot to drink and chat with friends.

When you step inside, you’ll immediately spot the upstairs bar, which has a range of on-tap drinks and a wider menu which includes cocktails. Behind a hidden door and down some steps is the ‘secret’ downstairs bar. With fairy lights, a pinball machine, and television screens, this area is what makes The Micro Pug such an inviting environment for its visitors.

If you’re not looking for alcohol and food, then The Micro Pug is still the place for you; during the day, it serves coffee and is the perfect place to study

Some of The Boar’s most avid readers and writers might remember this downstairs section from The Boar Awards, the society’s annual event, which is hosted at The Micro Pug. These individuals will also recall the pub’s outdoor area.

Backing onto the canal, the garden comes alive in the summer months – especially given that pizza can be ordered to the venue and enjoyed by customers.

If you’re not looking for alcohol and food, then The Micro Pug is still the place for you; during the day, it serves coffee and is the perfect place to study. Perhaps it’s this versatility that makes this Leamington pub one of the most popular among Warwick students.

Murphy’s lore by Will Moores

It’s my sincere belief that Murphy’s may have been built with the explicit purpose of baffling its clientele at every turn. The underground is broadly inhospitable, yet the service couldn’t be friendlier. The pub playlist seems to have been curated by Spotify’s most eclectic user, covering 40s swing, modern pop, and hip-hop classics. A PlayStation sits beside an 80s arcade machine. Upstairs feels like a smart new bar; downstairs feels like a scene from Saw.

Murphy’s landlord is also iconic, having changed his name to Batman in a council dispute, dyed his hair green, grown tomatoes in the bar’s window, and married his mate to raise money for Myton Hospices

The basement booths feel like they were built during the Blitz. A portrait that looks suspiciously like Osama Bin Laden resides beside a wooden swing. When the concerningly damp walls aren’t adorned with controversial portraits, they’re covertly covering your coat in white paint if you lean against them. Yes, there is a sign warning you not to; yes, I have got the paint off my coat; and no, it actually took three separate washes. Murphy’s landlord is also iconic, having changed his name to Batman in a council dispute, dyed his hair green, grown tomatoes in the bar’s window, and married his mate to raise money for Myton Hospices.

All of this is to say: get yourself to Murphy’s. It’s a baffling joy, even if it is £5 for a Carling.

Craving pints in the sun? Beat the heat and head Southbound by Ben Tanguy

I can say from personal experience (twice) that even a crippling hangover is no obstacle to Southbound’s charm. Nestled under a railway arch in South Leam, the café-bar has an undeniably cosy atmosphere in all seasons, with the drinks to match. Settle down with a fortified wine or enjoy a continental beer from the extensive list on offer, while perusing their well-curated bookshelf, which, as an insufferable literature student, I can give a seal of approval. Hot chocolate, coffee, and snacks are also available for the less alcoholically-inclined.

The café-bar has only been around since March 2024, but has quickly become integral to the local community, with a variety of live grassroots music to enjoy – blues, jazz, and more – in the latter half of the week. New events are regularly organised, so keep an eye on their website or Instagram.

They also pointed to an upcoming blues festival hosted alongside Temperance, itself a student hotspot, from 8–10 May, which will undoubtedly provide much-needed respite from looming Term 3 deadlines

Southbound was also kind enough to respond to a request for comment (take notes, Stuart Croft). A staff member told The Boar: “Our gigs are currently free to attend and attract a good, friendly crowd. It is a safe and welcoming community! We look forward to welcoming more students as the summer approaches, and we get a bit of sunshine in the yard out front.”

They also pointed to an upcoming blues festival hosted alongside Temperance, itself a student hotspot, from 8–10 May, which will undoubtedly provide much-needed respite from looming Term 3 deadlines. What better way to detox during exam season?

A pub with a pool table: TJs by Lex Gillard

A pub can be just alright in every capacity, but the second it has a pool table, it immediately jumps up the rankings. This is essentially how I feel about TJs. While the selection of alcohols is nothing special, and the price isn’t comparable to Spoons, it does have a pool table, which is all that really matters.

TJs even has a small basketball hoop right near the pool table, and watching friends try trick shots and failing spectacularly is without a doubt a brilliant laugh

The place is relatively quaint; both times I have been there, it has been quiet, with no queue for drinks. TJs even has a small basketball hoop right near the pool table, and watching friends try trick shots and failing spectacularly is without a doubt a brilliant laugh. The only thing I would comment on is to bring pound coins, as there is no proper way to exchange them there. This is a particular bar that is wholly alright, and its relative quietness means I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s struggling. Definitely a shout to stop by, especially on a bar crawl, as it’s right near Neon.

Varsity: A love letter to The Oaks’ local by Tom Ryan

As any good journalist knows (read: as any tabloid journalist avoids), you should always declare any conflicts of interest when writing an article. Let me start by declaring my sins then: I’m an Oaks resident. Forever saving money and time on the buses, always getting hampered by broken lifts and questionable social events.

The Great British weather guarantees that at least once a week (or, in reality, every day), Westwood Way’s paths will be flooded – left with a questionable patchwork of murky rainwater and muddy ditches. The question is, then: what to do when you don’t want to tackle this obstacle course, fit with swinging umbrellas and incognito bikes? Stop at Varsity and get a drink, of course.

If you’re ever in need of a pick-me-up, maybe you want to escape the warbling of Wednesday night Duck karaoke, then make that journey beyond campus and go and be Varsity’s one customer for the day

Ah, Varsity: the often deserted, overpriced (I’ll happily dispute this) beacon of light standing on the edge of Warwick’s campus. What it lacks in the Duck’s offering of pints of Purple and smash burgers, it makes up for in character, warmth, and reprieve from the deluges of rain.

While a Canley dweller or Oaks survivor may not have the same vast offering of pubs as in Leam, Varsity acts as the perfect middle-ground. Enough draught beers, gins, and wines to choose from, a hearty offering of food, and even (quite randomly) a selection of board games, if Curiositea just doesn’t quite fit the bill one day.

If you’re ever in need of a pick-me-up, maybe you want to escape the warbling of Wednesday night Duck karaoke, then make that journey beyond campus and go and be Varsity’s one customer for the day. If nothing else, it saves the horrendous U1 journey.