Decked out for summer

With over a thousand suggestions for the perfect beer garden, San Miguel’s tour of the best venues in England is drawing to a close.

Long live those endless days of summer that were made for spending time al fresco drinking beer with friends. Pub and beer expert Jane Peyton has made the most of the warm weather by searching Britain for the best beer gardens in which to sip a cool glass of San Miguel, Spain’s leading quality lager.

Jane’s quest for the San Miguel Summer Shortlist has taken her to six perfect spots including Oh So Social on Brighton Beach; Manchester’s canal-side Dukes 92 situated in a former stable; and Isaac’s on the Quay – a stunning 17th century former merchant’s house overlooking a marina in Ipswich.

We asked readers to add their favourite outdoor drinking spots to the San Miguel Summer Shortlist and over 1,800 people sent in recommendations, which you can now view on Facebook, while joining in with our 12,594 fans.

Our final destination on the tour is the Hertford House Hotel in Hertford, where a chic walled garden is laid out with wooden decking and benches built into the walls.

Planters containing rosemary and other aromatic herbs crown the top of the 3m-high high walls. And, especially for summer, the garden is decorated with bunting from which colourful (but inedible) cup-cakes dangle.

So who will join us in raising a glass of San Miguel and toasting to summer and British beer gardens?

Hertford House Hotel

"The walled garden is a secret world in the centre of Hertford" - Pete Callaghan, regular.

• 1 Fore St, Hertford, SG14 1DA
• Tel: 01992 517 440
• www.hertfordhouse.co.uk
• Mon–Wed 11am–12am; Thu 11am–1am; Fri–Sat 11am–2am; Sun 11am–10.30pm
• Food: 8.30am–10pm (Sun 6pm)
• Hertford House Hotel also has a nightclub, and there’s a beauty spa to recover in afterwards