The Great British Pub Crawl’s Dale Harvey visits boozers in Market Deeping, Langtoft, Etton, Peakirk, Glinton and Helpston

A ‘professional drinker’ has given his verdict on a number of watering holes.

Dale Harvey is a man on a mission to visit and rate every pub in England.

He has already clocked up more than 4,180 venues since his campaign began in spring 2022.

On a trip to the Deepings and surrounding villages yesterday (November 6) he added 16 more boozers to tally which he rated on his The Great British Pub Crawl social media accounts.

The day kicked off in The Waggon and Horses in Langtoft, which Dale described as a beautiful little pub with a surprisingly packed car park for a Wednesday lunchtime. After a bit of investigation he found this was due to a popular carvery .

Next on the list was The Ruddy Duck in Peakirk, which was the first of that name he has visited, followed by ‘an absolute gem of a pub’, The Blue Bell in Glinton.

It was then into Helpston to the second The Bluebell in a row.

Dale said: “Another stunner of a stone building that was also built around the late 1700s and is situated right next door to the cottage where poet John Clare was born and rumour has it, the man himself once worked as a pot washer at the pub.

“Gorgeous inside with another lovely welcome and some top locals who happily chatted away and filled me in on the history of the place

“Food looked amazing, the pub itself is gorgeous throughout and there are four excellent ale choices on the bar alongside brilliant tap offerings. Another top pub!”

Next on Dale’s crawl was The Golden Pheasant in Etton which was followed by a trip to Maxey for the final Blue Bell of the day.

Once in Deeping St James he started with the micropub The Thirsty Giraffe.

The pub crawler said: “Steve [Williams] has run this little belter for the past three years and it's clearly gone from strength to strength and is an absolute little beauty.

“With eight brilliant cask offerings on show and plenty of other choices for those who want something different, this little ripper will keep you happy no matter what your preferences are.

“I love a micropub and this is exactly why.”

From there he continued his tour of Deeping St James with a trip to The Waterton Arms, The Bell - where he met darts legend and pub regular Martin Adams - and The Walnut Tree.

Eleventh on the list and over the border in Market Deeping was The Stage Hotel.

Dale delivered his verdict: “This gorgeous old coaching inn style hotel has a restaurant space to one side and a gorgeous bar area that contains an old well beneath the floor that sadly has been covered over with frosted glass so you can't see down it.

“But everything about this place is top notch.

“Good mix between keg and cask and really friendly staff.”

Onwards to Everards pub The Bull which he described as ‘a super looking place’ before taking a trip next door to The Square.

“Now this was the 50/50 of the day from what I'd heard and I'm happy to be able to say that I actually really like the place,” said Dale.

“There aren't any ales on these days as their new target market is the late night vibe so they stay open until 1am and have plenty of spirits/bottles and keg choices (Neck Oil included) and a pool table on offer.

“Don't let the ghosts of the past steer you clear of here, because they definitely have a decent thing going on.”

From The Square, it was a two-minute walk along to The White Horse and then along to 'The Vine Inn' for his penultimate stop off of the day which had come very highly recommended. According to Dale this was with very good reason as it is ‘an all round great pub’.

The pub crawl drew to a close at wine and cocktail bar Notty’s.

Although disappointed they didn’t have a pina colada on the menu, Dale said: “What they do have is a warm welcome and a brilliant line up of wines and other cocktails and this one is a little piece of class and a great place for a date night.

“A lovely way to round off my Wednesday.”

Dale, alongside wife Holly, has also visited Stamford, Bourne, Oakham, Grantham and Spalding during the past year.

Our Secret Drinker has also begun his own odyssey around pubs in the county. You can catch up with his reviews here.

Where would you choose for a night out? Have your say in the comments below.