A Downton pub has been voted into the Good Beer Guide.

The Goat received the award for the first time in its long history, with Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) listing it among the top pubs in the UK.

It is one of 19 pubs from the Salisbury and South Wiltshire area to be listed in the 2025 edition of the Guide, which is published today.

Pub landlord Darren Jones said: "We work very hard to keep the beer in the pub in good condition.

"We try to keep it has local as possible and we have two excellent breweries – Hop Back and Downton Brewery – in the village."

The publican said: "We are really happy to be in the Good Beer Guide."

The Goat was taken over three years ago by Darren Jones and his wife, Karolina, who is from Poland.

Local CAMRA Good Beer Guide co-ordinator Keith Foster (right) presents Darren Jones, landlord of The Goat, Downton, with his Guide certificate (Image: Salisbury & S. Wilts CAMRA) The pub normally has four real ales available, including one from one of the Downton breweries and The Goat Ale, which is brewed by Piddle Brewery in Dorset.

Keith Foster, oversees the two-part process by which South Wiltshire’s Good Beer Guide pubs are chosen.

Firstly they have to be nominated by CAMRA members and, once that short list has been drawn up, the membership then votes for the branch quota of six Salisbury city pubs and 13 rural ones.

The split reflects the fact that most pubs in South Wiltshire are in the countryside.

“It is a great honour to get into the Good Beer Guide and only the very best pubs are chosen,” Keith said.

The full list of South Wiltshire pubs which have been included can be found in the 2025 edition of the Good Beer Guide.

It contains information about 4,500 of the best pubs across the United Kingdom.

Both versions cost £16.99 (£14.99 for CAMRA members) and can be ordered online from CAMRA.