About the branch The next meetings are: Wed 3rd May 2006 Branch Annual General meeting 8pm Bridge Inn, Santon bridge Transport available contact Tony 01946 67129 Wed 7th June 2006, Branch meeting 8pm Middle Ruddings, Braithwaite Transport available contact Tony 01946 67129 Wed 5th July 2006, Branch meeting 8pm Victoria, Drigg Transport available contact Tony 01946 67129 Sat 29th July 2006, Daytime survey trip to Allonby, Silloth & Westnewton Transport available from Whitehaven contact Tony 01946 67129 Wed 2nd August 2006, Branch meeting 8pm (tbc) Newlands House Hotel, Workington Transport available contact Tony 01946 67129 Fri 6th / Sat 7th October Branch Beer Festival, Whitehaven Civic Hall What does the branch do? Click here for a look at our social and campaigning activities. Branch and County pub awards Our current award holders: Pub of the Season, Spring 2006 the Bush Inn, Tallentire feature ... Pub of the Season, Winter 2005 the Pheasant Inn, Bassenthwaite Lake feature ... West Cumbria Pub of the Year 2005 Kirkstile Inn at Loweswater - for the 3rd year running!!!!!!!!! feature ... Cumbria Pub of the Year 2005 is, at last, the Prince of Wales, Foxfield. If you haven't been to this mecca, you should! feature ... Click for details of past winners. how to join CAMRA Go to the national website where you can join one of the most successful consumer organisations ever. Contact us about the branch, website or about real ale in West Cumbria Local trading standards offices

This area of the branch home page will feature latest news, what beers have come on where, who has taken over which pub, and anything else newsworthy. If you have anything to add, please email the webmistress@westcumbriacamra.org.uk West Cumbria Pub of the Year, 2006. Winner - Wasdale Head Inn. The award will be presented on 3rd June, during the Wasdale Head Beer Festival. Transport available - Details to follow. Worthy runners up, who will all receive an framed certificate: Punchbowl, Great Broughton, Brook, Cleator, Swan, Cockermouth, Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater The panel of 3 members visited and judged each according to strict CAMRA criteria. They are all terrific pubs and the results were close. Silecroft Beer Festival. Silecroft village hall on April 21st - 23rd. (very easy by train) In aid of rebuilding the village hall. 20 Real Ales and music by Boat Band. further details Hawkshead Brewery is expanding! New building and a 20 barrel plant set up at Staveley to cope with demand. The original brewery will continue to operate as "Hawkshead Organic". More details on their own website. Solway Cider's Rough Dog is now on at Wasdale Head Inn. Should soon be on at the Brook, Cleator, too. Loweswater's Kirkstile Gold won the 'Beer of the Festival' at last weekend's Pendle Beer Festival. Congratulations to talented brewer and CAMRA member, Matt Webster! CAMRA's national website has been completely resigned. Click on the heading of any page from this site for a look. More information is available to members. Login using your membership number as user and postcode as password.(Use capitals in postcode) The brand-new edition of CAMRA's Good Pub Food Guide is now available. Congratulations to the Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater, the Horse & Jockey, Parsonby, the Swan Inn, Westnewton, the Bridge Hotel, Buttermere, the Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge and the Boot Inn, Boot for being amongst the 12 Cumbrian pubs selected. Six out of the 12 entries are in our branch!!!See box below right for purchasing details. Newlands House Hotel, Workington sells real ale: 3 handpumps serving Thwaites - Original, Bomber and Thoroughbred - but only one at a time. Robinsons: As well as buying the Boot Inn, Eskdale, the Packhorse and the Lake Rd Vaults in Keswick, Robinsons have announced a price rise of 8p per pint. The Three Tuns, Cleator is now selling Jennings Bitter The Stork at Rowrah is selling Banks Bitter fairly regularly. The former real ale selling bar and restaurant, the Beeches at Gilcrux, is to be converted to a pivate house, much against the wishes of the community. The Beeches was still busy and profitable when it closed after the owners decided they did not want to run it any more. Want to lease a pub? Fox & Hounds Ennerdale is available! New Brewery in operation The Woolpack, Boot, Eskdale had its first two beers brewed on the premises available over New Year. A strong, dark, malty, delicately hopped beer called Tenacity, at 5%, and a dark mild called Black Sail, at 2.8% have been followed by further brews. (see their website for the latest) Note: the branch had a very enjoyable visit in April. And, talking of Boot, don't forget the Boot Beer Festival (www.bootbeer.co.uk) 8th - 11th June 2006 We have two cider producers in Cumbria now! Robin Barton is brewing cider at his CockRobin cidery in Abbeytown: his Happy Apple was available at Whitehaven Beer festival and the recent Carlisle Beer Festival. Also available at Carlisle Beer Festival was cider made by CAMRA members Garry Parsons and Don Anon, also in Abbeytown, under the brand name 'Solway Cider'. After their recent sucess at Carlisle Beer festival Garry and Don are looking to supply Real ale pubs/festivals in the Cumbria area; contact Don on 07963 305036 for further info. Dog Rough 7% is on at the Brickyard, Carlisle. Three more new breweries in our area on their way: Whitehaven Brewing Company is still 'very much a goer' and should start to brew later this year. Keswick brewery - details to follow Blackbeck Bridge Hotel is building a 5 barrel Brewery on the premises. And Yates Brewery is expanding! The new building is going well. Styles of beer for 2006 got off to a good start with Yates' Genius 4.1% - a Guinness style stout going well. It was followed byt the sell-out IPA 4.9% and another brew is on now. Next will be a honey beer. Later a mild and maybe a fruit beer! Great Gable plans a bottling plant. Jennings Head brewer, Peter Laws is planning his retirement. What lies ahead for Jennings beers? Especially if they expand the brewing of Cumberland at Cockermouth. Will we see the end to all our lovely seasonals and specials? Will the regular beers stay the pace? Advance notice: The biggest event of the local branch's year: The 2006 Whitehaven Beer Festival, Whitehaven Civic Hall will be October 6th and 7th. Read about the 2005 festival here. The diary - check this regularly!! Real ale events planned for the next few months, both by the branch and others....

About the pubs Pubs serving real ale All known to the branch are included but for where we think you'll find the best beer, see the latest Good Beer Guide Pubs and children Children are welcome in almost all pubs in this area Pubs with accommodation a bare list - no judgements about facilities or quality! Pubs and the disabled All pubs welcome all visitors, but those where a wheelchair user can be independent are unfortunately few and far between. Pubs and dogs Where are your dogs welcome and not welcome? Pubs by train Carlisle to Barrow Pubs by bus Workington to Penrith, (X4 and X5) Cleator Moor to Cockermouth, (219) Whitehaven to Ravenglass (6) About the Breweries There are 18 breweries in Cumbria, now, and this page gives mini descriptions, links to our articles from What Ales and links to their own websites. Local crack What Ales - our branch newsletter. Articles from current and previous editions News of the Brews The latest on the breweries and their newest brews. Pub crack gossip and unfounded rumour from the spies in the bars!! As in all such guides, things change after publication. Updates will be posted here when the editor forwards any for upload. Please report any permanent to jimchapple@msn.com or record them here in our guestbook CAMRA's new Good Pub Food Guide, by Susan Nowak and Jill Adam, our definitive guide to fine cuisine and excellent beer. This unique guide contains over 600 of the best food and real ale pubs in the UK. Click here for details or to purchase The 2006 Good Beer Guide listing the very best sources of quality real ale, both in our area and across the whole country, with a wealth of useful detail such as beers sold, opening times, phone numbers, food available, public transport, accommodation, kids allowed, etc. Click here to order or for further details