Reading and Long Itchington Trip

It was Saturday 3^rd May 2008 and Keith Satterly had arranged another of our branch outings, this time to Reading, on the weekend of their Beer Festival, one of the biggest in the country. This trip was free to all workers from Leicester Beer Festival, as a thank you. As always, we departed on time, picking up members from Hinckley on the way.

As it was a bright sunny day, on arrival at Reading Beer Festival, it wasn’t surprising to notice hoards of people queueing to get in. This year had seen a 25% increase on previous years' in the marquee size, taking the limit to 2,600 drinkers. Some of us joined the queue and went in to the Beer Festival, whereas a number of us decided to drink in the town, as Keith had given maps out as usual. Some of us chose to work at the Beer Festival, me included.

Two of the more popular pubs visited, were The Three Guineas and The Hobgoblin. Most pubs were selling beers close to £3.00 a pint and in plastic glasses!

By 5pm, we were leaving Reading to visit Long Itchington, where all 6 of the village pubs were jointly holding a Beer Festival. They were - The Buck And Bell, The Cuttle Inn, The Duck On The Pond, The Green Man, The Harvester and The Two Boats.

With a map, beer list and a couple of hours to spend, we all spread out in the village, looking for varied beers. Some pubs had almost sold out (a couple of them had only 4 un-interesting beers to start with). The beers in each pub were sold in rotation, over the bar, not on separate stillaging.

By 9pm, we were on our way home. We all agreed that it had been enjoyable and different, but has plenty of room for improvement, next time.Our thanks go to Dennis for a safe and pleasant journey and to Keith Satterly for another well organised outing.

K Williams

The Buck & Bell

This page last updated: June 3, 2008

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