Pull up a pew, sup a pint and soak up the atmosphere at one of these historic coastal inns.

By Laura Dixon

Right on the crashing North Sea, The Ship Inn is a classic seafarers' pub, dating back to the 1450s, with original beams, floors and a coal fire. In the 1780s, landlord John ‘King of the Smugglers' Andrew reputedly hid contraband in the stables. The pub museum describes smuggling on the Yorkshire coast, where Geneva gin, brandy and tea were brought from Holland and France in treacherous conditions. Now, homemade pies and a warm welcome are the draw. Open daily (01287 622361).  

In a valley between Osmington Mills and the sea, close to the South West Coast Path, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, is this pretty, 13th-century thatched pub. In the 1790s it was home to Pierre Latour, the French leader of a notorious band of outlaws. Painted on the wall outside is Rudyard Kipling's A Smuggler's Song: ‘brandy for the parson/'baccy for the clerk/laces for a lady/letters for a spy/and watch the wall, my darling, while the smugglers go by'. Open daily; Sunday 12-10.30pm (smugglersinnosmingtonmills.co.uk; 01305 833125).

Photo: Visit Britain

This Elizabethan pub, hotel and restaurant played host in the mid-18th century to Rye's notorious Hawkhurst gang - who brazenly played with loaded pistols in the pub. Today, the guestrooms are named after famous smugglers: Dr Syn's bedchamber has a secret staircase behind a bookcase - many of the pub's other secret stairs have been turned into fire exits.
Open daily, 12-11pm. Book rooms well in advance (01797 223065, www.mermaidinn.com).

Photo: Visit Britain

This medieval pub and hotel, overlooking Lynmouth's harbour and bay is loaded with history. On the Bristol Channel, it received contraband from the West Indies and America en route to Bristol. The fireplace in the bar is original, but its fabled tunnel has yet to be found. Open daily (01598 753223, www.risingsunlynmouth.co.uk).  

East Anglia was famed in the 18th and 19th centuries for its contraband tobacco and liquor from France and Holland, and the region's coastal marshes and remote beaches were a perfect cover: once eight thousand gallons of gin were smuggled in without Customs suspecting a thing. This cosy pub was a favoured haunt of smugglers but is now popular with walkers, cyclists and bird watchers, as it's near the RSPB Minsmere reserve. Open daily (01728 830154, www.theeelsfootinn.co.uk).

An inn with guest ales, good food and a shady past. A street window has panes of glass angled so you can look up and down the street - handy for lookouts - and a storage area behind the bar has a tiny door hiding winding, stone stairs to the attic: either an escape route for punters or a secret place to stash illicit goods. Open daily (01446 792230).

Smugglers would come from Thornham's beach to this 16th-century pub on the marshes while waiting for the next batch of illegal imports to arrive from Holland. They would sink their booty in the nearby river, hidden from the Customs patrol. Today, the menu features local hand-picked mussels, and fish and chips with a beer batter. The pub is also a B&B. Open daily; food served until 9.30pm (01485 512236, www.lifeboatinn.co.uk).

With its beer garden and real ale on tap, this 16th-century inn is perfect for a pint on sunny days. Two miles from Perranporth and Holywell Bays, the isolated pub was favoured by smugglers who came here to hide their booty from the coastguard. Try the smuggler's fish pie made with locally caught fish and seafood. Open daily (01637 830209, www.thesmugglersden.co.uk).

This 1730s pub is a great base for exploring the Scottish Highlands and the Moray Firth, with beds for the night and traditional fare, such as whisky marmalade pudding. It has a long association with illicit whisky making and smugglers: once excise men stayed at the inn overnight with a confiscated cask of whisky, but a serving maid told the smugglers which room they were in. They drilled through the ceiling to drain the cask into another, leaving behind an empty cask and very red faces. Open daily; food served until 8.30pm (01463 831296, www.oldnorthinn.com). 

In the 1900s, Russell Thorndike wrote a series of novels here about a hero smuggler, Dr Syn, who was a country vicar by day and a swashbuckling smuggler by night. What better location than this characterful pub, reputedly haunted, with hidden passageways, a garden and a terrace facing the sea? Open daily (01303 872122).