The Abbot

The Abbot sits on East Street in Newton Abbot, originally called the Jolly Sailor and recorded as the busiest hostelry in town back in 1864 - it's a freehouse now, with beamed ceilings, timber columns and an open fireplace in the main bar giving it a proper old-pub feel rather than a refit. A home-cooked carvery runs every Sunday, alongside a free function room and a beer garden for the warmer months.

Live music is on regularly and always free, with a resident DJ and karaoke at weekends, which keeps it busy and social rather than a quiet drinking den. Well-behaved dogs are welcome on a lead, and the pub's history as one of Newton Abbot's oldest and busiest suggests it's kept that role as a genuine local through name changes and refurbishment over more than a century and a half.