Four Friends Go Bar-Hopping For 26 Years

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A team of iron-livered and golden-hearted British boozers have been on a marathon pub crawl that just took them to their 15,000th pub.

The four pals have racked up 250,000 miles and guzzled 92,000 pints over the past 26 years, drinking a beer in every county in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, an achievement recognized by Guinness World Recordsm, according to The Mirror .

And last week they tipped their glasses at their 15,000th pub – The Watermill – in Kidderminster in England.

"It has been really exciting. It has taken 26 years to get to here – 10,000 pubs was a big milestone and to get to 15,000 it has taken another 9 years. I am chuffed to bits," pub crawler Peter Hill told The Shuttle newspaper in Kidderminster.

Hill and his teammates, John Drew, Karl Bradley and Peter's dad, Joe Hill, began their pub crawl in 1984 after they grew bored drinking beers at the same old neighborhood bars, according to The Telegraph .

They started out to conquer the 250 pubs in Worcestershire and Herefordshire counties, but quickly set their sights on a grander goal.

The team has since raised thousands of pounds for charity during their tour of the country's pubs. The team at one time boasted more than 20 drinkers, but marriages have since whittled down the squad to the final four diehards.

"We have so many stories to tell I can't remember them all," said Hill, a 54-year-old engineer. "We have slept in fields, barns, stables and even graveyards and still do occasionally.

And don't expect the hangover to come anytime soon.

Hill told the newspaper that his only regret was that he could not live long enough to reach his ultimate goal of drinking in every pub in Great Britain.

Hill and his teammates may be high-endurance drinkers, but a group of U.S. boozers may have them out-sprinted.

Last month, nine friends around Ocean City, Maryland, visited 102 pubs in 24 hours , setting a new Guinness Book record.