Nottingham Ale Trail makes a return to the city this Friday for a month-long campaign to highlight the great range of cask ales available at pubs and bars in Nottingham city centre.
Organised by Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) and delivered through the It’s in Nottingham channel, the event will be taking place from Friday 29th July until Monday 29th August 2022.
The event is completely free to take part in and there will be seven themed trails named after Nottingham’s favourite outlaw, Robin Hood, as well as a known friend or foe of the legend, to help people discover some of the city’s finest drinking establishments. There’s also a special dog friendly trail for you to take your four-legged friends on.
Taking part is easy – pick up a Nottingham Ale Trail map from Nottingham Tourism Centre, or from one of the participating venues, choose a trail to follow, buy a half or a pint of cask ale and get your map stamped by the venue at each stop on the selected trail. Once an entire trail is completed, and all the stamps have been collected for that trail, folk can take their map back to Nottingham Tourism Centre for a limited-edition Nottingham Ale Trail pin badge.
For those who complete all seven ale trails within the month, there’s a free limited edition Nottingham Ale Trail T-shirt which will be presented at a special event in September at Bink’s Yard.
The Canine Trail is a flexible trail designed for dog owners who’d like to sample some of Nottingham’s finest ale in the company of their faithful friend. The trail works in the same way as every other trail, but people get to choose which venues to visit from the list. Select eight venues from the map that you wish to visit over the month and then collect stamps at each stop when you buy a cask ale. There’s even a limited-edition doggy bandana for the first 100 dogs to complete the trail and a special canine pin badge for well-behaved owners.
The seven themed trails include the Friar Tuck trail, which takes in a venue that was once a chapel and several other great historical Nottingham pubs: Southbank City, The Malt Cross, The Bell Inn, The Dragon, Barrel Drop, Copper City, Lillie Langtry’s and The Old Dog and Partridge.
King John – the trail starts at one of the city’s newest venues, Binks Yard at the Island Quarter, and takes people on a journey through the city to Fox and Grapes, Bunkers Hill, Yarn Bar, The Horn in Hand, The Playwright, Six Barrels – Victoria, before finishing at the patriotically named pub, Rose of England on Mansfield Road.
Little John – this trail starts on St James Street and concludes in the heart of the Lace Market with: The Roebuck Inn, The Joseph Else, The Kilpin Beer Café, The Cross Keys, Cock and Hoop, Keans Head, Annie’s Burger Shack, and Angel Microbrewery.
Sheriff, the trail starts out on Pelham Street and allows you to explore Hockley on the Southside of the city, which has cemented its place on The Times’ ‘cool list’. Enjoy a beer at: The Loxley, Pit and Pendulum, Faradays, Lloyds No.1 Bar – JD Wetherspoon, Six Barrel Drafthouse, Hockley, Curious Tavern, and The Lord Roberts.
Will Scarlet, this trail takes you on a route down Maid Marian and swings round towards the Castle, before dropping back onto Houndsgate. It features The Organ Grinder, The Sir John Borlase Warren, Raglan Road Irish Bar, Hand & Heart, Whistle and Flute, The Park Tunnel Inn, The Roundhouse Pub & Restaurant and Ye Olde Salutation Inn.
Maid Marian, this trail starts takes in bars and venues to the south of the city which line the canal and takes in one of Nottingham’s smallest bars: featuring Cured, Barley Twist, BeerHeadZ – Nottingham Station, Via Fossa, Canalhouse, Fellows Morton & Clayton and The Navigation Inn.
To complete the Nottingham Ale Trails is the Robin Hood trail. This starts on Wollaton Street and heads east towards the Castle, featuring: Tap and Tumbler, The Hop Merchant, The Three Crowns, The Wine Room, The Castle – Pub and Kitchen, Fothergills, before finishing at the infamous Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem at Brewhouse Yard.
“We have some great pubs and bars in Nottingham city centre who serve a great range of cask ales, some of which are often overlooked,” said Alex Flint, CEO at Nottingham BID. “We hope to encourage people to go on journeys of discovery, sample some great cask ales and in the process, collect limited edition enamel pin badges and a t-shirt for those completing all seven trails.”
Further information about the trails can be found on the It’s in Nottingham website.
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