Bishops Castle Beer Festival 2007
Saturday 7th July was the date of the annual branch bus trip to the Bishops Castle Beer festival. Bishops Castle is a small market town set in the Shropshire hills south of Shrewsbury and about 3 miles from the Welsh border. There are 5 pubs in the town spread along the length of the very steep main street. All 5 pubs participate in the festival serving over 60 different beers and ciders.
The bus left Loughborough at 9am heading out on the A512, picking up people along the route. We arrived in Bishops Castle at 11.30 and were dropped off at the bottom of the hill.
Some people headed up the hill to the Boars Head which opened at 11.00 whilst the rest of us made ourselves comfortable in the yard of the Six Bells waiting for Big Nev to open up. The Six Bells was serving a range of Welsh beers on gravity as well as a full range of their own brews on hand pump.
Refreshed, we set off to the top of the hill, and the Three Tuns Brewery. They were only selling their own beers, with a selection available on gravity in the yard and a full range on hand pump in the pub, a choice of around 10 beers.
Next stop was the Castle where they were specialising in Cornish beers. These were being served in the landscaped garden which spreads up the hillside behind the pub. This seemed the ideal place to relax in the sun and admire the wonderful view of the valley while enjoying a pint or two.
Time was pressing, so it was down the hill to the Vaults, a basic pub with sawdust on the floor and popular with the younger residents of the area. The gravity beer was in the back yard of the pub where a stage was setup and a blues band were playing. The beer on offer was varied with some excellent Cheshire beers available. It was here that Martin had a few problems with the chilli con carne.
Moving on, some people stopped at the Boars Head, whilst others carried on down the hill to finish off at the Six Bells. At 7pm a bus full of very happy and slightly sunburnt people set off back to Loughborough having enjoyed a good day out with excellent weather, beer, and company and looking forward to next year.
Gallery = Bishops Castle 2007 Images = 8
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