Pub closures: Is coronavirus calling time on a way of life?

In his latest reflection on places and pathways, Will Gore muses of coaches and highwaymen

The Druid’s Head in The Lanes, Brighton. Nationwide chain Greene King has announced 800 job losses (Getty)

The miserable news this week that Greene King is to close 79 pubs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic hardly came as a surprise. But it’s a bitter blow nonetheless; and other chains and independents will surely follow.

Some of the closures will certainly be permanent; others may be slated to be temporary, but the present climate is less than hospitable for the hospitality industry.

In any event, the impact of the coronavirus restrictions has only served to hasten the decline of what headline writers tend to dub “the great British boozer”. At the turn of the century, there were nearly 61,000 pubs in the UK; by 2018, there were around 47,600. Changing consumer habits have withered demand.