CHORLEY PUB FESTIVAL

For a town of its size, Chorley has a better selection of pubs and a wider range of beers than most places. Last year, over the St George’s Day weekend we held the first Chorley Pub Festival. It was a great success, so we decided to do it again this year.

Rather than having a beer festival with loads of beers crammed into one location, we have loads of beer spread across 14 pubs in the town centre. We have traditional pubs, micropubs, cafe bars, brewery taps and craft ale bars – in short, whatever your preference, there is something for everyone. Most of these are Independent businesses, with the majority having been opened in the last few years, showing what a vibrant beer drinking town Chorley has become. Once again, the festival will run for four days – from Thursday 20 th April through to Sunday 23 rd. There will be over 70 real ales on offer, including a number of beers and breweries not usually found in the town. There will also be a selection of craft ales, continental lagers and all the other usual pub drinks available.

Under normal circumstances, these pubs showcase a great selection of real ale, but for the event some of them will be putting on extra pumps, opening longer hours and adding food and entertainment to their offering. Some of these venues have been around for many years, while others are relatively new (one only opened in early February). All of them are within a 10 minute walk from the bus and train stations, with many of them clustered around the market area, so moving between the venues once you get here will be easy.

Our plans are still at an early stage with a lot of the details still to be finalised. The Festival has its own Facebook page, https:// www.facebook.com/chorleypubfestival which will be updated with information from the participating venues as and when details are confirmed.

So, put the date in your diary, tell your friends and join us in Chorley at the end of April for what promises to be a great four days.

ADRIAN SMITH

The 14 venues participating in the event are:

Ale Station

Baaa 38

Ben’s Brewery Tap

Bob Inn

Clarke’s Síbín

Flat Iron

Malt n Hops

Nelipots

Railway

Riley’s

Rose & Crown

Shed & Garden

Shepherds’ Hall Ale House

& Victoria Rooms

White Bull