Bed, breakfast – and beer!

Bed And Breakfast | Pub Accommodation | Posted 2016.08.11

Bed, breakfast and beer! Enjoy a stay in a pub during Cask Ale Week:

There are many good reasons to stay in a pub: charming and characterful buildings, friendly staff and convenient locations among them. Because best of all, the pub is the home of beer, and with the annual Cask Ale Week celebrations coming up in September, there’s an opportunity to enjoy some of the beery activities being staged by scores of breweries and pubs, followed by a comfortable night’s sleep in a pub room, and a reviving breakfast the next morning.

Cask Ale Week runs from 22 September to 2 October and embraces a number of beer tastings, brewery tours, beer and food matching dinners, happening in breweries and pubs across the country. Many events are taking place either in a pub with rooms, or close to one, making it easy to turn an evening beer tasting into a more leisurely overnight break.

Stay In A Pub, www.stayinapub.co.uk, the website that lists close to 1,600 pubs with rooms, has found a handful of Cask Ale Week activities with pub accommodation near at hand. So whether you fancy a brewery visit, a tutored tasting or a pub tour, have a look at our suggestions and book yourself in for bed, breakfast and beer – the perfect way to spend an early autumn weekend. More events are being added by brewers and pubs as we approach Cask Ale Week, so check their website www.caskaleweek.co.uk for events near you.

Cornwall: St Austell Brewery

The Rashleigh Arms in Charlestown, near St Austell, is a stunning pub, located on the harbour front and run by the winners of this year’s BII Licensee of the Year award, Rob & Lucy Brewer. Over Cask Ale Week and throughout October they are offering a special Brewery Break which includes two nights’ accommodation in one of their eight lovely bedrooms with breakfast and a tour of the nearby, 160-year old family-run St Austell Brewery, including beer tasting.

Kent: Shepherd Neame

The Sun Inn in Faversham dates back to the 14th century and oozes history and character. It’s also just a hop from the Shepherd Neame brewery, which is staging two special Cask Ale Week events. An Autumn Beer & Food Matching evening on 24 September offers a special six-course dinner from locally sourced ingredients, matched with beers and hosted by a Shepherd Neame beer expert (pictured left). On 30 September, a simpler Brewery Tour with Supper combines a visit to the brewery, a tutored tasting of ales and lagers, and a two course supper and a pint of your choice.

Hampshire: Flack Manor Brewery

For a small brewer, Flack Manor, based near Romsey, is planning big celebrations for Cask Ale Week! Choose from an evening of music and Morris dancing on Friday 23 September, a ‘Grain to Glass’ talk to tell you all about beer, or a tutored tasting by Beer Sommelier Jane Peyton, both on Saturday 24th. Extend your stay by checking into the Cromwell Arms in Romsey, with its 10 rooms blending traditional style with modern convenience, and enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner or bar snacks prepared from local ingredients. Washed down with a pint of cask ale at the bar, of course!

Edinburgh: Caledonian Brewery

The Caledonian Brewery was built in 1869 and its chimney stack in Slateford is still a recognisable feature of the city’s skyline. One of the original Victorian breweries of Britain, it’s the only one to still use direct open fired coppers, which you can discover for yourself on a guided tour on Friday 23 September, combined with a tutored tasting of some of ‘the Caley’s’ fine beers such as Deuchars IPA.
In nearby Dalkeith, the award-winning Sun Inn four individually styled bedrooms, including the Signature Suite with four-poster bed and copper bath. Menus offer Modern British dishes, prepared using the best available Scottish produce.

Oxfordshire: Hook Norton Brewery

Sitting in the beautiful, mellow Cotswold Hills landscape, Hook Norton is one of the finest examples of a Victorian Tower Brewery in the country. Because tours, which run throughout Cask Ale Week, include the original steam engine and the shire horses – if they’re not out delivering beer to local pubs in the traditional way. The tour finishes with a beer tasting. Close to the brewery in the charming town of Chipping
Norton, the Fox is perfect for an overnight stay. Hence a traditional 16th century inn, it has 10 bedrooms, a welcoming bar offering cask ales and great British food sourced from local suppliers to offer a true taste of the Cotswolds.

Suffolk: St Peter’s Brewery

One of the prettiest breweries in the country, St Peter’s Brewery is housed in a historic building dated from 1280, complete with moat, terrace and lawned garden. Brewery tours are available on Saturdays and Sundays during Cask Ale Week, including a tutored tasting and a bottle of beer to take away.
In the nearby town of Beccles, the Swan House is the perfect base for exploring the Suffolk coast or the Norfolk broads. Accommodation is offered in five distinctively decorated rooms, while downstairs, guests can enjoy an eclectic menu based on local, seasonal ingredients with international influences.

North West: Robinsons Brewery

Tours of the Robinsons Brewery in Stockport are available throughout Cask Ale Week, offering visitors an insight into almost 180 years of brewing excellence at this independent family business. You’ll also meet the Robinsons shire horses Hopnik and Wizard – two of the last in the country – and try at least three different beers. Therefore just a short drive out from the brewery takes you to the Pack Horse Inn, nestled in the hills above New Mills on the edge of the Peak District. With 12 quality 4-star accredited bedrooms and a CAMRA-rated bar offering a changing selection of cask ales, the Pack Horse Inn is the perfect retreat for a weekend break.

Notes to editors:

  • Stay In A Pub – www.stayinapub.co.uk – is a website listing close to 1,600 pubs with rooms across the UK, with full information and online reservation for most.
  • Gift tokens are also available from the Stay In A Pub website, from £20 upwards, redeemable against accommodation or food or drink during a stay.
  • Hence around 6,000 pubs currently offer overnight accommodation and the number is growing as pub groups invest in letting rooms. Each year, there are around 92 million overnight stays in the UK
  • Holidaying at home is growing in popularity, with 85% of Brits planning a ‘staycation in 2016, according to Greene King’s Leisure Spend Tracker Report (July 2016). In the first quarter of 2016, overnight visits in England rise 10% to 7.3m and spending on domestic overnight holidays was up 23% to £1.8bn, VisitBritain figures show.
  • For visitors to the UK, a visit to the pub, and a pint of beer, are consistently near the top of their list of ‘must do’ activities.

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Issued on behalf of: Stay In A Pub
By: ShielPorter Communications
Further information: Ros Shiel: [email protected] / 07841 694137
John Porter: [email protected] / 07734 054389