PUBS are 'what make Britain, Britain', so say Hairy Bikers Si King and Dave Myers - and they should know. 

Having returned from an epic journey across the UK for their latest BBC Two series Pubs That Built Britain, Ed Bolla pulls up a bar stool to talk favourite haunts and community feels with the foodie duo

WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA BEHIND THE SHOW? IT SOUNDS LIKE A DREAM GIG.

DM: It was an idea that was produced by BBC Scotland. We were asked, 'Do you want to do a history of British pubs?' and about three nanoseconds later we said: 'Yes, thanks'. Pubs are signature subject matters, from political pubs in Manchester to state-owned pubs in Carlisle and the poet's pubs of Georgian Lakeland. It's a wonderful glimpse into history in an accessible way; you can still go there and have a pint.

SK: There's so much social history, so much anthropology. It was a great way of being able to say, 'Look, pubs are a quintessential part of our culture'. They're what make Britain, Britain. It's part of our character, part of our personality. It's just what makes us all tick. It was a great place for social change, political change, for amazing adventures. It was the most fantastic community forum that happened to sell beer.

ALLEGEDLY UP TO 30 PUBS ARE CLOSING PER WEEK IN THE UK. WHAT'S THE CONSENSUS FROM YOUR TRAVELS?

DM: A lot of the old historical pubs, the ones that have stayed as pubs and kept the values of 800-900 years ago, are doing alright. Hopefully this series will help to reverse the trend.

SK: Pubs are closing because people are deciding to stay at home and drink cheap beer and wine from supermarkets - that's just how it is. But the reality is, it's a great point for social interaction and social traction within our communities.

WHAT KIND OF VENUES DID YOU DISCOVER?

SK: By the very nature of the programme, the pubs that we did go to had a history. We went to a pub called the Bear Inn, which was for the bomber pilots in the First World War. Everyone would put a penny into the cracks of the old beams before they went off to fly, so what you have now is a pub absolutely covered with old pennies of men who didn't come back. What would happen was that the flight crew, or a friend, would ensure that the penny of the person who lost their life would be hammered in [to the beam] so it could never be moved.

DIDN'T YOU SPEND THE DAY WITH A FORMER ASSOCIATE OF THE KRAY TWINS, TOO?

SK: I got taken around the old haunts where the Krays used to do their deeds by a guy called Bernie, who was basically a mechanic for the Krays and their associates. We drove to a cafe that was run by this great Italian family. This Italian lady went: 'The boys used to come in here. Mum and Dad used to know them very well. They'd particularly like coming in here after they'd been off on holiday.' And I turned to the camera and said: 'That means when they've just come out of prison', and she went: 'Yeah, that's it.' It was hysterical.

POST-JOURNEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY TO A PUB'S SUCCESS?

DM: The pubs that are generally good have their own values and certainly a part of history. I think television in pubs is so wrong; it's a complete killer.

SK: I don't mind the jukebox because you get this mad, eclectic mix of music.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LANDLORD/LANDLADY IN YOUR OPINION?

DM: No matter what sort of pub it is, it's about dedication; you have got to be there. The landlords and ladies we met, it was their total lives. There's no way you could dip in and dip out of it. It was this magical creation: through the history, through the people, through the community.

SK: And also through the personality and character of the landlord and landlady, let's not forget that. It's incredibly important because they built the pubs in their persona and that's what people are attracted to.

WAS IT NICE TO TAKE A BREAK FROM FOOD?

SK: It was nice not having to cook. Obviously you can't send conflicting messages - particularly when it's about drink and motorcycles. We left the motorcycles to one side, so we didn't have them to think about; and we didn't have the food either. It freed us up, which was great as we could concentrate on what we were meant to be doing.

DID YOU ENJOY SOME DRINKS EN ROUTE THEN?

SK: At 5.30pm we would, but at 8.30am - the first time we held a pint in our hand - it was, you know, 'I don't fancy this'.

DM: Come about 5.30pm, the spirit of the pub would get to you, so when we were doing the end piece to camera, inevitably we would have had a couple of pints and we were feeling very mellow.

YOU ALSO HAVE A NEW BBC TWO SERIES, OLD SCHOOL, THAT AIMS TO BRING TEENAGERS AND THE ELDERLY TOGETHER?

SK: It's about a skill exchange. There's no hierarchy in age and the thing is they all listen to one another.

DM: It's not the old people mentoring the young; the young people have to mentor the elderly. It is a worry that communities are going down; maybe we all need to work a bit harder.

SK: If you isolate people, then it becomes far easier to manage as a government. As an establishment and as a society, that's not the right way to manage it; it's lazy. But if there is no greater thought about social cohesion and social interaction and we start to dismantle the fabric of that, which is community centres, libraries and public swimming pools, all that sort of stuff, then what are you left with?

:: The Pubs That Built Britain starts on BBC Two on Monday, April 18