THIRST the bad news: the headlines about the decline of the British pub are enough to drive you to drink.

Nationally, boozers have been closing at the rate of 52 a week.

A cocktail of factors has been blamed. First – and always – is the ever-rising tax on alcohol.

Then came the increasing competition from supermarkets selling ever-cheaper booze followed by the smoking ban in 2007.

To top it all, there was the recession.

Now the good news: it's still possible to find a Plymouth landlord who isn't crying into his beer.

None of them pretends that running a pub is easy or a quick way to make a fortune.

But all of them are successful and, despite the long hours and hard work, they can still manage a smile.

In the case of some, that cheery outlook extends way beyond the publican's duty of providing a welcome to customers and offering a distraction from the cares of the world.

Time, please, to meet Steve Smith, landlord of The Fortescue, Mutley Plain, who couldn't be more upbeat if he were leading a marching band.

So what's the secret?

Mr Smith starts his answer with a question of his own: "Can you name one single pub which has closed that you think 'what a shame that's gone'?

"I can't name one well-run, welcoming quality pub that has closed in Plymouth."

And he is quick to point out that the figure of 52 closures a week, quoted by the British Beer and Pub Association, was last year's peak.

"The most recent number (released earlier this month) was 39 a week," he adds, eager to point out that the situation is improving, locally and nationally.

"You have to have a USP (unique selling point). I think some (publicans) forget that," he adds.

"You have to work hard. You have to create the atmosphere and you have to offer something a little different."

In the case of The Fortescue, that is as basic as the beer. The landlord boasts "a few more and better real ales than others in Plymouth".

Drinkers agree: real ale, pressure group Plymouth Camra has named the Mutley premises its pub of the year twice in succession.

Real ale is one booze the supermarkets cannot compete on, he says.

"They have their bottled beers but they are gassed. If you want a real ale on draught you have to go to a pub."

Having the same friendly faces to greet customers helps his pub too, says Mr Smith. Barmaid Betty Hubbard has worked there for 29 years.

There are, though, no gimmicks to pull in the punters at the Fortescue. There are the traditional sports teams (darts, football and cricket) and there is something happening every night in the functions room, from a fun poker league to music or a meeting of one of the university clubs.

Two of the big fallbacks of the modern pub, food and TV sport, help but Mr Smith is careful to keep the balance. There are Sunday lunches only and the TV screens are a recent addition for the Six Nations rugby and the upcoming football World Cup.

He ticks off on his fingers what some of his rivals offer on Mutley Plain, what is now one of the busiest strips in the city, rivalling Union Street: the sports bars, music-centred venues and Friday and Saturday pick-up joints.

"You can't be all things to all people. That's what Wetherspoons do," he adds, citing one of the all-conquering super chains which has an outlet a few doors along from The Fortescue.

"What can you say about places like that? They're clean, they have minimum standards for beer and food. They are adequate, but what is that? There's no sense of a community."

Out on the edge of Dartmoor, at the Burrator Inn the community role is a vital ingredient in the country pub's success.

There is no church or village hall in Dousland, so the pub is the meeting place, and not only for locals.

The Burrator has another day-to-day problem in attracting visitors from outside the village: the British weather.

"The last two summers – or more like the lack of summers the last two years – hit our business," says landlord Phil Cater.

"That summertime trade is important to us. We rely a lot on ramblers and visitors."

But Phil can't help being cheery. "Mind you, bad weather can help us too," he laughs. "The thing that brings people out more than sunshine is a dusting of snow and we've had plenty of that this winter."

Phil and wife Sara are relative newcomers to the licensed trade. They took on the pub four years ago, after he left the shipping industry.

Theirs has been a learning experience, one which chimes with Mr Smith's basic advice about giving the customers what they want.

"We opened a restaurant a couple of years ago which proved very popular for six or seven months, but then custom fell away," says Mr Cater.

"We realised that what people really wanted was simpler food and lower prices, so that's what we concentrate on now."

The steady stream of walkers and cyclists want fuelling and they want it homemade.

"It is harder work going down that route, making your own pies and lasagnas and so on, but it works and it is appreciated," Mr Cater adds.

He knows, too, that he has to do more than open the Burrator's doors and expect the customers to pile in.

"We have our darts team and there's the euchre league, and the five o'clock regulars, the farmers and other workers finishing their day, especially on a Friday.

"But you have to work at it. We have live music on a Saturday, bingo on a Thursday and the quiz on a Sunday evening.

"Before we started the quiz I could have switched off the lights and closed up at 7.30pm on a Sunday. Now we have 80 or more in, from as far as Landrake and Plympton."

The pub even served as a polling station in last year's local elections and is earmarked to repeat that roll in the General Election due this year.

The smoking ban, introduced in the summer of 2007, was a shock to many pubs. The new law halted the Fortescue's 10 per cent annual growth that year but the pub recovered. It is now running at seven per cent up per year.

The Burrator was also hard hit, forcing the Caters to get creative. They kept the cost down by sourcing an outdoor shelter on line in Holland.

They are stuck, though, with one cost: they have to buy most of their drink from their owners, Punch Taverns, one of the big national chains.

Such 'tied beer' arrangements are blamed by Camra for contributing to pub closures. The pressure group argues that the contracts force up the price of beer and cut the profits of pubs.

But Mr Cater says: "We work very well with Punch. They are pretty fair."

And at The Fortescue, Mr Smith says he is happy with the part-tied arrangement he has with the Spirit Group, also part of Punch.

He buys his lagers and spirits from the pub's owner, but does his own real-ale shopping.

He says it is easy for critics to blame the big breweries or pub companies for the decline of the boozer, but that is not always where the blame lies.

"Some are publicans offered a peppercorn rent (by the owners) which gives them a place to live that's cheaper than having a mortgage," says Mr Smith.

"They think that all they have to do is open the doors and they will make money. It isn't like that. It can soon go wrong."

And when a pub fails, the landlord and family may be losing their home as well as their livelihood, while the community loses a resource.

When they close some are gone forever. The Lion and Column in Whitleigh and the Tiger, in Ham Green, are to be demolished to make way for new homes.

But property agent Nick Wheeldon says we need to look beyond the headline figure about pub closures to understand what is happening.

Last year when 52 pubs were closing nationally each week, about 80 new licences were being issued weekly, says Mr Wheeldon, a director of consultant surveyors Taylor son and Creber.

"Yes there are a lot of pubs closing, but new people come in and take them on with new ideas," he says.

The growth in the number of premises selling alcohol follows more relaxed rules on licensing and planning.

He recommends that anybody who is concerned for the future of the pub should take some exercise.

From Mutley Plain to the city and down Royal Parade via Charles Cross and back is about three miles. In 1979 there were about a dozen en route.

Today there are about 50 places to stop off for a drink, one every 100 metres.

"That is without deviating off the route," he says. Few are traditional pubs but the competition from new bars and cafes has transformed the market, he adds. There is more competition for the customer's pound and that increased pressure means pubs have had to up their 'offer' with more comfortable surroundings and better facilities. Funding such improvements is not easy, particularly during a recession.

Owner-occupiers must find the investment and those are who left will find their rents going up as the pub company expects a return on the money it has spent on upgrading the premises.

"The property companies are changing their attitudes and realising that it is better to keep landlords in and pubs open," says Mr Wheeldon. "We have to take the long-term view. The picture is changing and we don't know what will emerge, but good pubs will survive."

That message, first put out by Mr Smith at the Fortescue, is repeated by drinkers, too.

"The pubs that have closed in Plymouth were ones we tended not to frequent," says Bill Barnes of Plymouth Camra.

"Some that have closed have served some real ales, but the better pubs are surviving."

The picture is less bright in rural areas where some good pubs are struggling, says Mr Barnes, because they depend on a smaller community to support them.

He insists that the Government should act to support pubs, recognising that they are a real community resource, particularly in rural areas.

Pubs should also be recognised for their contribution to responsible drinking habits.

"Binge drinking does not happen in good pubs," says Mr Barnes.

"They offer a controlled environment. The problem is with cheap alcohol sold by supermarkets, people drinking from cans on the street corner."

And yet, he adds, rather than targeting supermarkets and drinks aimed at the young, such as alcopops, the Government continues to hit pubs through increasing duty on beer.

Back behind the bar in The Fortescue in Mutley, Steve Smith's grin doesn't fade even when talk turns to possibly even tougher times ahead.

With UK Inc heavily in debt, extra duty on alcohol is an easy way to boost the public purse.

The Government has announced plans for a further increase in March of two per cent above inflation on the duty on beer.

Taxes are unavoidable. But, as king of his own castle, Mr Smith has the right to keep out those who set them.

"Alistair Darling is barred," he laughs.