South Shropshire’s now famous Church Stretton Ale Trail won’t take place on the day of the town’s food fayre for the first time ever.
The fifth ale trail will be held on July 4 and 5, 2008. But organisers of the Church Stretton Food Fayre have switched their event to the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Geoff Lucas, ale trail organiser, said: “We actually think it will be a good thing for the town to have the ale trail on different days. The pubs in Stretton are struggling because most of them are owned by big breweries and the rents are high. The ale trail will bring 600 people into the town.”
Last year’s ale trail raised £1,500 for charities like the County Air Ambulance, Mayfair and Church Stretton Good Neighbours.
Mr Lucas said that despite the mass pub crawl, most drinkers were well behaved and the atmosphere was good natured.
He said: “We will be selling 600 tickets and hoping to get eight or nine pubs involved. E-mails are already coming in.”
Geoff was in charge of posting tickets last year and sent tickets to ale trail-goers in Devon, Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham. For the last four years there has always been a deliberate printing mistake on the commemorative pint glass awarded to those who complete the ale trail and Mr Lucas said that tradition would continue.
Anyone who wants ale trail news can log on to www.strettonaletrail.org
