A trail map for one of last year’s events
When: 29th September & 6th October 2018
Where: Conwy, Wrexham and Snowdonia, Wales
£: Tickets cost £15
What is it?
The Real Ale Trail runs every Spring and Autumn across Wales and the Wirral, allowing participants to visit rural pubs and enjoy some decent beer. So, if you like real ale and fancy a day out, why not catch the trail bus?
Over the next few months, The Real Ale Trail will be offering trips around Conwy (29th September), Wrexham (29th September) and Snowdonia (6th October). ‘Ale Trailers’ can buy an unlimited bus ticket (usually about £15 each), which allows them to visit eight to ten pubs, between 11am and 11pm. The buses run on a circular route, usually arriving every 30 to 45 minutes at each venue, and participants may start and finish at any pub on the route.
The trails vary each time but usually offer 50 real ales to try, a bit of live music, a chance to enjoy a car-free day out with friends and visit somewhere new, and sometimes a there’s even a trip to the local microbrewery. Each trail is different and the routes never stay the same. These ‘moving real ale festivals’ attract people from all over the UK, and are a great way to discover some rural pub gems.
September’s Conwy trail will take guests from the Llandudno coast to Conwy Marina via seven pubs and two microbreweries. The Wrexham trail bus will tour traditional Welsh village pubs and the Snowdonia trail will take in the scenic landscape with beer in-between.
The Real Ale Trail was set up seven years ago to support rural pubs and by extension their community (staff, accommodation providers, food producers, and microbreweries). After the smoking ban, and with the availability of cheap alcohol in supermarkets, the British pub was coming under threat, and The Real Ale Trail Company’s mission is to reintroduce/introduce participants to some of the best rural pubs.
All aboard!
More info: realaletrail.co.uk