OXFORD Pubs are struggling like everywhere else, according to the creators of the new Oxford Pub Guide.

The book, compiled with the help of 40 willing contributors, details 320 pubs in Oxford, Abingdon and Witney and has been put together by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

It is released ahead of the 14th annual Oxford CAMRA beer festival that gets started tomorrow at Oxford Town Hall.

The festival features 160 real ales and runs until Saturday.

CAMRA’s last Oxford guide was released in 2004 and editor Matt Bullock, 40, said there had been a lot of changes in seven years.

He said: “In 2004 we only covered pubs within in the Oxford ring road, so this project is obviously a lot bigger.

“But in Oxford itself it is obvious that the number of pubs has declined.

“Everywhere is struggling at the moment so we want to get people out and drinking in their local pubs.”

The guide lists each pub and describes the real ale it has on offer, along with details such as phone numbers, websites, opening times and what food is served There is also a small description about the pub itself.

Mr Bullock, from Charlbury, said: “We haven’t ranked the pubs, but you can probably tell from the descriptions which are our favourites.

“But the whole idea is about finding the positives so even if a pub doesn’t serve real ale, we’ll find other good points.

“If people don’t start using their local pubs more, they’ll lose them. So we want to help people find the best ones.”

Around 40 people spent the past couple of years visiting each pub to write the descriptions.

Mr Bullock said: “And despite declining numbers, Oxford is a good place at the moment for real ale and we think the situation is getting better.

“There are a lot of pubs in Oxfordshire that are like hidden gems.

“People might walk past them and think they don’t look very nice, or don’t know where they are.

“So we are helping those people to find the pubs.

“Pubs are always closing everywhere but we need to be positive about the ones which are left.”

The book is available for £5.99 from the CAMRA website and from Blackwells bookshop in Broad Street.

rpope@oxfordmail.co.uk