Real Ale Walks
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We now had a dedicated website for Real Ale Walks at www.4ale.co.uk This contains details and prices for all our breaks.
Eight years ago we started Real Ale Walks as the sort of break that we would want to go on and coined the phrase, “The walking holiday for people who wouldn’t been seen dead on a walking holiday”. These walks do exactly what they say on the tin, they take small groups of like minded people on country walks to village pubs in the beautiful and largely unknown Quantock Hills in north-west Somerset.
All the walks are themed and, as we run a brewery, we also produce an ale for each walk to complement the theme – so for the Coleridge walk, we produce an eighteenth century porter for tasting on the Friday evening.
We don’t do anoraks, weak lemon drink and certainly DO NOT walk past a pub looking for a bus shelter to eat a soggy cheese sandwich in. WE DO wear Gortex if it rains, taste whatever the pubs have to offer (often sneaking out for a nightcap when no one’s looking) and spend quite a bit of time in village inns.
We have been know to allow lager and white wine spritzer drinkers on the walks as long as accompanied by a responsible real ale drinker.
This year we are running a few favourites and a couple of new walks.
QUANTOCK PENTATHALON - (SPACES AVAILABLE), 3 - 5 AUGUST 2012
While London may have the 2012 Olympics, Real Ale Walks have a challenging weekend to rival the most gruelling of races – and all our events end up at a pub!
On the Friday we start with a light training session in the microbrewery tasting an Olympic ale brewed specially for the occasion. After a high protein supper, we sprint to the Ancient Mariner for a swift nightcap before bedtime and a good night’s rest before the big event.
Up bright and early on Saturday with a proper full English workout before setting off over the Quantock Hills for a marathon 5 mile walk to the Carew Arms for lunch. After a much needed pint or two to replenish lost fluids we return to Nether Stowey and visit the finishing post at the George Hotel for a victor’s pint. In the evening the Rose and Crown beckons for a pub supper with synchronised quiz evening.
Sunday is our track and field event walking to the Plough at Holford for lunch, returning to base at about 4.00pm.
WINE, WALKING & SUN (SPACES AVAILABLE), 29 JUNe - 1 JULY 2012
Oatley Vineyard is only a couple of hours away and this weekend allows our real ale drinkers to also try a drop of crisp and clean white wine (idea for the couple who have different tastes!).
On Friday we taste a pint of the summer brew in production at the Stowey Brewery and after a spot of supper we take a short stroll up to the remains of an 11th Century castle before popping into a local hostelry for a quick night-cap.
After breakfast on Saturday, we have an easy 4 miles to Oatley where Iain will show us around and let us taste a drop of the latest vintage over a French style picnic. We then walk a further mile into Cannington to visit the Rose and Crown (a proper ale house) or you could visit the walled garden there! Our evening meal is taken at another Rose and Crown with our fun quiz.
Sunday is another relaxed day with a 4 mile stroll into the foothills of the Quantocks before returning back at midday.
IN THE (NOT SO SOBER) FOOTSTEPS OF COLERIDGE (SPACES AVAILABLE), 18 - 20 May 2012
Two of the UK’s favourite poems were written in the village of Nether Stowey by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and this weekend visits the places that the poet would have known and gained inspiration for the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan.
We start the weekend by tasting a porter brewed from an 18th Century recipe and supplied by the Stowey Brewery to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Trust acquiring the Cottage for the Nation. After a hearty real ale casserole we might even sneak in a quick pint of ale at the Ancient Mariner Inn, opposite the great man’s house.
On Saturday morning we catch the bus towards the coast to start the first half of our 9 mile walk along the Coleridge Way with a sandwich lunch in Holford, the village where William and Dorothy Wordsworth lived in 1797/8. We then head back home in time for guests to visit Coleridge’s Cottage if they wish.
Saturday evening is spent in the Rose and Crown where we relax and enjoy a light-hearted quiz over a few pints of foaming ale.
After breakfast on Sunday, we head out into ancient woodland for a 4.5 mile walk before returning to Nether Stowey at midday, where we say our goodbyes.
QUANTOCK CSI - BEER TODAY, GONE TOMORROW - (SPACES AVAILABLE), 7 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2012
Get your magnifying glasses out for a weekend of murder and mystery. We start our weekend with a beer tasting and supper before wandering to one of the Village’s 3 pubs for a nightcap.
After a condemned man’s breakfast, we set out for a 4 mile walk visiting the sites associated with the gruesome murder of Jane Shorney by her husband of 3 weeks – or did he? We return to Nether Stowey for lunch and then the group explore the village with a treasure trail. in the evening we visit the Rose and Crown for dinner and light-hearted quiz.
On Sunday we head for the hills to visit the site of a ruined chapel before returning back home at midday for goodbyes etc.