CHESTERFIELD RAIL ALE BEER FESTIVAL...
CHESTERFIELD RAIL ALE BEER FESTIVAL – 18.5.07
On Friday 18.5.07 we took our caravan up to Old Brampton to stay on a 5 van site there in order to catch public transport into Chesterfield on the Saturday for the beer festival. We had been to this lovely site before, and there were hens and a duck wandering round as we got onto our pitch.
After setting up, we walked to the local, the George and Dragon, and although the landlord has just taken over recently, we were able to purchase some lovely toasted sandwiches to have with our excellent real ales. We had Adnams Bitter and Marston Pedigree. He was putting another one on for the Saturday due to the football being on his telly.
Saturday morning we caught the local bus into Chesterfield, and went to the Portland, a Wetherspoons pub, for breakfast. We also had a couple of Wentworth beers here – Gun Park and Best Bitter. There were a lot of beer tickers doing the same, and after eating, we went to the station. A special bus was running from there to Barrow Hill where the beer festival was being held.
This is a lovely venue as it is in the railway sheds, and has a lovely smell of the old steam trains. The beers are set up in front of one of the steam trains and there were plenty to see as we were drinking our beer.
The beer list did not disappoint us, and we had the following beers: Ashover Malthouse Mild, Beartown Bjorganic, Burton Bridge Jubilee, Church End Rising Star, Dow Bridge Lockkeepers Bitter, Downtown Bandits Gold, Newby Wyke Black Funnel Mild, Peak Ales Derbyshire Pale Ale, Peak Ales Mervs Chopper, Pot Belly Crazy Daze, Shugborough Lordships Own, Toll Gate Dog House, Tower Made Um Cry, Tower Coopers Special, Townes Black Five, Wood Shropshire Lass, Wood Hopping Mad, and York Sovereign.
We still popped into the George and Dragon on the way back to site and had Milestone Rich Ruby before going back to the caravan.
Sunday was a lovely morning, and we had a lazy time feeding the birds and watching the antics of the chickens and duck. The owner came over and we must have spent nearly an hour chatting to him along with another couple staying on the site. He was an old merchant seaman, and had loads of stories to tell, both of his travels and farming when he was a kid and horses were used for most of the work. I would love to read his memoirs if he ever writes them.
This had been another brilliant weekend away.
