Glasses have been raised in dozens of pubs across the three counties as the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has released the Good Beer Guide 2026.

Watering holes from around the Farnham, Alton and Petersfield areas are among the 4,500 pubs and 1,600 breweries from around the UK listed in the guide, released on Thursday and compiled using feedback and submissions from CAMRA members.

And while there’s plenty of familiar names on the list, there’s a few newer ones and re-entries with Farnham Town Brewery, the Borough Beer House and Royal Oak in Lower Farringdon, south of Alton, among them.

The Hop Blossom, Bat & Ball, Alfred Free House and Sandrock are among the Farnham-area pubs on the list while country gems like the Bluebell in Dockenfield, The Crossways Inn Churt and the Good Intent Puttenham also make the cut.

Farnham-area breweries in the guide include regulars like Hogs Back alongside the likes of Farnham, Godalming Beerworks, Terra Tempo and Tilford.

Farnham Town Brewery Greg Strutton Beerex
Greg Strutton's Farnham Town Brewery is a new name in the guide. (Tindle/Paul Ferguson)

The aforementioned Royal Oak makes a welcome return having last appeared in the 2024 edition. New owner-manager Barry Pethers has impressed East Hants CAMRA members with the former Golden Pheasant boasting five “regularly changing” real ales and a decent programme of music, quiz nights and events.

He said: “It’s the first time for me, as a landlord, but I think it’s great news getting into the guide.

“The CAMRA guys have been in several times so it’s good to know we’re doing things right.”

Also making its debut is the “imposing” Wetherspoons in Alton with The Ivy House ending a decade-long wait to appear in the guide’s hallowed pages.

“It opened in 2015 and appears for the first time, although it has been on the reserve list on a number of occasions,” said a spokesperson for East Hants CAMRA.

Barry Pethers Royal Oak Farringdon
Barry Pethers of the Royal Oak in Lower Farringdon called the accolade 'great news' as it's the first time he's got the nod. (East Hampshire Camra)

Other Alton-area entries include the branch’s 2025 Pub of the Year, The Railway Arms, and its 2025 Cider Pub of the Year, Cassidy’s, with The Selborne Arms, Offf the Rails Four Marks, Four Horseshoes Long Sutton and Flower Pots Inn Cheriton.

Two new breweries – Ten Tun Brewhouse and Kingsley’s Maverick – also get a mention alongside Four Marks staple Triple fff and Gilbert White’s Brewery in Selborne.

Petersfield, which is part of the Portsmouth and South East CAMRA region, also features with The Townhouse making its now regular-appearance.

Nisa and Clare McCutcheon of The Harrow Inn with one of their globally renowned ploughman’s lunches. It’s one of the country’s most-treasured pubs.

The Hawkley Inn – called a “genuine free house” that serves “great food” – is another favourite while another guaranteed name in the guide is legendary Harrow Inn.

It’s not exaggerating to say the timeless picture-perfect watering hole in Steep is probably one of the country’s most loved pubs with its serving hatches, bare floors, rustic setting and open fires.

“This is a genuinely unspoilt pub,” states the guide, with a nod to its amazing ploughman’s lunch and outdoor toilets.

Elsewhere, compilers also call the Prince of Wales in Hammer Vale “unmissable” while the Three Horseshoes in Elsted, between Petersfield and Midhurst, is described as an “old and cosy rural inn” that’s worth a visit.