Seen as a yardstick for quality, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide surveys 4,500 of the best pubs across the country. This is the definitive beer drinker’s guide for those seeking the best pints in the nation, and is very much a badge of honour for all landlords lucky enough to be listed.

Here are the nightspace team’s top five picks from the 2024 CAMRA guide for hand-pulled real ales, cask ales, craft beers and ciders in Harrogate and nearby Knaresborough.

Harrogate

• Little Ale House: 7 Cheltenham Crescent, HG1 1DH. Passionate believers in the dying art of the ‘proper’ style pub, the Little Ale team champion conversation, micro-breweries, and a warm rustic atmosphere; they completely shun TVs, background music and pub ‘gastrofication’! Sample an ever-changing selection of ales in the convivial atmosphere of Harrogate’s first micropub - comprising one room with the counter at the back, a pleasant outdoor courtyard, and a downstairs cellar room. (Dog friendly).
• Starling Independent Bar Café Kitchen: 47 Oxford St, HG1 1PW. Handily located next door to 45a – a stylish nightspace apartment – Starling’s bar has ten craft keg taps and six cask hand pulls, with rotating guest ales alongside Pilsners, cider, and gluten-free options. There is also the Starling Beer Fridge, where you’ll find everything from sours to stouts, alcohol free to DIPAs, sourced from leading micro-breweries around the country - and even the world – to either drink in, or take away with a 25% discount. (Dog friendly).
• The Old Bell: 6 Royal Parade, HG1 2SZ. Housed in a building which dates back to 1786, the original inn was a stage on the York to Harrogate coaching run. Today the tavern maintains traditions and five regular beers, plus one rotating guest beer, are served from the bar’s handpumps, the majority supplied by local breweries. (Dog friendly).

Knaresborough

This historic, picturesque market town is just a short drive – or a seven minute scenic train journey – from Harrogate. It is also within easy reach of nightspace’s charming rural retreat Walshford Lodge.

• Blind Jack’s: 19 Market Place, HG5 8AL. Housed in a Georgian listed building with bare-brick walls and wooden floorboards, this traditional market square pub comprises just two small rooms on the ground floor and two similar upstairs rooms. Blind Jack’s has featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for over 30  consecutive years, and the bar boasts eight keg craft beer lines, plus six cask hand pulled real ales which change on a regular basis. (Dog friendly).
• Half Moon: 1 Abbey Road, HG5 8HY.  This popular riverside free house features original bare brick walls, with a real fire and wood burning stove contributing to its cosy atmosphere during winter months. Four handpumps dispense a varying range of beers, one from Rooster's brewery and three others mostly from Yorkshire breweries, often including a dark beer. Dogs are welcome in the small, attractive enclosed outdoor area at the back, which has seating under heated awnings.