AUDLEY, BUTCHERS ARMS, 18 Church Street, ST7 8DE. 01782 720486. Interwar pub with a half-timbered frontage, said to have been rebuilt and moved back for road improvements. But what really counts is a scarcely-altered interior of three rooms, original to the time of building. Look for the plaster crest of the Bouchier family, and attractive ceilings in two of the rooms with a cornice of grapes and Tudor rose. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

BURTON-ON-TRENT, COOPERS TAVERN, 43 Cross Street, DE14 1EG. 01283 532551. This unspoilt 19th-century terraced alehouse is one of only a dozen remaining pubs in the country without a bar counter. Originally Eadie's cooperage, this pub is famous for its unique tap room arrangement where you can sit just inches away from a row of casks of real ale on a stillage. The lounge has old benches still with their maker's label: a third room was brought into use in about 1990. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, AMPNEY ST PETER, RED LION, News has just been received that this great classic rural pub is now closed following the illness of the owner/licensee, John Barnard (only the fourth licensee since 1851!). At present nothing is known about whether or when the pub will reopen. Meantime we wish John all the best for his recovery.See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

CAMRA’s long-awaited publication, Real Heritage Pubs of Wales – Pub Interiors of Special Historic Interest / Tafarnau Treftadaeth - Tafarnau o Ddiddordeb Hanesyddol Mewnol. will shortly be published and will certainly be available for the Great Welsh Beer Festival in Cardiff on 10-12 June. Be sure to get a copy of this book with informative descriptions and over 200 photographs and start exploring some of the historic gems among the 100 listed here. The details given for each pub include real ale availability (and if it comes from Welsh micros), public transport details, accommodation and food availability. Real Heritage Pubs of Wales is available in all good bookshops, or direct from CAMRA, priced at £6.99 (£5.99 CAMRA members)