And here's the post I put in after Mike's. (This could get confusing...):

Good transport networks mean that people can move relatively large distances easily and cheaply.

Well, that may apply to aeroplanes, and car drivers. But public transport of any kind isn't too brilliant in this country anyway. And as the crackdown on drinking and driving builds up, and the accepted alcohol level for a driver goes down to pretty well zero, the attraction of getting your pubtime in within walking distance will grow.

So I don't think it's by any means clear that long-distance sessions in pubs are going to catch on. What I think is more likely is that in many places anyway, it's going to be relatively local. Walking distance of a few people, a fairly short drive for the others, with informal arrangements under which one person who isn't drinking that night picks up a few people.

Long-distance sessions, if they develop, with people coming in from far and near for eyeballing and jamming with internet friends, are more likely to be based in non-drinking establishments like coffee bars, I'd say.