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7th Spring Ale &
Steam Weekend, May 16th
& 17th 2015 |
North Cotswold Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale |
|
The ever popular Ale and Steam Weekend run by North Cotswold CAMRA held on 16th and 17th May was a great success and once again blessed with fine weather. Normally held at Winchcombe Station but this year with just 21 beers it was extended to include Toddington Station for the second time where 12 beers were also served from the No 2 Waiting Room on the North Platform. 8 ciders were also available split between the two locations. |
^ Winchcombe Beer
ready to go ^ |
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^ Winchcombe Beer & Cider ready to go ^ |
This encouraged train travel between stations for customers to experience the full beer range and also reduced delays in serving the beers. The train journey time between stations was just right to consume a pint and be ready for the next one. |
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^ Campers ready to start ^ |
The second bar at Toddington was not so popular but gave extra capacity and reduced serving delays at Winchcombe. Sunday was fairly quiet but with steady business throughout the day allowed more discussion about the respective beers. |
|
All of the beer and cider was eventually
sold out at Winchcombe with Saturday the busier of the two days and a good
range was available through to Sunday particularly at Toddington. Overall
sales were around 10% more than last year. |
^ First Train from Cheltenham ^ |
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^ Passengers rush to the Bar ^ |
^ South Embankment also full ^ |
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Festival
Winning Beer
Winner of the Festival, the first to run out, was Abbeydale’s Absolution at Winchcombe closely followed by Exeter’s Avocet at Toddington.
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^ Popular Tables
near the Bar ^ |
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^ Toddington Station Bar was also busy ^ |
^ No spare seats at Winchcombe ^ |
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^ 200th Member wants a shirt ^ |
^ Veronica takes off her coat to help the
staff ^ |
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^ Helpers line up for photo ^ |
^ Martyn and Michael head back to Devon ^ |
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^ Sunday morning first engine steamed up ready at Toddington ^ |
Two ciders ran out on Saturday also at
Winchcombe with Gwatkins Silly Ewe dry cider just beating Celtic Marches
Thundering Molly, a medium cider. |
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Congratulations to Festival Coordinator
Martyn Herbert and Good Beer Co supplier Rob Brady who again provided a great
range of beers including the 12 beers from Devon. |
^ Winchcombe stock check Sunday ^ |
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^ Andrew from GWR gets his shirt ^ |
The Railway were
delighted with the extra custom and rail travel. Andrew Smith from GWR felt
it had been a huge success and reported record train travel on the Saturday. |
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^ 200th member gets shirt and starts serving ^ |
^ Only 5 barrels still have dregs ^ |
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Membership Secretary Garry Hayward recruited 7 new members for CAMRA on Saturday. Both bars were
emptied and reconverted to waiting rooms by 6pm on Sunday night and all
empties and racking removed offsite. |
^ Urgent container supplies despatched to Toddington
for take-aways ^ |
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^ Most regular customer tops up on Sunday ^ |
^ Experienced Helpers depart near conclusion at Winchcombe ^ |
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^ Andrew and passenger arrive late ^ |
^ Andrew’s dog finds new owner ^ |
Many thanks to all our helpers and we hope to visit Abbeydale in Sheffield on a suitable date to present their certificate
Report by:
Roger Price, Branch Chairman