Rail ale trail launched at St Ives festival

l Lyn Winter, Rural Transport Partnership Officer, shows the new St Ives Bay Line Rail Ale Trail leaflet to Cornwall CAMRA chairman Rod Davis (left) and festival chairman Gerry Wills

June 5, 2005: An initiative to promote real ale pubs along the St Ives Bay railway line has been launched by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Working in association with operator Wessex Trains and pressure group the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), it has produced a leaflet outlining a trail for the discerning drinker to follow, from Penzance to St Ives. It was launched as the Cornwall branch of CAMRA staged its sixth annual beer festival in the Guildhall at St Ives.

At each participating pub, visitors have a stamp entered into their trail guide, and stamps make prizes, from window stickers up to a 'rail ale tour' t-shirt and enamel badge.

Supported by the Countryside Agency, the Rail Partnership has already successfully launched two other Cornish ale trails, for the Truro to Falmouth Maritime Line and the Looe Valley Line, between Liskeard and Looe.

The beer festival, meanwhile, was declared a great success, with visitor numbers up on last year. There was enough ale to keep visitors from near and far - including one woman from Toronto, and a group of Spaniards - drinking throughout all sessions, from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon.

Festival chairman Gerry Wills was particularly impressed by the number of people who returned to the event having visited in previous years, including a good number who were now planning holidays in St Ives to tie in with it.

"Our staff, who are all CAMRA volunteers, have been fantastic as usual," he added. "And we were very pleased with the backing of the county's breweries, who are always keen to support this event and, indeed, CAMRA's work throughout the year."

Guests over the three days included the new St Ives mayor, Su Holland, and a number of well-known Westcountry brewers and publicans.

There was also a noticeable increase in the number of woman and youngsters trying not just the 80 or so real ales, but also the tradition ciders and perries too.

The beers came from all over the UK, but there was, as usual, a special emphasis on products from Cornwall's 14 breweries. The 'punters' pint' award, for the most popular beer as voted for by visitors, went to Scorrier-based Doghouse brewery for its 4.3% Snoozy Suzy bitter.

4Read more about the ales on the weblog