A Day Out in Manchester

    The Marble Arch & Smithfield Hotel

At the Leicester CAMRA Branch Annual General Meeting last September, Keith Satterly was elected as the new Social Secretary.Keith has always had a keen interest in days out by coach and train.  With this in mind, he set out to create a programme of events for the Branch, starting with Manchester on 29^th January 2005.

The Leicester Branch had decided to back this trip financially to re-launch the branch’s social calendar. Keith booked a 50 seat coach and posters were designed to pin up in the local pubs and information was printed in the Leicester Drinker.

Within a week, Keith had taken 20 or more names for the trip, complete with a booking deposit. By Christmas, the trip was nearly full.

Saturday morning on 29^th January, most of us were gathered in Humberstone Gate, the weather presenting good drinking conditions, not too cold and no rain. The coach arrived on time and by the time all the members had been checked on board we left Leicester at 8.45 heading for our outward journey stop off “Stalybridge Station Buffet Bar”. We stopped here for about 50 minutes, with a wide choice of beers, about 8 in all and a large collection of railway exhibits from years gone by. A few of us visited the pubs in the town while the rest of us enjoyed the Victorian atmosphere of the bar with excellent service and a warm roaring coal fire.

     Stalybridge Station Buffet Bar

On route from Stalybridge to Manchester, Keith handed out maps with pubs outlined on them and told us of the various pub festivals also taking place in the City. We arrived in Manchester around lunchtime, being dropped off outside New Century House, the venue for the National Winter Ales Festival. Some of us joined the festival queue while the rest, armed with maps set off to tour the pubs. 

There are many good Manchester pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide, many of them within easy walking distance of the Beer Festival. Some of the more popular ones visited were: The Smithfield (with a beer festival on), Bar Fringe, Castle, Hare & Hounds, Beer House and Marble Arch to name but a few. 

By 5.20 it was almost dark with Keith sitting on a bollard ticking the names off as people were arriving back for the bus. We left at 5.35 heading for Staveley, Derbyshire, arriving at The Speedwell Inn at 7.15. Here we had just under an hour to sample 3 beers brewed on the premises by Townes Brewery, this being their brewery tap.

      Festival Poster                                                        Keith Satterly ticks off the names

By 8.15 we were on the last leg of our journey home. Amazingly, the bus was in complete silence, not a song to be heard. Keith then announced that we were approaching Leicester and hoped that all had enjoyed themselves. In return Keith was thanked for his efforts in organising a great day out. We arrived back in Leicester in plenty of time for another pint or two in town.

Acknowledgements must go to Howard of Ausden Clarke Coaches for a safe and pleasant journey and Keith Satterly for the organisation.

K Williams.

This page last updated: June 3, 2008

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