It’s encouraging to know that it has been possible to publish a new Good Beer Guide for 2022 and that it has already sold out.

This year’s highlighted Pilgrims’ Way pubs are on the Southwark-Canterbury leg.

The nearest one to Southwark Cathedral is The Market Porter where on some weekday early mornings you can have ale at breakfast like the early pilgrims.

The Royal Oak in Tabard Street, known the first pub on the Pilgrims’ Way, has ‘a range of beers…unusual for London’ as well as their own Harvey’s.

A surprise is finding a mention for The Bull on top of Shooters Hill which means it must be on the up. It introduced pizzas cooked and served in the garden during the pandemic.

An interesting entry for Rochester is The Coopers Arms dating from 1189 and once part of the cathedral’s monastic estate.

Rochester’s Golden Lion Hotel, a Wetherspoons in the High Street and often very busy, is listed with the added attraction of handy accommodation.

If you approach the last church before Canterbury feeling tired you might find The Eight Bells in London Road tempting. But be warned the only food is Sunday lunch.

The Good Beer Guide (Camra Books; £15.99)