Had a bit of a change yesterday and joined seven other villagers from the White Hart including Mick the landlord on trip over to Derby to the CAMRA beer festival, my first ever.
Our first port of call was the pub and a breakfast made for us by Jenny, Mick's partner. This was the works, bacon egg,sausages, black pudding, beans and tomato, very good it was too.I think also, it was the first time I've actually had a pint in a pub this early in the morning, but you have to line yourself up,well so I'm told, for a visit to a beer festival!
So fully set up, we are on our way to Lincoln in an eight seater, for the train to Derby, via Nottingham.
Having not been a train traveller for some years, I have to say what a vast improvement has been made since my commuting days.
Firstly all the trains are clean and new, they actually all ran on time there and back, the staff were chummy and helpful,and the trains were well used. Perhaps privatisation is working!
On arriving in Derby, our first port of call after negotiating our re-entry to the station, as the festival was on the other side of the track, was to The Brunswick Inn. Just down from the station entrance and the car park.
I mention the car park because this was the scene of our first and only incident of the day.
Last year the incident of note, because the pub have been visiting the festival for the last four years, was Mick had tripped over a low metal fence on the way back to the station at the end of the day and split his nose open on pecking the ground. If you could see his nose that would give you an idea why his nose hit terra firma first!!
Anyway this years incident that occurred before the drinking had started, was to Wayne, the tallest among us at six foot three, as we approached the barriers for the way out of the car park. Wayne was given a hefty clout on the head by the descending barrier, stunned for a while he soon recovered, with much cursing and laughter from the other seven of us...well, after he had been seen to tough it out unscaved!
The pub has a great selection of ales including their own on site brewhouse beers, we had a couple of pints there and played halve it with the pub darts, which as usual with such pieces of equipment, had seen better days.
So back to the station and the successful negotiation of access without using our return tickets was managed and we entered the Roundhouse. Being a CAMRA member my entrance fee was free, but I bought, as we all did, a half pint commemorative glass..for drinking from!
The Roundhouse is a former engine shed and appears to be exactly the same as the London Roundhouse, that used to be used for concerts and can be seen from the train as you approach Euston.
Inside the perimeter walls of the interior was stacked with barrels of beer, the interior between the pillars used for seating.
Being my first festival, and perhaps I learnt some thing from this, is that you need a plan.
The first part being don't go with a pint glass, the second is probably to go with a beer style in mind.
There is just so much to test and starting from brewery A through to Z, wasn't the way to go.
What I did notice, and I didn't expect a lot of old farts talking beer, was the variety of people in attendance, many young ladies and a wide spread of ages.
Being a fan of dark beers,porter and mild, my plan was hatched and from £1.30 to £1.90 a half, based on alcoholic strength, I had a good selection to try..and I did.
We stayed for about three hours, with only a break for some restorative cheese and biscuits, then we were off on the crawl.
Anyway to cut a long story short, we visited a few real ale pubs, drinking pints, don't ask me their names but I think I know where to find them, the penultimate pub was a Wetherspoons, the Babington Arms which was a "sprint" to get to in the town centre, in order that we could watch some of the rugby and have sustenance. Let's just say, the food filled a hole!
I did use my CAMRA Wetherspoon beer vouchers before they expire though, giving us 50p a pint off each of 10 pints.
On our way back to the station we called in at The Alexander Hotel mainly for further relief and a quick half before the journey back to The White Hart for about 10:30 and my first ever free pint from landlord Mick!All in all a great day out,and we've already booked ourselves for next year.
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