It may not sound like the best of ideas: combining the consumption of ale with the throwing of sharp objects at a small target. Yet for as long as anyone can remember, darts has been played in pubs.
And since the rise to fame of boy-wonder Luke Littler, the recently crowned PDC World Darts Champion, reports have suggested an upsurge of interest in this great sport, among women as much as men.
So here’s our choice of ten terrific locals where you can toss the tungsten. And now that Luke ‘The Nuke’ has celebrated his 18th birthday – on January 21 – there’s even a chance you might see him in one of them having a drink.
Teenage world champion Luke Littler’s success has seen darts fever sweep the nation
Luke’s local
Luke Littler has been known to drop into the Bulls Head, a 17th century tavern in his home-town of Warrington. He has also played there – once checking out with a maximum 170 finish.
How’s the arrows? There are three boards – two in the function room and one in the bar. On a Monday you’ll be serenaded by a local ukulele club. On Wednesdays you’ll share the pub with a dungeons and dragons group.
Mine’s a pint: £3.20 for a Boddingtons.
Details: No website, Church Street.
Step into a Tardis
The Vine Inn pub in central Manchester
In the heart of Manchester, the Vine Inn is a handsome-fronted deceptively spacious Tardis of a venue and a haven of old-school pub values.
How’s the arrows? The single board has its own little room on the first floor, which is mercifully shielded from the prying eyes of barstool experts.
Mine’s a pint: £3.55 for a Carlsberg.
Details: vineinnmanchester.co.uk.
Home of a legend
The Cricketers Arms in Newcastle-under-Lyme used to be owned by one of the legends of the game, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.
It’s a friendly local, which – so no one is in any doubt – has ‘Darts’ on its facade.
How’s the arrows? There are two boards. The main electronic one is placed above the fire in the main room. But avoid Wednesdays – that’s when the local team practises.
Mine’s a pint: £3.60 for a Carling.
Details: No website, Alexandra Road.
Ideal for beginners
Just off Trafalgar Square, The Chandos is a bustling boozer with wooden booths and the usual trade-off you expect at a Samuel Smith’s establishment: cheaper-than-usual prices for the ales, but a limited range.
How’s the arrows? Finding the board is quite a challenge, but worth the effort. The ground-floor nook is pleasingly discreet, so strangers can’t laugh when your arrows go awry.
Mine’s a pint: £5.20 for an Alpine Lager.
Details: thechandos.co.uk.
Night on the tiles
With beautiful blue tiles, The Newshouse is a traditional pub near the railway station in Nottingham offering an ever-changing line-up of five cask beers, as well as excellent pizzas.
How’s the arrows? It’s old-school, with a traditional chalkboard for keeping score. The darts board shares a room with a pool table, a bagatelle board, and the only bar billiards in the city.
Mine’s a pint: £4.80 for a Carling.
Details: castlerockbrewery.co.uk.
The Williams in Spitalfields has a fine range of craft ales
Williams Ale & Cider House in London’s East End is a great find, with friendly staff on a quiet backstreet near Liverpool Street Station. Expect a fine range of microbrewery craft ales, which get written up on a board.
How’s the arrows? Excellent. At the back of the pub are three handsome traditional boards, contained within wooden cabinets with chalkboard doors. The smart brass oche is screwed into the floor. Can be booked in advance.
Mine’s a pint: £5.90 for a Greene King bitter.
Details: williamsspitalfields.com.
Scotch mix
Serving a mix of locals, students and tourists, Footlights in Edinburgh is a handsome sports bar that’s a short walk from the castle. Staff say they’ve seen a rise in darts enthusiasts over the past year.
Friends take aim during a game at a London Flight Club
With most pubs, you can’t book a board in advance, so there’s always the risk you turn up and find someone else hogging it.
Which is where Flight Club comes in.
Part of the trend for ‘competitive socialising’, this franchise of darts-bars takes reservations for £11pp per hour.
There are 14 Flight Clubs in cities across the UK, including London, Cardiff and Leeds. It’s great for beginners as the computerised system explains the rules of the different games as you go along.
The premises are beautifully put together, with a genuine pub atmosphere. After your visit, you’ll receive an email about your ‘Flight Club Story’ including action replays, group photos and game statistics (flightclubdarts.com).
How’s the arrows? There’s one board against a wall in the open-plan main room. On match days, you might fight for space with sports fans staring up at the plasma screens.
Mine’s a pint: £5 for a Belhaven Best ale.
Details: footlightsbar.co.uk.
Check out Cardiff
Right by the city’s old market, the Queens Vaults in Cardiff is a 19th century street-corner pub with 22 beers on tap to choose from. As well as darts, it boasts three pool tables and a jukebox.
How’s the arrows? There’s one board. It costs £10 for an hour to play, along with a £10 deposit for the arrows.
Mine’s a pint: £2.75 for a Double Dragon ale.
Details: jwbpubs.com.
Stand and deliver
The Coachmakers Arms in Norwich is an atmospheric 17th century pub said to be haunted by the ghost of a highwayman who dropped in for a pint between hold-ups. The staff will be able to regale you with some hair-raising tales.
How’s the arrows? Brightly spot-lit, the board is squared up to from a smart darts mat, which marks out how far away you should stand depending on your skill level.
Mine’s a pint: £4.10 for a Silver Adder IPA.
Details: coachmakers-arms-norwich.co.uk.
Exeter strategy
Popular with students, the Black Horse is an 18th century boozer that’s one of the few places in the heart of Exeter that boasts a beer garden.
How’s the arrows? You have to pay £5 an hour for access to one of the two electronic dart boards, which have interactive screens above them and a television for watching live sports. You can book in advance.
Mine’s a pint: £4.90 for a San Miguel lager.
Details: greeneking.co.uk.
150 years of glory
The history of darts is shrouded in apocryphal nonsense.
Despite what some people say, the Battle of Agincourt did not come into it. The practice of throwing tiny arrows at a target arose about 150 years ago.
Until 1908, it was illegal in pubs, under laws that forbade games of chance in licensed premises. Then an enterprising Leeds publican went to court with his star darter William ‘Bigfoot’ Annakin, who proved that it was a game of skill by setting up a board and placing his darts wherever he wanted.
Modern rules were established by the National Darts Association, including the clock-face board, three darts per go, counting down from 501 and the requirement to end with a double.
The first NDA tournament took place at the Red Lion pub (since demolished) in Wandsworth on June 1, 1926.