The Great North (ale) Run

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Jane Quinn
5 years ago
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The Great North (ale) Run It was over a year since the friend that introduced me to real ale had moved from Lyneham up to Inverness about time for a visit I thought.

1 The Great North (ale) Run It was over a year since the friend that introduced me to real ale had moved from Lyneham up to Inverness about time for a visit I thought. Come up on the weekend of the 19 th September said Andy, There s a beer festival on the banks of Loch Ness. How could I refuse! I decided to visit my Mum and the rest of the family in Middlesbrough on the return journey south so steeled myself for a long drive. Obviously I didn t want to drive all the way up to Inverness in one day so planned a night stop in the Lake District. At the last moment my wife June decided to join me. This was great as I had someone to share the driving but the downside would be a little more shopping and less time driving with the roof down. Setting off on Thursday morning was a good choice, the weather was glorious and the traffic light. We made good time and got to the lakes in 4hrs. June decided it was a little too early to go to the pub we were booked into for the night, the Watermill Inn in the village of Ings, so we went to Keswick for a wander in the afternoon sun. Although this was enjoyable I was keen to get on with some research so within the hour we were back at the Watermill. The Watermill Inn is Cumbria s Pub of the Year 2009 and they also proudly display many other CAMRA and non CAMRA awards on the wall around the fireplace. The Collie Wobbles brewery can be seen through the viewing window. This 7 barrel plant supplies a wonderful range of ales direct to the pub. The pub has two bars and on the day of our visit they had 6 ales on from their own brewery plus 5 others. For the cider drinkers Old Rosie was available. As June was driving the next day I decided I ought to try as many ales (half pints) as I could and was doing well until I went to the second bar and found Rudgates - Ruby Mild which of course had just been voted Champion Beer of Britain. Well, being a dark ale man I m afraid the tasting of other ales went out of the window and I enjoyed a few pints of this glorious mild, served in oversize glasses so I got a full pint and sufficient creamy head on the ale to make a northern man happy. The following morning after a hearty breakfast we set off for Inverness. Again the weather was dry and sunny and we made good time arriving in Inverness 6 hours later. We met Andy at Culloden Moor visitors centre. The cost of 10 a ticket was somewhat softened by our National Trust membership so only one 10 note was required. We spent an interesting hour or so wandering the centre and visiting the moor itself before heading to Andy s place where a swift cup of tea and a change of clothes got us ready for the evening. We arrived at the Castle Tavern and much to Andy s surprise there was a beer festival on! 4 ales from England and 6 from Scotland. The tavern is fairly small downstairs but has a large outside area and there is a dining room on the first floor. We managed to get a table at

2 the end of the bar and enjoyed simple but tasty meals served by enthusiastic and cheerful staff. Although I wasn t tempted by the English ale selection (Spitfire, Tribute, Abbot bitter or Hobgoblin), I was immediately tempted by the Huston - Warlock stout, a glorious dark strong tasting ale, it slipped down well. Also tried the An Teallach - Crofters Pale Ale and Suliven. Houston - Peter s Well was the last bevy at the Castle Tavern before heading off to Hootananny in search of more ale and music. Hootananny has won numerous awards as a music venue. A range of music is on offer and on Friday this was a trio playing compositions of their own accompanied by guitars and a fiddle. It was very busy with no where to sit but the music was enjoyable and we managed a few pints of Red Kite from the Black Isle Brewery Next stop was the Blackfriars pub. Although not very busy there were three guys playing seriously good old style rock music (lead guitar, base guitar and drums) who kept us entertained for the rest of the night oh and there was the ale: An Teallach Kildonan, Inveralmond - Thrappledouser, Doctor Okells - IPA (Isle of Man), Joseph Holt - Pioneer (Manchester), Caledonian - Golden Promise. All in superb condition. During one of the songs we were approached by a chap from the bar who offered us a wee dram. Not wanting to insult this quaint custom we saw off the wee drams pretty swiftly which was a challenge for me as I m not a malt drinker. Ten minutes later he s back again with three more wee drams only this time the music is not on and we realise our Scottish benefactor is indeed a lad from Liverpool on a solo night out. We declined his kind offer so he promptly poured all three into one glass and saw it off should stick to the real ale me thinks. It was fairly late so we set off home after what was a wonderful evening, good company, good food and a variety of real ales. What more could a man ask for? The following morning saw us at the Kings Highway (Wetherspoons) Although the manager had a reasonable 8/10 real ales on the excitement of seeing the Cairngorm Black Gold,voted Supreme Champion Beer of the year by the SIBA [Society of Independent Breweries ], was dampened by the words coming soon written in chalk on the bar, but the manager assured me it would be on when we returned from the beer festival so I settled for a pint of Greene King- Abbot Reserve. June was off sight seeing and shopping and Andy and I set off for the bus station. After an interesting chat with a dreadlocked young lady who was on her way to the End of the Midge festival we caught the bus to Drumnadrochit and the Benleva Hotel Beer Festival The hotel is situated on the banks of Loch Ness and holds the longest running beer festival in the Highlands which lasts for a week. There are generally 10/11 ales all served on hand pump and over 60 ales and 5 ciders would be served during that week.

On the day we visited the following Ales/Ciders were available: An Teallach Crofters Pale Ale 4.2% Cairngorm Blessed Thistle 4.5% Cairngorm Nessie s Monster Mash 4.4% Deeside Macbeth 4.

3 On the day we visited the following Ales/Ciders were available: An Teallach Crofters Pale Ale 4.2% Cairngorm Blessed Thistle 4.5% Cairngorm Nessie s Monster Mash 4.4% Deeside Macbeth 4.1% Inveralmond Ossian's 4.1% Islay Ales Dun Hogs Head Ale 4.4% (Mild) Isle of Skye Cuillin Gorm 4.5% Isle of Skye Red Cuillin 4.2% Plockton Craggs 4.3% Stewart Edinburgh Gold 4.8% Belhaven Fruit Farms Thirsty Cross (Cider) Ross-on-Wye Ciders A range of 4 I got the opportunity to meet local CAMRA members, who had walked 12 miles to get to the beer fest. Surprisingly there were more English voices in the bar than Scottish and even more surprisingly of the 6 local CAMRA members I met only one was actually Scottish! We managed a half of all the ales present and then made our way back to Inverness and the Kings Highway where June was waiting. Disappointingly the Cairngorm Black Gold was still not on so back to the Castle for a bite to eat and a couple of pints before going off to bed as we had a busy day on Sunday. No pubs today as we set off on the two hour drive north into the highlands to visit Andy s partner, Andy drove so we were able to appreciate the spectacular scenery and again the weather was kind to us. I got to thinking that it is probably only a few hundred years since the general populous had even see this part of the world. Kirsty was on duty but managed to have dinner with us before being called away. Bottled real ale was the order of the day, although I have just realised Andy did tempt me with some Isle of Skye gin which came out and disappeared again! The following morning we set off South and made Inverness by 10am. Quick goodbye to Andy and we continued our journey to Middlesbrough arriving at about 6pm.

4 Chats to my mum and the rest of the family are carried out during the day chats with my younger brother are carried out at night in the pub! He is trying real ales when I visit but generally doesn t drink much and is happy to drive so we set off into town to the Star GBG pub). This is an old dockers pub which has been modernised and as it is close to the local university campus can get quite popular. It was quiet on the night we visited and I m afraid the beer wasn t really up to scratch. I tried both the Black Sheep- Bitter and one other, which I can t remember but both were disappointing. Shame really. Following day was a rest day but we were soon back on the ale trail when mum and June fancied a drive out Stokesley is a nice village to visit I suggested. Although they didn t realise it Stokesley is also the home of the White Swan and the home of the Captain Cook brewery. So off we set for a stroll around this large village June wanted to do a little shopping so mum and I went to the White Swan. This is one of those pubs you d add to a list of your favourite local pubs. Great ale, comfortable surroundings and a good atmosphere even when it s empty! Eight beers on (far too many for a lunchtime) and it was time to go home. Martin brought me back on two other occasions so I managed to try them all. Needless to say they were all in tip top condition Captain Cook Endeavour 4.4% Captain Cook Black Porter 4.4% Captain Cook Sunset 4.0% Captain Cook Slipway 4.2% Consett Ale Works White Hot 4.0% Consett Ale Works Red Dust 4.5% Hadrian & Borders Secret Kingdom 4.3% Hambelton Ales Stallion 4.2% Consett Ales are brewed at the Grey Horse in Consett, County Durham, which incidentally used to be the home of Derwent Rose Brewery. Unfortunately the website for the Grey Horse doesn t appear to be working so I can t link you to it. The White Swan is planning a beer festival 23 rd -26 th October 2009 and to mark the event the brewer is brewing Falstaff- Spa Nova A ruby ale which is a dark straw full flavoured ale at 13.1%!! On our last day out we set off for a drive around the North Yorkshire Moors and stopped at Danby. Obviously we had to pop into the Duke of Wellington. Sadly the pub doesn t sell food at lunchtimes which somewhat curtailed my ale tasting. I managed half pints of Daleside - Bitter Copper Dragon - Best Bitter and Derventio Nero before being escorted to the Stonehouse Bakery Café. This café is just behind

the pub and I wondered why the landlord didn t simply display this small café s menu for his customers to buy from. He would have certainly made a few shillings from me that lunchtime.

5 the pub and I wondered why the landlord didn t simply display this small café s menu for his customers to buy from. He would have certainly made a few shillings from me that lunchtime. On the way around the moors we came within 5 miles of Whitby. I managed to resist asking June to pop in for fish and chips and maybe a pint or two! The following morning we set off back to Chippenham. The traffic was dreadful and on our arrival in the Gloucestershire area I realised we would hit the M4/M5 junction at about 5pm. We decided to make an across country detour and stop for an early evening meal at the..old Spot at Dursley, what a wonderful place to finish off our holiday. Unfortunately they don t serve food in the evening so once again I was thwarted but had time for a pint of Uley - Old Ric and Wye Valley Butty Bach. A short drive through the wonderful Gloucester and Wiltshire country sides saw us home about 8pm. Many thanks to June for sharing the driving, Andy and Kirsty for putting us up in Scotland. My Mum Betty for looking after us in Middlesbrough and my brother Martin for driving me to the wonderful White Swan. Notes: When visiting any area of the UK in search for ale why not check out the CAMRA website for local websites that may cover the area you are heading for? The area of Scotland we visited is covered by the Highlands & Western Isles branch of CAMRA. The extensive newsletter What s Yours Then is packed with lots of information (The three newsletters I picked up had 40 pages of local info). Why not take a look at their website for more info? We covered 1471 miles in our weeks trip and drove through a number of wonderful National Parks (Lake District, Northumberland, North York Moors National Park, Yorkshire Dales. Although not a National Park the scenery in the Highlands of Scotland was stunning. I m certainly planning a trip north again next year but probably not a two centre driving trip. Flying up costs approx 50 ret at today s prices. The range of ales in Inverness is superb and although we only visited 3 pubs selling real ale I am told there are more! Dave Maloney

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