What is the Real Ale Trail?

The Real Ale Trail is a bus-based ale event where a bus chauffeurs you all day through spectacular countryside to rural pubs. Every 40ish minutes a bus will appear at each pub on the trail to ferry you to the next pub.

We make a beeline for quirky, off the beaten track and hidden pubs – you may well never have heard of or visited before – where real ale and great hospitality is their passion.

The Real Ale Trail is a story about friendship, and how a pint of ale can bring friends together to share in good old belly laughter whilst exploring pubs and ales you’ve never tried before… without the worry of organising the driving.

Real Ale Trail FAQs

11am to 10pm

Whenever you want between 11am and before 10pm. A timetable will be available on Facebook the buses run on a loop approximately every 40ish minutes. The bus will appear outside all participating pubs or as close as we can get the them. If you want to miss the pick up and get the next one, you can do. Just leave enough time to get back to where you want to start, this sometimes means not attending each pub. The best advice we give to make sure you don’t miss your final stop is don’t leave it too late to get around the trail, the last bus is just one bus. It’s best you leave well before 8pm to get to your last destination.

From all participating pubs.

No problem. Jump on the bus to take you back to where you started (obviously well before 10pm).

Heck No! This event is strictly for people who remember when Neon was cool the first time round.

Buses are on a loop, if you’re not outside waiting for the bus or forget the time and it leaves without you, you can only get the next bus. Ps Don’t leave it until the last bus to get around either, it’s just one bus.

Buy them here online, go to the home page. We send the tickets you buy to the pub with your name on them just before the event for you to pick up.

Possibly…if we have tickets left we will have them at the pub. They sell out so best to buy them online just in case.

Nah… any available tickets will in the participating pubs.

Gee, no way. The bus is just for transport and singing not for drinking… save that for the pubs!

Unfortunately dogs are not allowed on Ale Trail buses, it’s a little overwhelming for them.

Yes all the pubs are stocked as normal behind the bar but they celebrate in special ales.

THIS EVENT IS PERFECT FOR PEOPLE WHO TRULY…
ENJOY REAL ALE, GOOD PUB FOOD AND ENJOY SPENDING QUALITY TIME WITH GREAT FRIENDS.

BUY TICKETS

Who is it for?

Everybody over 24 who enjoys a good day out with good friends who enjoy great Real Ale.

For real ale enthusiasts, there’s a minimum of three ales in each pub (at least 50 ales always on each trail), microbreweries creating speciality ales just for the day as well as small batch ales, never to be experienced again.

If ale isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other drinks available and sometimes we invite boutique gin makers to join us too.

Drink safely

The Real Ale Trail is about spending time in our much-loved pubs in the company of some good friends with some great ales. It’s not about getting drunk or racing to the finish line!

Find out more about how it works

What do I do next?

First, buy a ticket here or at any of the participating pubs on the trail you fancy. Grab some friends who are great company and make you laugh, board the bus with your ticket (singing is not compulsory but we encourage it) and prepare to enjoy a day of quaffing local ales, sampling the food and entertainment, discussing the merits of fine ale and going home happy.

Don’t forget to take some pictures too!

A ticket gets you unlimited travel all day long, and if you are brave you can go around the route as many times as you like. From experience, we might add that this is unlikely!