THE wait is finally over.

After Daily Echo readers voted in their droves, we can now reveal the winner of our Pub of the Year competition.

The votes have been counted and verified and we are delighted to announce the winner of the prestigious title of Bournemouth Echo Pub of the Year 2024 is The Old Inn, Holt Lane, Holt, Wimborne. 

2024 Runners up who shone with the highest volume of nominations should also be incredibly proud of themselves and included:

The Micro Moose, 326 Wimborne Rd, Bournemouth

The Angel Pub, 28 Market St, Poole 

The Bricklayers, 41 Parr St, Poole 

The Cricketers Arms, 12 Park Lane, Wimborne

The Brewhouse, 68 High Street, Poole

The Barking Cat, 182-184 Ashley Rd, Poole 

The Foundry Arms, 58 Lagland St, Poole 

The Crown Hotel, 23 Market St Dorset Poole 

Chaplins and Cellar Bar, 529 Christchurch Road

James Johnson, editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo, said: "We were delighted by the frequency and quality of the nominations this year and my congratulations go to our special winner The Old Holt Inn.

"We are blessed to have a huge number of delightful pubs in the area and I can fully understand why readers were so keen to vote for their favourites.

"Well done to every pub that was nominated and if your pub just missed out don't worry - there's always next year."

The Daily Echo invited readers to nominate their favourite pub and we received hundreds of suggestions.

More than 500 nominations were received in total with the 10 pubs with the highest number of mentions then compiled into a shortlist.

Readers were then asked to vote for their top watering hole from the top 10 by completing the coupon featured in the Bournemouth Echo newspaper.

The overwhelming response to the competition proves the love for our pubs is still alive and kicking.

Despite challenges in recent years including Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, the pub is still something of a British institution.