Tag: CAMRA

Norwich CAMRA Evening Coach Trip – May 2026

This is my little summary page from the CAMRA coach trip to which Ivan kindly invited me last Friday. I’ve written up the evening across several blog posts to avoid my wittering on in what seems like an endless post. However, for anyone who wants to meander through those riveting (well, something like that) posts they’re at:

Pre-Party at the Bell, Norwich

White Horse, Upton

Lion, Thurne

Cock, Cantley

Gordon, Thorpe

I’m something of an advocate for CAMRA, as I think the organisation does a huge amount for the pub trade. There are, of course, disagreements at national level from time to time, because this is Britain and it is illegal to have a membership organisation without at least some procedural tension. But locally, CAMRA does a great deal to support pubs, promote real ale and bring together people who care about beer, pubs and the rather important matter of keeping both of them alive.

Membership is a little over £30 a year but there are numerous benefits to that including free entry into beer festivals, vouchers to use at pubs (and I do indeed use them at JD Wetherspoon however unpopular that might be in refined circles) alongside a free magazine as well. There are also discounts on coach trips, which is a very practical benefit for anyone who likes visiting pubs that are awkward to reach without either a driver, a bus timetable from 1978 or a worrying level of rural determination. As a non-driver, I often entirely neglect these country pubs unless I’ve found a willing driver to take me (thanks Jen!).

For anyone interested in joining CAMRA, I’d recommend it as there is also national and local campaigning which supports the hospitality trade in general. And there’s also Norwich CAMRA beer festival in the last week of October which is an annual treat for me. Roy and I will be ready to surprise and delight visitors this year with our efficiency at selling glasses and tokens, but we don’t want to linger on our effectiveness as I don’t think beer festival organiser Craig can take much more of that level of operational excessive.

Ivan organises a lot of these coach trips and he evidently puts lots of thought into them so deserves plenty of credit. Not too much though as he’ll get big headed and that would be sub-optimal for everyone. For anyone who wants to become more involved with the social side of CAMRA they’re a great thing to go along to, a coach trip for members costs around £12 each. There are lunchtime ones which go to five pubs and the evening ones go to four pubs, so it’s a way of exploring some new venues and a handy opportunity to revisit some old favourites.

There’s more about Norwich CAMRA at https://norwich.camra.org.uk/ and they welcome new volunteers to help them. I’d add that for anyone who might be lonely or in need of new friends, these regular coach trips are a really positive way of finding other people interested in drinking beer. And, as a free service, Ivan gives his top tips on running pub cellars so what more could anyone want?

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 4/4 (The Gordon at Thorpe, Norwich)

Ivan is a man of mystery, intrigue and chaos, but he managed to hide his final choice of pub very well as I didn’t hear anyone guess correctly. There were a few quite determined guesses and several people thought that we were heading for the Rushcutters, but the final pub of choice was the Gordon. This is exactly the sort of moment that makes Ivan’s coach trips work so well as everyone thinks they have cracked the system, only to discover that the system is Ivan and he is not available for public scrutiny.

This doesn’t look entirely dissimilar from another Gordon that I know. The pub opened in 1934 and there’s something of a link back to Upton, where we had our first pub visit of the evening at the White Horse, as the then owners Bullards gave up the licence of the Prince of Wales in Upton to open this pub. The pub was operated by Bullards until 1967, then it went from Watney Mann to Brent Walker before falling into the perhaps more sub-optimal Pubmaster and then Punch Taverns ownership.

There was a friendly welcome from the team members and there was a choice of two ales, London Pride and Wainwright’s Gold, although there was also Ghost Ship in bottles.

The real ale options weren’t to my own personal taste, so I got a Caffrey’s instead. The Maltesers were just what I needed though, I was pleased to see those. I know it’s a CAMRA coach trip and this isn’t a real ale, but I am a complex man with many contradictions, most of them involving beer and snack choices.

Indeed, this is a very agreeable snack selection and I was suitably surprised and delighted.

It’s a really quite decent community pub this and they had a range of different events advertised and it was all clean and tidy. They’re not really trying to reinvent the the wheel here, it’s not a free trade pub to my knowledge and so there are limitations which the team members just have to work around.

The back bar arrangement.

And that was the end of our pub visits, the coach then dropped people back off in Norwich, with Ivan and I getting off at the Puppet Theatre for the after-party at the Artichoke. It was all a lovely evening, but more on the whole arrangement in the next post.

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 3/4 (The Cock at Cantley)

The third in our CAMRA coach tour was to Cantley Cock, which is a pub that I’ve visited a few times before and not least to have the all you can eat ribs and chicken wings. This became a licensed premises in the late eighteenth century and then became part of the Steward & Patteson estate. For a few years it became a Watney Mann pub, but they closed it in 1975, before it reopened as a free house in the following year. It’s done really well to stay open, there’s not a huge amount of housing nearby and they’ve been creative with their food offering to entice customers from further afield.

The group heading into the pub to surprise the staff just at the end of food service. There is a particular energy to twenty or so beer enthusiasts entering a pub at once as it’s part a coach party wanting an evening out, part of an informal inspection team and part a wandering support group for people who have strong views about cellar management.

As I mentioned before, these coach trips are unannounced to the pubs and there’s a solid reason for that. Firstly, things change and so it wouldn’t be fair for a pub to make extra special efforts and something doesn’t happen. And, also, we don’t really want them to make extra special efforts as the point is to see what’s available on a normal evening. There’s also the danger that a pub might think more real ale will be sold than actually might be, so hence the element of surprise. I mention that as one of the team members mentioned that there were some really nice real ales in the cellar, but I think that having four is entirely reasonable for a country pub.

I went for the Falcon Ale from Lacon’s Brewery and it was well-kept, malty and fruity. I don’t usually have nuts in a pub but I was looking for either chocolate or decadent crisps which they didn’t have, but I was content with the dry roasted nuts. The service was friendly and it was all a welcoming environment, with Ivan here evidently enjoying himself. This is always reassuring, as Ivan enjoying himself generally suggests that the itinerary is going to plan and nobody has yet challenged the authority of the coach schedule.

The bar after the CAMRA rush had subsided. A couple of customers discovered that there was another pub on our itinerary and everyone’s suggestions were completely wrong, Ivan isn’t predictable like that. Ivan was busy at this stage anyway arguing with a customer who thought we should have given advance notice before turning up, so that livened matters up. It is always useful on a pub trip to have a philosophical debate about the ethics of unannounced beer drinking.

After a very worthwhile coach stop, it was time to depart whilst looking at the Norfolk big skies….. I should add that the Cantley Cock is listed in the Good Beer Guide, quite rightly so in my humble opinion.

Then back onto the coach for the next mystery pub. What could possibly go wrong?

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 2/4 (The Lion at Thurne)

Next on the CAMRA coach trip was the Lion at Thurne, another marvellous choice by Ivan as it’s a Good Beer Guide pub that I haven’t been to before. Although there has been a licensed premises called the Lion in Thurne since the 1830s (although until the earlier twentieth century it was known as the Red Lion), this site was built in the 1930s by Lacons and their name is still above the door, although it is now a free trade pub.

Here’s the newspaper advert noting the sale of the former Lion Inn as it was known, with the new Lion Hotel now ready. From this, it’s clear that accommodation was available in both the old and new buildings, although accommodation is no longer offered.

The keg arrangement on the back bar, all looking shiny and interesting.

The real ale selection and I have to note the professionalism of the team member who was behind the bar. She appeared to realise that she had twenty customers suddenly standing at the bar, but this presented no problem for her as she rattled through the service whilst remaining professional, friendly and efficient. Some people might panic under pressure, others simply become calmly excellent while a small army of CAMRA members tries to make decisions about beer.

I did struggle to see what the beer options were initially, but then I realised that I had managed to miss the below.

I did struggle to see what the beer options were initially, but then I realised that I had somehow managed to miss the main board. I am not entirely sure how I missed it, as it was hardly subtle, but this does rather suggest that my observational skills are at their sharpest only when there is a plate of chips nearby. In any case, it was a decent selection of keg and cask options across a range of styles.

I opted for the Royal Pillow Fight, brewed for the venue by the Mr Winters brewery. It’s a light and slightly fruity beer which goes well with salty crisps.

Given the keg options were also intriguing, I had the Pixel beer from Only With Love, a small brewery in West Sussex, which was juicy, fruity and refreshing.

The food menu, not that there was time for us to order anything and I was content with my packet of crisps. There’s a separate dining room area in the pub which looked busy.

The pub has so many CAMRA awards that they have enough to put some of them casually on the windowsill, which is quite the flex really. Some pubs display awards very carefully in decadent frames, whereas the Lion appears to have reached the point where they can scatter them about like loose change. It is a strong look.

One handy source of extra trade for the pub is from the nearby staithe which is a popular little mooring arrangement for boats on the Norfolk Broads.

Michael and I went for a quick walk to get some photos of the sunset. Ivan wasn’t entirely surprised and delighted by our photography skills and reminded us that we were one minute late getting back. He’s a man of precision is Ivan. Some people organise coach trips, but Ivan appears to run them with the quiet authority of a railway timetable, albeit one that has developed opinions.

Anyway, this is very much what these coach trips are designed for, allowing an exploration of county pubs that would otherwise be hard to get to but which offer something interesting and different. It certainly seemed to me to be a deserving entrant into the Good Beer Guide, and another reminder that Norfolk remains full of excellent pubs tucked away in places that are awkward enough to make a coach trip feel not just useful, but frankly necessary.

May 31, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pub 1/4 (White Horse at Upton)

The pre-party completed (I might have made that sound more exotic than it was), it was time to board the coach to be transported to our first mystery pub location.

Safely boarded and ready to go. I had discovered that the first stop wasn’t the Ber Strete Gates and it would be about 25 minutes on the coach, that was the limit of my knowledge of where we were going.

And we arrived at our first stop and I was pleased with this one as it’s been around a decade since I’ve been here. This has been a community run pub since 2012 and although they’ve had some minor financial issues in recent years, they’ve bounced back and all that. There are frequent events held here, beer festivals, musical performances, morris dancers and the like, along with food being served throughout the week.

The venue has been a licensed premises since the late eighteenth century and it was owned by the Coltishall Brewery in the early nineteenth century before they sold it in 1841 and later on it was taken over by Bullards. It then passed into the hands of Watney Mann and then Brent Walker before the community took it on.

A coach load of customers did surprise the venue, but the team members were all friendly and welcoming. I had deliberately taken cash in case that was preferred in these rural areas, but everyone seemed to be paying by card.

The choice of real ales and I liked this selection, a range of beer styles and there are some options there that I haven’t had before.

Some of the events.

We went to sit in the rather nice beer garden and as there were children on the bouncy castle, we thought we’d better not try it out. It was moderately busy in the beer garden and busier inside mostly with diners, but the atmosphere all felt informal and well managed.

I went for the Yellow Tail from Wantsum Brewery from Kent alongside some Mini Cheddars. The beer was clean, hoppy and well-kept, a decent light start to the evening.

This was going around the table and I thought that it was a strange thing to do at CAMRA events but assumed that it was some kind of ritual that they do.

It kept Ivan amused though who was very good indeed at colouring in and it transpired that this isn’t a standard CAMRA activity, it was a one-off.

One of the advantages of visiting here is that that’s another ticked off in my vague attempt to visit every Good Beer Guide pub in the country. A very good first selection by Ivan and after thirty minutes here, we boarded the coach to discover where he was taking us next.

May 30, 2026
CAMRA Coach Trip – Pre-Party at the Bell

Young Ivan kindly invited me on a CAMRA coach trip, an experience that I haven’t been on before. In short, for these evening trips he organises four pubs to visit, keeps it a secret from everyone on the trip (other than the driver) and then we drink beer and eat crisps at the pubs. It’s a concept I was on board with, literally in this case. There isn’t really a pre-party to this whole event, but three of us met at the Bell in Norwich, the JD Wetherspoon venue in the heart of the city. As for the beers, there were five guests and their normal selection of regular real ales, with the prices all being at the lower end of the scale.

I went for the Honey Porter from Conwy Brewery, a sweet dark beer with a slight honey flavour which was all a little quirky.

Ivan had quickly eaten a main and a side, which I thought was very sensible and I should have got there earlier to do something similar. But, I knew that there were plenty of bar snacks ahead during the evening, although I was disappointed to discover that Ivan didn’t walk up and down the coach selling snacks en route. There’s a learning point there for future trips.

It’s all happening now!

May 30, 2026

CAMRA – No 2026 GBBF Taking Place…….

This is a little sad, although I least I got to experience my first Great British Beer Festival this year. Difficult it to see it ever coming back now, but who knows…..

Dear Julian,

At Members’ Weekend earlier this year, the National Executive presented finances that painted a stark picture. As your Chairman I was open with you; we were facing significant challenges.

The National Executive has faced this head on, and we have taken decisive action. We will be making immediate changes to address the budget shortfalls we are facing, which are caused by a range of compounding issues.

Leading CAMRA is a privilege. I am responsible for safeguarding our future. This means that the Board and I must make difficult decisions, and sometimes deliver unwelcome news.

Sadly, this means I must tell you that:

The Great British Beer Festival and its Winter counterpart did not attract enough visitors to cover the cost of holding them, resulting in a substantial loss.
Our membership figures – like many other organisations – are simply not growing. The hard truth is we are unlikely to return to pre-2020 levels.
Our festivals are getting more expensive to hold, with fewer affordable venues.
The cost of running a membership organisation and business is also increasing.

As a result, we will not be holding either of our Great British Beer Festivals in 2026.

In the simplest of terms, we did not get enough people through the doors to cover costs such as hiring the venue, accommodation for volunteers and buying beer, cider and perry. We are exploring why these events made a loss and identifying lessons learned. Other CAMRA festivals will continue to be assessed through our usual processes to minimise the risk of loss.

The winter edition of BEER Magazine 2025 will only be available digitally. This will save a significant amount of money in the short term.

Alongside this, we are developing a new three-year strategy to get us back on course and we will review internal budgets.

We want to be the leading authority on campaigning for pubs, pints and people. But that comes with challenges.

Our activities will be leaner. We will be streamlined. We will be decisive on where we put our time and resources. We must sadly stop supporting the ‘nice to haves’ and instead focus on our key objectives.

This is in line with my vision for CAMRA that I set out at Members’ Weekend.

I talked about a need for us to remember our roots but also evolve if we are going to grow in our collective strength and voice.

I made it clear that we need to focus on the issues where our campaigning will have the most impact, recruit the most members and activate the most volunteers.

We all want CAMRA to be an effective campaigning organisation. I will need the support of branches to make sure that money is being spent on the right activities at branch level, and in line with our aims.

We have produced a set of FAQs to answer questions you may have.

While I hoped I would never need to send this message, my number one priority is seeing our Campaign survive and thrive. Our 50 plus year history must be protected and I am determined to see CAMRA continue for the next 50 years.

Doing nothing is not an option. If we do not act now, the stark reality is we will not exist in the future.

I know, like me, you are committed to CAMRA. I hope you understand that these changes are essential, and I hope I can count on you to help us through this challenging time.

I am confident that with these measures, the introduction of our new strategy, and your continued support, we will come through this difficult time with a renewed focus and purpose.

Ash Corbett-Collins

CAMRA Chairman

September 11, 2025

Old CAMRA What’s Brewing – “Avoid this Pub”

Whilst at the GBBF this week, I had chance to read some of the What’s Brewing, first published by CAMRA in the 1970s.

I’m not sure that CAMRA would use this sort of terminology today, actually telling people to avoid some pubs. The Queen’s at Great Corby has recently permanently closed, although the others are still trading in some form.

Deleted in error? That feels entirely sub-optimal for the Fox as Aspenden….

Although I understand the battle in the 1970s to avoid the generic keg rubbish being pumped out (note the pun there) by breweries, any pub managing to survive at all today is something to be applauded…..

August 11, 2025
Volunteering at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2025

I’ve volunteered at Norwich Beer Festival for over a decade (and on a separate note, I’m delighted that that’s going ahead this year albeit in a slightly different form because of the delays to the Halls repairs) so I decided this year to come and volunteer at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) for a week. I arrived early on the Sunday morning and was given the H&S briefing given that the NEC hall was a construction site at that point. Hi-vis jacket and steel toe shoes later, I was ready for action, hoping that they didn’t want me to do anything construction related.

I was tasked with helping set up the Breweriana stall, a word (Breweriana, not stall, that I had to think about how to spell and pronounce). I discovered that this meant old books, old glasses and brewery memorabilia so I merrily decided to ask to stay all week, meaning that they were stuck with me for the whole event. I was pleased that the managers and staffing agreed to this, but it was definitely an excellent decision.

It looked chaotic at this point, but the two stand managers knew what they wanted to achieve.

Starting to put the old glasses on the shelving units. I’m pleased to say I didn’t break any glasses all week.

Woooo, glasses from Norwich Beer Festival, and it was possibly me that sold them in the first place.

The stand coming together.

We had a lot of bottles of unopened beer which sold well and here’s an early bottle of Adnams Broadside.

Volunteer food options were a little limited due to NEC restrictions, but, fortunately, a quick walk to the monorail to get to Birmingham Airport meant I could get to Greggs and M&S. I was located near to the hotel, as CAMRA had paid for some rooms at the Hilton located at the NEC and that meant I didn’t have to trek back into the city centre every day.

Funky Fluid! Europe’s best brewer.

Twas ever thus.

There was live music during the event and I think it’s fair to say that this did not surprise and delight me. Not because of the quality of the bands and singers themselves, but just because the noise was a bit loud and the building acoustics are terrible as it wasn’t really designed to be a concert hall. I’m not sure that even the Wurzels would have sounded good in here.

Thanks to Roy and Jen for bringing me four Greggs chicken bakes from the company’s outlet store.

The hot dog at the staff party at the end of the event. The actual hot dog isn’t visible, but was rather lovely. Note the healthy salad.

There were seconds available later on, so I accidentally had another one and the staff forced a sausage roll on me as well.

The staff party taking place after the festival closed to the public. I’ve tried to avoid taking photos of people here, but as a sense of scale, this was the size of the volunteer area during the entire festival. We had a lot of space everywhere.

Inside the American beers storage area where I had numerous beers that did surprise and delight me. The Volunteer Arms had free beer and cider all week and it was rather lovely to try so many different beers during the week. For anyone wondering about whether they should volunteer, I’d very much recommend it.

The take-down of the stand took us around three hours and that was the end of that. This was the first time in a long while that GBBF didn’t take place in London and it was obviously risky moving it elsewhere, I hope it’s worked out well enough in Birmingham to have another event like this next year. It was great to meet new friends and I was fortunate to be included in a great team at my stall. It was lovely to see Mark, Simon, Susie, Bob and many others who I knew from the Star, not to forget the marvellous Julian, Roy and Jen from Norwich.

August 10, 2025
Awards

This means a lot. Thanks to customers and breweries. No more words are needed, love you all!

How lovely.

The marvellous Simon from CAMRA.

April 9, 2024