A real ale enthusiast is celebrating after dedicating six years and £66,000 to visit every single pub listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Peter Hill, 69, marked his 4,500th pub from the "beer drinkers bible" with a visit to The Mermaid in St Albans, Herts., on Friday. Since 2019, he has been using £11,000 annually from his pension to traverse the country, sampling the offerings of Britain's finest pubs.

Peter has racked up an astonishing 130,000 miles on his ambitious mission to patronise every pub featured in the 2020 CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Peter, hailing from West Bromwich, West Mids., commented: "The CAMRA guide is a bit like the beer drinker's bible - they know a good pub so I thought I'd try them all.

"It was all completely self-financed, I pretty much spent my pension on it - but I've been raising money for charity along the way.

"For the last six years it has cost me about £11,000 a year getting to all these pubs.

"It started out in October 2019 when that guide came out - it has taken me up and down the country and to many islands too.

"I have been to the likes of the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Isles of Scilly crossing off pubs - it has taken some doing.

"It's the definitive guide for great pubs, I've had great fun doing and met some amazing people along the way."

Currently, this dedicated drinker is embarking on the world's longest pub crawl, having spent over 40 years since 1984 visiting more than 24,000 watering holes.

The Mermaid marked his 24,460th pub, where he received what he described as a "treated like a celebrity" welcome. He recalled: "It was a cracking day and night, absolutely fantastic, I was treated like a celebrity."

He continued: "Even the local MP turned out and the chairman of the local CAMRA branch, they all took me on a pub crawl and I was presented with a plaque."

Peter has successfully raised £7,150 for the Midlands Air Ambulance through his CAMRA pub visits, emphasising the charitable aspect of his endeavour: "I've managed to raised £7,150 for the Midlands Air Ambulance just by doing the CAMRA pubs so its all for a good cause too."

He explained his fundraising approach: "I only ask for a quid a pub and the licensees and some of the locals usually donate."

Already planning ahead, Peter added: "I was even able to cross off four pubs on the way home, which are in the 2026 CAMRA guide."

However, he remained coy about future plans: "I'm not sure if I'll work my way through all of those yet - I'm keeping that idea under wraps for now as I don't know what the missus will say."

Peter's epic pub odyssey has seen him clock up 400,000 miles and consume an impressive 60,000 pints since embarking on his journey in 1984 - when a pint cost just 64p.

Peter and his companions - known as the Black Country Ale Tairsters - began exploring different establishments after growing tired of frequenting the same local.

Since then, Peter has secured his place in the record books by visiting venues across the nation, averaging 11 pubs weekly.

The father-of-two explained the origins of his quest: "It all started by just crossing off all the pubs on a local Bank's map of Wolverhampton pubs back in 1984."

He added: "We then did every pub in every Midlands county, which took me 23 years and then every pub in Wales, which took seven years.

"We've had a pint on 69 islands around the UK and visited a boozer in every British county.

"We just kept on going and going and ended up setting a world record for the longest pub crawl.

"But I needed a new challenge and I'd always wanted to complete one of the CAMRA guides - now I can say I've done it.

"I've been a member of CAMRA since 1990 so it's a nice achievement.

"CAMRA was based in St Albans when I started out so I thought it would be a great place to finish.

"Plus it's a great town for a pub crawl and beers as well.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever stop my pub crawl as there's still hundreds of pubs out there. I'll keep on going while I can.

"There's a little group of us who go, the numbers have gone up and down as people have got married, sometimes I just go by myself now.

"We don't drink to excess. We used to get a little drunk in the early days. It's more of a mature hobby now.

"I mainly stick to the real ales but we'll try the odd stout and mild too. I can be a bit more picky these days.

"And my favourite pubs are always the old-fashioned traditional boozers - and of course, it helps if they have a good beer on.

"As long as I've got some money I'll do my best to keep coming out to try and help keep the pubs open."

Peter reveals the finest brews he's sampled throughout the years include Oakham Cistra, Abbeydale Moonshine or Deception, Ossett White Rat and Black Country Ales.

"My last pub in the CAMRA 2020 guide. Brilliant licensees, fabulous beer, best Oakham Citra for miles, and a great day, courtesy of the local South Herts CAMRA branch. A must visit."

"I had a tour of the Wharfedale Brewery and drinking its excellent beers."

 "A proper locals pub with wall TV's, pool and very well kept Surrey Hills beers".

"A welcoming country pub. Superb beers and ciders. Every third week there's a beer honesty board where you drink your beer and put the required money in the box."

"A cracking micro pub. The licensee cycled to the very first 100 micro pubs that opened all for charity. A lovely welcome."

"A 1,200 mile round trip to visit this one. A friendly welcome, but I missed the food by 10 minutes. So, I had 5 pints instead and slept in a nearby Tractor Shed."

"A friendly and busy community owned pub, with regular beer festivals in the large marquee."

"A classic back street pub with small rooms and top-notch real ales."

"The name of the pub says it all. Beers straight out the barrels."

"A smart old multi-roomed Fuller's pub, not to miss."

"A bustling, characterful B&B country pub, serving lovely real ales and tasty food."

"A friendly, locals CAMRA award-winning pub."