A COUPLE are due to call last orders on their bar-trotting mission to visit every pub in the UK named the Red Lion.

Kayleigh Snell, 30, and Paul Tyack, 31, both from Woodstock, Oxfordshire, made Cricklade’s award-winning inn one of their first stops.

The engaged couple were so impressed they have agreed to return to the pub, which now has a listing in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Good Beer Guide 2018 to commend it.

They have so far spent two-and-a-half years, covered 20,500 miles and raised more than £1,800 for charity on their epic crawl of 632 licensed premises.

They will be donating the money to Pulmonary Hypertension UK, a lung disease that Paul's seven-year-old niece Emily suffers from. But they have received an invitation from Red Lion Inn owner Tom Gee to return to Cricklade and make it pub number 633.

They named the pub and another at Castle Eaton as their favourites in Swindon and the surrounding region. Replying on their joint Facebook page, the couple said: “Of course we would go back. “Cricklade and Castle Eaton (we ate there and it was fab) were two of our favourites.”

The Red Lion in Cricklade also has the word of seasoned CAMRA drinkers to commend it after being listed in the latest Good Beer Guide.

The recommendation reads: “Friendly, popular and comfortable inn, parts of which are quite ancient – the old Saxon town wall passes through the building. It is home to the Hop Kettle Brewing Co, which started brewing in 2012.Ten real ales – two regular, four from Hop Kettle and four guests – are on handpump, plus real cider.”

The quest started in September 2015 after Kayleigh and Paul dropped into the Red Lion in Northmoor and is due to finished today (Friday) at the Red Lion in Boldre, Hampshire.

By that time they will have visited all 632 licensed premises with the most popular pub name in Britain, with their journey having taken them to Scotland.

Miss Snell said: “It’s been amazing. We’ve been to so many places and met so many interesting people and everyone’s been really generous.”

The Red Lion is Britain’s most popular pub name, ahead of the Crown and then the Royal Oak.

The Cricklade establishment is no late pretender to the title, as it dates back to the early 1600s and retains many historic features.

Owner Tom Gee said: “We have always strived to be a traditional pub but with some modern values as well. We have always stayed a pub first and foremost but with fantastic food, our own brewery and bedrooms. I’m pretty sure you would struggle to find another pub with as many strings in its bow as we have. I remember the couple coming in and we would love to have them back here to enjoy the micro-brewery again.”