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Rail Ale

Review

On the right track for beer and trains

On the right track for beer and trains

Bob Barton has produced a loving guide that lists station bars and refreshment rooms offering good beer, along with preserved steam lines with real ale on board. The book also has a fascinating history of how trains and stations started to offer food and drink when the "iron way" replaced coaches

Added: Friday, September 20th 2019

Feature

Full steam ahead to two great rail bars

Full steam ahead to two great rail bars

East Lancs Railway is a restored steam line brought back from the dead following the Beeching Axe. It has two superb bars at Rawtenstall and Bury stations serving a fine range of beers from local breweries plus top quality true lagers. Visitors will also find saison, sour and even a Bavarian-style Dampfbier. When the line reopened in the 1980s it received a visit from the Flying Scotsman (pictured)

Added: Sunday, July 8th 2018

Rail Ale

The little train line with a big heart

The little train line with a big heart

The Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is the world's smallest passenger train service, founded by two millionaires in the 1920s, one of whom -- Count Louis Zbrowski -- owned the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang racing car. The RH&D criss-crosses the Romney Marsh and offers passengers the chance to visit some ancient pubs, Martello Towers and to spot Derek Jarman's beach cottage at Dungeness. And Hythe was once home to the famous milk stout, Mackeson

Added: Friday, September 26th 2014

Rail Ale

Ludlow on the fast track to success

Ludlow on the fast track to success

Gary and Alison Walters have built a brewery and bar in a former railway shed alongside Ludlow Station in Shropshire where they brew a variety of beers using locally-grown Maris Otter barley and hops from a local farm. The brewery tap welcomes both locals and visitors who can hop off the train for a pint before visiting the town with its castle and magnificent half-timbered medieval and Tudor buildings

Added: Wednesday, September 17th 2014

Rail Ale

Going loco on a Hampshire steam line with great pubs and 3 breweries to visit

Going loco on a Hampshire steam line with great pubs and 3 breweries to visit

The Watercress Line offers restored trains, the steepest gradients in the country and some fine country pubs where you can sup local brews, including a Champion Beer of Britain. And there are regular train trips with real ale bars, too

Added: Monday, February 10th 2014

Rail Ale

Not Boxed in: Wilts brewery steams ahead but pays homage to rail giant Brunel

Not Boxed in: Wilts brewery steams ahead but pays homage to rail giant Brunel

Box Steam in Wiltshire is a modern and efficient brewery but its roots are in the railway age of Brunel and the Box Tunnel that linked London to Bristol. Its beers and its pubs pay homage to Brunel and the great engineer's highs and lows

Added: Friday, December 27th 2013

Rail Ale

Breakthrough on the Nene Valley line and find some perfect pints in Peterborough

Breakthrough on the Nene Valley line and find some perfect pints in Peterborough

You could be forgiven for thinking the Nene Valley Railway is in central or eastern Europe as the steam line has been used for filming James Bond and the Orient Express as well as the iconic Queen video for Breakthru. But the line is in Cambridgeshire and gives steam buffs the chance to also sample some good beer in Peterborough. Pictured: steam loco that will operate the Winter Torpedo specials in November

Added: Tuesday, October 15th 2013

Rail Ale

Up hill, down ale on a railway masterpiece that crosses the Pennines to Scots border

Up hill, down ale on a railway masterpiece that crosses the Pennines to Scots border

The Settle to Carlisle railway was threatened with closure in the 1960s but it's survived and -- steam or diesel -- you can traverse the Yorkshire Dales and the Pennines and cross some spectacular viaducts, such as a steam train crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct (left). Along the route, you can enjoy some good beer and also visit a remote Cumbrian brewery

Added: Thursday, September 26th 2013

Rail Ale

Irony on the iron track: Beeching Way heralds start of revamped Bluebell line

Irony on the iron track: Beeching Way heralds start of revamped Bluebell line

The Bluebell steam line in Sussex, preserved before the Beeching axe fell in the 1960s, has been linked at the cost of £11 million to East Grinstead and the main line to London. For steam and beer lovers, the line offers locos in their original liveries and some fine pubs with good beer and even food from a Michelin-star chef

Added: Saturday, August 24th 2013

Rail Ale

From the City of Ale, to the North Norfolk coast and the steam Poppy Line

From the City of Ale, to the North Norfolk coast and the steam Poppy Line

Norwich, with its many fine pubs, is the ideal starting point for a trip to the coast on both the Bittern Line and the restored North Norfolk steam line. Along the way, discover some excellent ale houses in Cromer, Sheringham and the handsome Georgian market town of Holt. Pictured here is the beer cellar in the third Fat Cat pub in Norwich, the Fat Cat & Canary

Added: Saturday, August 10th 2013

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