Coaching Innsof Doncaster

www.doncastercamra.org.uk

Donny Drinker

Spring 2020

Branch Chairman - Ian Joneschairman@doncastercamra.org.ukMembership Secretary - Ian Jonesmembership@doncastercamra.org.ukSocial Secretary - Carole Leonardeventssec@doncastercamra.org.ukSecretary - Dave Bartleysecretary@doncastercamra.org.uk

Doncaster CAMRA

www.doncastercamra.org.uk

@Doncastercamra

CONTENTS

Pubs OfficersSteve Last/Trevor Jonespubsofficer@doncastercamra.org.uk

Editor,Design & AdvertisingSteve Pynegardonnydrinker@doncastercamra.org.uk

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Branch Websitewww.doncastercamra.org.uk

Send pub and brewery news to:tellusyournews@doncastercamra.org.uk

Views expressed in this magazine are notneccesarily those of CAMRA at nationalor branch level.

Donny Drinker is © CAMRA Ltd.

To report trading standards issues:Phone: 03454040506Email: citizensasvice.org.uk

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Many CAMRA members join because theybelieve in what it stands for or to go to the oddbeer festival where they can enjoy some of thebenefits of CAMRA membership. There is,however, much more to membership andthrough the branch there are so manyopportunities to explore and enjoy the world ofpubs and real ale.Pubs offer more than just ‘drinking holes’ andit’s good to take yourself out of your comfortzone and experience the broad range of pubsand clubs in our branch area. We work hard tokeep you informed of what’s going on. Wework even harder through our socials to givemembers great opportunities to try new pubsand beers along with others.The Doncaster and District CAMRA brancharea is huge and covers parts of severalcounties. We’ve got your usual town centrepubs, pubs in former mining communities, ruralpubs, pubs of all sizes and pubs with their ownbreweries, to mention just a few. If you look

hard enough you will find pubs with quizzes,pubs that have rock music, pubs that featureblues and folk music, pubs that have sing-a-long and play-along-sessions. You can evenpractice a foreign language in one, learn toplay a musical instrument, find out more abouthow brewing is done, play poker, darts ordominoes and actually get the chance to talk tostrangers who may become friends.Is it time in your life to break away from the TV,computer or mobile? Is it time to replace thefictional world of the pubs in Eastenders andCoronation Street with something real? If it is,and you’re feeling brave, go and explore pubsthat are unknown to you. Do some research byreading CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide or go onWhatpub on the internet where nearly all thepubs in our large area can be found. Look atour Facebook and website and, for a good listof varied social events, you can do no betterthan read the branch diary in this magazine.

EDITORIAL COMMENTStep out of your comfort zone

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SPRING PUBS OF THE SEASON 2020

DONCASTER - The Leopard, Town Centre

DISTRICT - Tom Pudding, Goole

Over the last few years, The Leopard hasbecome, probably, one of the most popularpubs in the town centre and well deserving ofthe Doncaster Camra ‘Pub of the Season’ forSpring 2020.

Situated on the corner of West Street and StSepuchre Gate, the earliest reference to TheLeopard is around 1821 but the presentpremises dates to a rebuild around 1909. Thetiled exterior still bears the famous Newark-on-Trent brewery name of Warwick andRichardsons, which latterly became part of theJohn Smiths Group.

The pub was refurbished and reopened underthe DCCE (Doncaster Conferences Cateringand Events) umbrella in August 2014 after itwas highlighted as part of the Starnewspaper’s ‘Save Our Pub’ campaign,something still very close to the heart of anyCamra member. The aim was to “create aplace where people could meet, drink, eat andrelax”, which I think, has certainly beenachieved. The convenience of a location nearthe Interchange and town centre, and withexcellent floral displays on the outside of thebuilding, all go towards playing a part inattracting passing visitors.

The Leopard has a great musical history with atradition of supporting up-and- coming bands,usually found performing in the upstairsfunction room. Playing an important role in theDoncaster music scene for many years, theyhave become one of the top venues for livemusic in the area. With a Facebook page andwebsite at www.leopard-doncaster.co.uk , youare able to browse through the upcomingevents on offer that may take your fancy.Otherwise, for a quieter visit, the two rooms asyou enter through the main double doors aremade up of a bar with pool table to the left anda lounge to the right. Both, I must say, verycomfortable, with up-to-the-minute sport

accessible on the big screen televisions andfood available to order throughout the day.

With a wide variety of real ales on offer, thereare 3 hand pumps in each bar, and, being freeof tie, always a good selection to choose from.Well-maintained by manager Adrian Smith, youwill often find a good dark beer like TitanicPlum Porter (a firm favourite!), alongsidebitters and pale ales. The beers are usuallysourced locally from the likes of the manySheffield and West Yorkshire micro-breweries,Ossett being one of the most popular. Adrianwill occasionally introduce a beer from furtherafield, a popular choice being Oakham Citrafrom Peterborough. More recently, beers fromone of the Leopard’s sister venues, The OldBrewhouse at Cusworth, home of the 1086Brewery, have graced the bar. Throwing in atraditional cider, along with gins and other finebeverages, results in a well-stocked baroffering, I think, something to suit everyone’staste.

With a warm welcome guaranteed from Adrianand his lovely staff, why don’t you come alongand join us on Wednesday, 15th April at 9pmfor the presentation of this Doncaster andDistrict Camra Spring Pub of the Seasonaward.

Alison Bailey

Trevor Jones

After featuring in the last edition of DonnyDrinker as one of our ‘visionary’ pubs, the TomPudding has gone on to win our Spring DistrictPub of the Season award.

The history of the creation of the pub has beenwell documented but this award is more aboutthe result of its achievements. Alan and Simonhave worked hard to build up a reputation forrunning an excellent micro pub. It’s not easywith limited space to build up sufficient customto make it profitable. They are proud of the factthat since opening they have served enoughreal ale to fill over 1200 casks and this is madeup of about 527 different real ales from 82different breweries. About 97% of these realales have come from Yorkshire breweries andthey are proud to be members of CAMRA’slocale scheme. They try to maintain atraditional bitter on one handpump, a dark beeror mild on one, and the two other pumps havegolden, blonde or other types of beer on, sothere is something for every type of real aledrinker. According to Alan, Stallion and Studfrom Hambleton brewery were two particularfavourites of the regulars.

Of the five hand pumps on the bar, fourdispense cask beers and the other one isdevoted to real cider. There are not many ofour pubs offering a range of real ciders butthey also have two or three boxed ciders.

If you walk into the pub and want to quicklycheck what beers are on there is a blackboardwith all the current beers/ciders and the price.The price of a pint is such good value formoney that a customer from London queriedwhether it was for a pint or a half pint. There isalso the ingenious use of a pole to which hasbeen attached pump clips of the beers that arein the cellar waiting to replace the existingones.

The pub offers a big range of drinks. Bottledbeers are available including gluten free andlow alcohol versions of well-known beers.Continental lagers are also available in bottledform. There is no less than forty gins plusflavoured tonics along with a selection of sevento eight single malt whiskies including ‘FileyBay’, Yorkshire’s very own single malt whiskey.For wine drinkers there is a selection of NewWorld wines.

Other than what Simon refers to as ‘YorkshireTapas’ i.e. pork pies and scotch eggs, there isno food available although you will find nutsand nibbles. There are regular Thursday musicevenings but you will find no Sky sports, TV orjuke box. They survive on witty conversation ina convivial atmosphere. They also claim,following an upgrade, that they have the bestpub toilets in Goole but the branch has yet totest this.

If all this sounds interesting to you, there aretrains and buses from Doncaster that will getyou to Goole. The pub is not far from thestation. The branch will be visiting the pub onSaturday, 18th April to present the award toAlan and Simon at 8pm. See the branch diaryin this magazine for further details.

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BRANCH LINES: Innformation for branch membersNormally, at this time of year, I am writing to askmembers to consider volunteering to help us aswe finalise the arrangements for our next beerfestival. We have received a number ofenquiries on this subject and I want to assureeveryone that we will let you all know as soonas we can. This year things are moving alongat a different pace. We are currently consideringa number of options and are in talks with thoseconcerned, including CAMRA in St Albans. Theoutcome of these negotiations should be knownsoon and able to be announced. In themeantime, please bear with us and look out formore news on the website, social media, andthrough this publication.

I’ve also been contacted recently by membersasking how they can obtain copies of DonnyDrinker now that it’s no longer posted. So, ifyou’re a member who is missing their regularcopy of the ‘Drinker’ and has just happenedupon this edition in a pub, please note we haveset up a number of collection points across thebranch’s area. We want to make it asconvenient as we can in the circumstances, topick up a copy and hopefully one of the pubsshown will be not too far from you. Pleaseshare this bit of info amongst fellow memberswho might be in a similar position and simplynot know that they can pick up a copy from oneof these outlets.

The collection points have been revisedrecently so I have included a new list below. Itis our intention that the pubs listed will always

have a stock of magazines available. If theholder is empty, please ask at the bar. Why nothave a swift half (or even a pint) whilst you’rethere. Who knows, they might have yourfavourite beer on, or one you’ve not seen for awhile. If you find something unusual availableduring your visit, or learn of any other snippet ofpub news, please let our pubs officer know. Hise-mail address appears elsewhere in thisedition.

Donny Drinker collection points:Doncaster Brewery & Tap, Young Street,DoncasterDraughtsman, Platform 3b, DoncasterStationEagle & Child, Main Street, Auckley(Little) Plough: West Laith Gate,DoncasterOld Market Hall, Market Street,MexboroughQueen’s Head, Queen Street, EpworthTom Pudding, Pasture Road, GooleWheatsheaf, Church Street, ArmthorpeWindmill, Queen Street, Thorne

That’s all for now, but don’t forget thatthose with access to the Internet canaccess copies of this publication on-line,via the website. Back copies are alsoavailable. www.doncastercamra.org.ukIan Jones: Chairman and MembershipSecretary

Ian Jones- Membership Secretary

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PUB NEWS BREWERY AWARDSTown CentreThe Hallcross no longer provides real ciderbut they continue to sell their range of Stocksreal ale and an occasional guest beer.The Rum and Rock in Cleveland Street isnow closed.The Doncaster Brewery & Tap is holdingtheir annual Easter Beer Festival from the 8th

April at 5pm until the 13th April at 5pm. Therewill be 20 hand pulled cask ales, 6 traditionalciders and perries and 10 keg beers. ThePizza Trail will be on site making pizzas to suitall tastes. Ian’s bratties which will beunfeasibly large and may contain sausage.Volunteers are invited to contact Alison to puttheir name on the staff rota (payment in beer).

Doncaster District AreaAt Thorne the Windmill had a good variety of4 real ales on offer which were Kelham IslandPale Rider, Westgate Zest, Stancill BarnsleyBitter and Don Valley Bit o’ That. The PunchBowl also had 4 real ales from Old Mill whichwere Traditional Bitter, Jack’s Batch, Southpawand Blonde Bombshell. Finally at Thorne, theBarge Inn had Pennine Blackcurrant Porter astheir ever-changing real ale. We are pleased toreport that The Old Vault has reopenedfollowing a refurbishment. The place looksvery different.At Sprotbrough, the Ivanhoe has been re-opened.The New Inn at Stainforth now has CaskMarque accreditation.The Mayflower at Austerfield is subject to aplanning application to demolish it and replaceit with a 12 appartments. It is being consideredby the Parish Council.The Plough Inn at Arksey is now under newmanagement and seems to be doing very well.They are featuring beers from the NavigationBrewery in Nottingham. On a visit we foundthey had New Dawn and Patriot. They haverecently had a ‘Meet the Brewer’ eveningfeaturing the beers of Navigation Brewery.The Oak at Tickhill is currently closed. Webelieve The Millstone, which has been closedfor some time, has been subject to a planningapplication for a supermarket.At Hatfield Chace a member was quitesurprised at the selection of beers available.Wainwright's , Sharps Doombar and Sea Furyplus a Xmas ale. Lilley's Cheeky Pig Ciderwas put on for Christmas and if it provedsuccessful they intended to retain it. He alwaysfinds Neil ( the manager ) and his staff friendly

and helpful plus the added bonus is theyaccept CAMRA real ale vouchers. The pub isalso popular with live sports fans.Despite the many problems in their community,the Hare and Hounds at Fishlake is still openand featuring two cask ales. On a recent visitthe ales in question were Bradfield Bitter andBradfield Farmer’s Blonde.

North LincolnshireAt Haxey, where the fortunes of the three pubsseem to be constantly changing, we arepleased to report that 2 of the 3 pubs are nowopen. They are The Loco and the KingsArms. The Duke William is currently closed.In December the Loco’s featured cask aleswere Fox Brewery’s Grizzly Bear, StockportBrewery’s South Island Pale and 3 PiersNorthern Gold. See elsewhere in this issue fordetails about the Kings Arms.

North YorkshireA planning application has been approved forchange of use of The Railway at Henshall.We will be monitoring the situation.At Kirk Smeaton, the Shoulder of Mutton nowhas 3 handpumps with the regular beers ofBlack Sheep Best Bitter and Bradfield FarmersBlonde being joined by a guest beer which, atthe time of writing, was Stancill’s BarnsleyBitter.At the Jenny Wren in Beal we found Old MillLa Bolsa and Jack’s Batch on offer.The Bay Horse at Great Heck were offeringthree Old Mill beers which were TraditionalBitter, Jack’s Batch and Blonde Bombshell.In Norton at the School Boy a memberrecently had an excellent pint of WychwoodHobgoblin Gold.The George and Dragon at Whitley Bridgehad Eagle Young’s Original.The 2 pubs at Kellington were visited. The RedLion featured Brown Cow White Dragon,Sharps Doom Bar and John Smiths Cask whileKellington Manor had Saltaire Blonde.

East YorkshireWe are sorry to report that The McIntosh atGoole has been closed for some time.The Jemmy Hirst at the Rose and Crown is nowdisplaying its new signs featuring their new logo.They have had a successful Xmas featuring anumber of events which the locals and someCAMRA members all enjoyed.

December found a group of Doncaster CAMRAmembers in Sheffield for three presentations forawards from our 2019 Beer Festival in June.The train we intended to catch had beencancelled but, because we are enthusiastic realale drinkers, we got the next train to Paradise.The first of which was at The Albion, a Stancillpub. During the tasting session at the beerfestival, Stancill's Hopollo 11, a 4.3% pale, wasvoted the winner in the golden ale category.Adam from Stancill was there to receive theaward and while we were there it gave us anopportunity to sample their Shelby, India,Stainless and Ginger Pale real ales. Adamgave us the history of Stancill Brewery while weenjoyed the great beers on offer.Our next presentations were at Triple PointBrewing. Triple Point celebrates its firstanniversary in March this year. They arebrewing where Sentinel Brewing used to be.This is also where their Tap is. Triple Point wontheir first award in the IPA category with theiraptly named Debut IPA, as it is their first IPA. Itis a 5.5% brew using Citra, Chinook, Simcoeand Mosaic hops. This IPA was also the runner-up beer of the whole festival. We were pleasedto present both awards to George who hadthem hanging on the wall within minutes of

receiving them. On the bar we had a choiceof 5 Triple Point brews, S IPA, Cryo, Gold,and Debut IPA, which had just sold out!.They also had Wisewood 7 from LonelyBrewery.We were also doing another presentationwhile we were there, to Little CrittersBrewery. Their Nutty Ambassador was alsoon the bar for us to enjoy! Mark from LittleCritters was there to receive his award for hisRaspberry Blonde, a 4.5% fruity sessionblonde. It was the runaway winner in thespeciality beer category. It was a great dayout. I for one will be returning to both thesepubs, as well as all the other fantastic realale pubs on offer in Sheffield. Hope you willtry them too!A week later members then visited YorkshireAles at Snaith where we had yet anotherbrewery award to give to Spotlight Brewerywhich is based at Snaith. Ric and his staffwere presented with 2 awards. One was forbest Porter at the festival with Fragile Xwhich went on to win the best beer at thefestival award. We enjoyed a great eveningand thanks to Yorkshire Ales for hosting theevent.

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1. Presentation to Little Critters Brewery

2. Presentation to Stancill Brewery

3. Presentation to Triple Point Brewery

4. Presentation to Spotlight Brewery

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Kate Hadley

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Doncaster WinterPub of the SeasonThe Wheatsheaf,

Armthorpe

District Winter Pubof the SeasonBaxter Arms,Fenwick

PUB AWARDS

KINGS ARMS, HAXEY REOPENSIn these times of pubs closing down it’s nice toreport of one re-opening. I am pleased to informyou the King’s Arms in Haxey opened in mid-December.

Talking to some of the customers on a recentvisit, the pub had been closed for a year andwas starting to look a little run down. With hardwork and a lot of TLC the pub is now backlooking as good as new.

The new owners Bill Hanson ( the licensee ) andhis partner Jim Pinder are both local to the area.Bill having recently returned to Haxey fromLondon where he worked in several pubs/barsand worked as a magician, so he should be ableto pull something out of the hat ! (Sorry)Jim is a builder and, so I’m lead to believe, atalented singer., He tells me they have one ortwo ideas for the Kings Arm”s!

Now for the good news - Bill is a real ale loverand at present they are serving Moorlands bitter,Green King IPA and Doombar. This could all bechanging soon as he hopes to source his beerfrom a new micro- brewery opening shortly inHaxey. I will keep you updated when I know

more. Bill and Jim have hinted that they will beoffering a CAMRA members’ discount so ask atthe bar. Bill has already worked some of hismagic with a little help from his customers. Theywon this year’s Haxey Hood. Congratulations toall concerned.

Mel Downe

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BREWERY NEWS

Don

ValleyBreweryTap

On-Site Brewery Shop open Monday – Saturday 10am until 4pm.

info@bradfieldbrewery.com • 0114 2851118• www.bradfieldbrewery.comBradfield Brewery Limited.Watt House Farm, High Bradfield, Sheffield, S6 6LG

Visit our page on Facebook or follow us

Farmers Ales from Bradfield Brewery

try a tasteof

traditiontry a taste

oftradition

Register to attend and/or volunteer atagm.camra.org.uk

Adwick-le-StreetForesters ArmsAdwick upon DearneManvers ArmsAirmynPercy ArmsArkseyPlough LArmthorpeCastle Park *Horse & GroomThe SportsmanWheatsheaf LDCWAuckleyEagle & Child WLAusterfieldMayflowerBalbyThe SpinneyBalby Carr BankWoodfield farmBalby (Woodfield Pltn)Maple TreeBarnburghBarnburgh WM Club LThe Crown InnBarnby DunThe Olive TreeBawtryShip WTurnpikeWhite HartBar and Brasserie CDLBealJenny WrenBeltonCrownWheatsheafBelle VueTown Moor Golf Club LBentleyBay HorseBentley Town EndThree Horseshoes LBessacarrFlying ChildersToby CarveryBlaxtonBlue Bell WBraithwellButchers ArmsBrantonThree Horse Shoes

BurghwallisThe Burghwallis PubCadebyCadeby Pub & RestaurantLDCTGClaytonClayton with Frickley Club LConisbroughHilltop LThe White LadyCusworthOld Brewhouse G C L DDoncasterBallers Sports BarBlack Bull LCorner PinDoncaster Brewery Tap LCDon Valley Tap LDCWGGatehouse LWHorse & GroomLeopard DLMarketplace Alehouse &Deli LCHallcrossLittle Plough LMasons’ ArmsQueen Crafthouse CRailway DRed Lion W LSalutation LCSocialThe Angel and RoyalThe CourtyardThe Draughtsman AlehouseThe LockwoodThe MallardTown Field Sports ClubTut ‘n’ Shive DWhite Swan LYatesYorkshire Grey CDome/LakesideBeefeater LakesideCheswoldEdenthorpeEden Arms DBeverley InnThe Ridge WoodEpworthOld School InnQueen’s HeadRed Lion

White BearFenwickBaxter Arms WFinningleyHarvey Arms WFishlakeOld Anchor InnHare & HoundsGooleCity & County LDGoole Town Cricket Club*Macintosh CNorth Star Marina ClubThe DrakeThe VikingTom Pudding LVictoria HotelGreat HeckBay Horse LHatfieldBay HorseHatfieldsHatfield ChaceIngram ArmsJack Hawley at theGrangeDLHaxeyKings ArmsThe LocoHickletonHickleton Village HallClub*HookBlacksmith’s ArmsHooton PagnallThe Hostel LKellingtonKellington Manor HotelRed LionKirk SandallGlasshouseKirk SmeatonShoulder of MuttonMarrMarr Lodge DMexboroughImperial LTGOld Market Hall LWPastures LodgeThe Falcon

MicklebringThe Grazing HartsNortonThe SchoolboyThe Royal HotelOwstonOwston Hall & Golf ClubThe OwstonOwston FerryCrooked BilletWhite HartPollingtonKing’s Head LRawcliffeJemmy Hirst at the Rose&Crown LCRawcliffe BridgeRawcliffe Bridge Club*ReednessHalf Moon InnRossingtonStyrrupSandtoftReindeer WScawsbyMallardScawsby MillSun (Inn)SnaithBell & CrownBlack LionBrewer’s Arms LPloughYorkshire AlesSprotboroughBoat Inn WIvanhoeNewtonStainforthNew InnSuttonAnne ArmsSwinefleetThe Ship InnSykehouseOld George InnThorneBarge InnCanal TavernPunch Bowl LThe King’s ChamberThe Old Vault D

Windmill LThorne High LevelsBlack BullTickhillCarpenter’s ArmsScarbrough Arms LTickhill Cricket ClubWadworthWhite HartWest CowickShip WWestwoodsideCarpenter’s ArmsWheatleyStrawberry Island Boat*Club (Private Club)The House MartinUkrainian Club * LWheatley HotelWheatley HillsCumberlandWhitley BridgeGeorge & DragonWoodlandsHighwaymanWoodlands Snooker ClubWrootCross Keys

REAL ALE PUBS IN THE BRANCH AREA

We try to provide correct information. If it is inaccurate orthere are details missing then please contact the pubsofficer at pubsofficer@doncastercamra.org.uk.

Abbreviations

L The pub is Locale registered and regularly serves atleast one beer from breweries within 30 miles of thepub.

D CAMRA member discount availableC Traditional ciders and perries are availableW Wheelchair access may be possible but no disabled

toilets.T Wheelchair access and disabled toiletsG The pub allows dogs insiade to all or part of the pub

(Please ask)* Pub/Club may have restricted opening times

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It has been a well covered story over the lastfew years that the attendances at beerfestivals are down. This much is fact but it willinevitably lead to the more vexing question ofwhy? This is a much harder to answer and hasled to all manner of explanations. As always,people have their own agendas and points toprove and are keen to blame the decline ontheir own personal hobby horses. I've heard itblamed on, no craft beer, too much craft beer,unimaginative beer ordering, over-imaginativebeer ordering, market over-saturation, and notattracting enough women/young people/oldpeople/traditional drinkers/new drinkersamongst a lot more. So what is the answer?Personally, I think you have to start by lookingat why people started going to beer festivals inthe first place. Beer festivals go back almost aslong as CAMRA. When the first determinedcampaigners set out to extol the virtues of thedrink they loved, they were almost always hitwith the same question. This real ale soundsfantastic, but where can I get some? In thosedays real ale pubs were few and far betweenand free houses even rarer. Almost all pubswere owned by breweries. The 'Big Seven'national brewers were doing their best toremove it from their pubs and whilst real alewas being championed by the traditional familybrewers, they too operated on a tied system.As a result you could only find one brewery'sbeer in any one pub.The result of all this was a total lack of choice.Even in areas where real ale was strongestyou could only get a couple of brewery's beers.Very often a brewery would only brew a coupleof beers with very few changes. Youngs, inLondon, brewed a 'Bitter' and a 'Special' whichwas supplemented in Winter by a stronger'Winter Warmer'. And that was it. Week afterweek, year after year.The regional breweries were, by definition,regional so you could only find them in onepart of the country. Here, though, they couldhave a near monopoly. For instance, thevillage I grew up in in Cheshire had 14 pubs,10 of which were Greenall Whitley. They sold a'Bitter and a Mild'. There were two SamSmith’s pubs, (Old Brewery Bitter) aBurtonwood (Bitter) and a Thwaites (Bitter anda Mild). That was it. 14 pubs and 6 differentbeers never changing.

With this landscape in mind the first beerfestival organisers booked a hall with a licence,contacted a few breweries from outside theirlocal area and ordered 40 or so differentbarrels of beer. All of a sudden people wereexposed to such exotic delights as Theakston'sOld Peculiar and Marston’s Pedigree. It's nowonder the idea took off and expanded sorapidly.As time moved on the number of beer festivalsgrew. It seemed every town and city wantedone. New ideas were brought in to make themmore interesting. Festivals offered real cider,local wine, street food, music andentertainment. Existing breweries expandedtheir range and new breweries opened to meetthe demand for different beers. This resulted inmore beer festivals and more choice.Brewers and publicans alike could see howpopular a choice of beers was. As a result thisstarted to affect the overall market place. Afterseeing the success of local beer festivals pubsstarted to introduce guests, then two guests.Real ale 'themed' pubs developed with 8, 10,12 or even more beers available as the trendfor choice continued.Move forward forty years to where we are now.Beer choice is everywhere. Back in my villagethe Thwaites pub is now a free house with 11hand pumps serving a constantly-changingselection of beers. This pub alone sells twiceas many different beers in a week than thewhole 14 pubs used to sell in a year. In a townlike Doncaster on a normal weekend you canfind upwards of 50 different real ales availablein the various pubs. If you visit a week laterabout 40 of them will have changed.Modern beer festivals have changed fromthose first ones 40 years ago. They aregenerally more people-friendly, have moreproducts and good entertainment. Howeverthey are still essentially just a big hall full ofbarrels of beer. When this sort of choice isavailable on people’s doorsteps week afterweek it's then easy to see why people arechoosing not to come to beer festivals. In thepub the beers are all served through handpump by people who do the job week in andweek out. There's plenty of comfortableseating in a very pleasant environment. Food ifyou want it. Entertainment too or a nice quietpint.

BEER FESTIVALS ARE DEAD or is it LONG LIVETHE BEER FESTIVALS?

BOTTOM OF THE BARRELIt’s a tough life running a pub in the modern era.You’d think that at least the pub companies wouldbe on the side of their tenants and licensees – butunfortunately, that’s not always the case as EdAnderson found out.

In 2017 Ed, the tenant of a pubco pub, objectedto a practice carried out by his parent companyby which, according to the beer tie, he was forcedto buy barrels of real ale which nominallycontained 72 pints. He was being charged on thebasis that all those pints can be sold. Now, asmost real ale drinkers are aware, not all of thatbeer is drinkable. On average, 4 pints of thecontent of a barrel is actually sediment. Aftergetting hold of a list of sediment amounts fromcompany, Ed calculated that he was guaranteedto lose at least 4% of all draught drinks a year,based purely on sediment and losses whilecleaning out lines.

Ed was given a 2.5% allowance by the pubco tocover sediment and wastage from beer not sold.Using that figure the pubco then gave him a profitforecast and a rent based on that forecast. Edconsidered both those figures to beunrealistically high and decided to launch a legalchallenge. The result of that challenge wasissued in July last year but was not made publicuntil recently.

The Pubs Code adjudicator ruled that thecompany had broken the Pubs Code by failing toprovide Ed with information about the amount ofsaleable beer in the barrels he was forced to buy.The standard 2.5% allowance could be “bothinadequate and inappropriate” so the pubco wasordered to issue Ed with a compliant rent order.The pubco has since agreed a “market rent only”tenancy with Ed which means he can now buy

cheaper beer on the wholesale market. At thetime of writing the company still hasn’t issuedthe corrected rent order which would confirmhow much rent Ed has overpaid. He thinks thatcould be in excess of £15,000.

Ed is by no means the only tenant of a pubcoto face this problem. And other pubcos are justas guilty in not reporting sediment. It’s just thatthe company is the first to be challenged in thisway. The Pubs Advisory Service is consideringa PPI-style action against the company onbehalf of tenants. Until that happens, and thepubco is forced to pay out, this problem willcontinue.

The situation faced by Ed Anderson is onlyone of the many issues facing our pubs andlicensees on a daily basis. When the pubcompanies, which own so many of our pubs,present obstacles like the one described here,it’s no wonder pubs are struggling.

In the early 1990s the government of the daythought it would help the pub industry if thepower of the “Big Six” breweries of the timewas diminished. However, some of the pubcoswhich replaced those breweries own morepubs than their predecessors ever did. And attimes they don’t seem to have an empathywith the licensed trade. They’re as muchproperty companies as owners of a greatBritish institution. Before the recent generalelection all CAMRA members wereencouraged to ask their parliamentarycandidates to commit to supporting pubs, beerand customers. I’d like to think this new intakeof MPs would do that – but I won’t hold mybreath.

Forthcoming book titles to be sold on theCAMRA website include:

• New heritage books to link up the north andsouth

• A new title to help you plan your Beer Breaksacross Europe and beyond

• Celebration of the last 500 years of Britishbrewing with Family Brewers of Britain byaward-winning beer writer and CAMRA expertRoger Protz

BOOKS FROM CAMRADave Bartley

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In my view what has happened isn't that thebeer festival hasn't died. It is just that it is nowavailable in every town centre in the countryevery single week of the year. It is the ultimateexample of something that is a victim of its ownsuccess. There are literally hundreds ofpermanent beer festivals running continuously.I may be wrong and it could be because therearen't enough aubergine-flavoured black IPAsor live Peruvian nose flute mood music to bringthe punters in but I do think this is the main

reason for the declining numbers. However,CAMRA shouldn't be bemoaning this butshould, instead, be very proud of what it hasachieved. This is exactly the result those earlypioneers would have wanted. Rather thanhaving to organise, promote and work at thefestivals themselves all CAMRA membersneed to do now is sit back and enjoy the beer.

We read of many pubs closing every week so it’spleasing to be able to report the opening of a newpub.

On 25TH Of September 2019 Donna and CliveAitken opened Conisbrough’s new micro-pub,the White Lady, at 6-7 Excelsior Court, ChurchStreet DN12 3HQ. They acquired the keys to thebuilding on August Bank Holiday and startedconversion work straight away, creating aground-level cellar, a serving area and a drinkingarea. Three handpumps, mounted on the backwall of the servery to reduce lineage, dispensecask beers and eighteen different brews wereserved in the first eight weeks of opening. Twotraditional ciders are also available.

The building was previously occupied byGreathead’s funeral directors and is situated in a1992-built courtyard off Church Street which is aconservation area in a historic town with a castle.Donna had worked for a solicitor and, with Clive,ran a Prosecco bar from a converted horseboxtrailer as a hobby. Bottled beer from Chantry wasalso served from the horse box and the breweryhas been very supportive of the new venture.When Donna was made redundant by thesolicitors they decided to open a micro-pubsupporting local breweries. Clive hasconnections with Surrey and occasionally bringsbeers from that county for the bar; customersnow recommend brews to try. Hairdressers fromthe salon next door often call in for a half betweencuts, returning the glasses afterwards

The name comes from local legend whichpurports that a lady was thrown from the castleand now haunts that edifice.

The pub opens at 4pm on Tuesdays toThursdays and noon on Fridays to Sunday. Itdoesn’t open on Mondays. There are plenty ofbuses between Doncaster and Conisbrough.First X78 and Stagecoach 220 and 221 serveChurch Street and stop almost opposite thepub but, in true railway fashion, the station isn’tnear the town.We wish Donna and Clive all the very best withtheir venture. Please give it a try - you’ll bemade very welcome.

AEC Regal

Editors Note: There has been considerable discussion at the branch about this subject and thereis no doubt there are a few contributing factors to decreasing attendances at some CAMRA beerfestivals, although there are still many CAMRA festivals that are very successful. The Doncasterbranch is not enjoying the luxury of sitting back at the moment while real ale and pubs are underconstant threat. We are proud of the original CAMRA pioneers and hope to continue the traditionof our larger scale festivals in Doncaster to compliment the good work pubs do.

Julian Clarke

THE WHITE LADY

26 27

From the 1st July CAMRA replaced theWetherspoon vouchers with a new CAMRA-owned and operated voucher scheme. All newand renewing members will receive £30 worth ofvouchers comprising of 60 x 50p individual realale, cider and perry vouchers, which are time-stamped with a start and end date.All existing Wetherspoon vouchers you may

have will still be valid during the periods theycover and the new vouchers are in addition to anyreal ale discount offered to CAMRA members byindividual pubs.The vouchers are accepted by over 1,470 pubs

nationwide, including J D Wetherspoon,Stonegate, Brains and Castle Rock managedpubs. At the time of writing CAMRA indicates thatthe following pubs in our area will accept thevouchers.

Town Centre – Red Lion, Gate House, Yates,Yorkshire GreyHatfield – ChaceAirport (Air side) – Running Horse

CAMRA VOUCHER SCHEME

28 29

DONCASTER TOWN CENTRE PUBS & CLUBS

30 31

London

30 31

Over the years Doncaster has benefited frombeing strategically positioned on the oldRoman Great North Road. In the time ofHenry VIII the first steps to creating a nationalpostal service were taken. The Great NorthRoad, in modern times designated as the A1,was to become a major route for postalservices between London and the north.Small coaches and wagons were used tocarry the post and, in order for the system towork, relays of horses were required to coverthe journey and places for the drivers to getrefreshed.

To support these requirements inns wereeither adopted or built to provide stabling forthe horses and accommodation with food forthe drivers. In the 17th century there wasincreasing development of this route toenable passengers to travel from London tothe north and vice-versa. In 1683 London toYork took 6 days and Doncaster was the lastmajor staging post before York. By 1694 thetime had been reduced to 4 days.

These journeys were very arduous forpassengers. The early coaches were veryuncomfortable, the roads, in places, quiteprimitive by modern standards and, of course,highwaymen were an additional risk.

For this article I’m going to focus on the partof the coaching route from Barnby Moor, justoutside the southern boundary of Doncaster,to an area to the north known as RobinHood’s Well or Barnsdale Wood, which wasthe last Doncaster staging post on the way toPontefract or York. Most of the inns and pubswere active in the 18th and 19th century andsome of them will be familiar names of today.Our journey starts from the Blue Bell atBarnby Moor. While it is just outside theDoncaster area, it was a significant stagingpost before the Doncaster boundary wasreached from the south and some readersmay have visited it in a more modern context.It was originally a private dwelling house but itwas turned into an inn to support the manycoaches that went by. One of the mostnotable landlords was a Mr Clark who wasnoted for the high quality of his horses.People came from all over the country to see

THE COACHING INNS OF DONCASTERthem and possibly buy one. He died in 1812but before his death he correctly predicted thatalternative transport systems such as therailways would bring an end to coaching.

The next coach stop would be just into theDoncaster area at Bawtry. One of the oldestcoaching inns was The Swan. This coachinginn was so important to Bawtry that at one timemany of the buildings were associated with thework of the inn. There were many stables andhomes for post boys. The Swan was situated inSwan Lane but eventually it was closed andthe business transferred to nearby ScroobyTop. The Crown, which was opposite TheSwan, had started to become a significant posthouse and replaced it for providing horses.The stretch of road between Bawtry andDoncaster was, at one time, considered to bethe finest road in England. It was unusuallywide and the competitive coaching companieswould use its width to race against each otherto provide the fastest journey times. In thedays of coaching Rossington was mainly awoodland but the area known as RossingtonBridge was on the main London to York route.

Here travellers would find the RossingtonBridge Inn which, following later conversion toa private house, eventually morphed into whatwe know today as the Miller and Carter SteakHouse. For a time, the inn also had a tollhouse nearby and travellers had to pay a tollfee to get past. The concept of paying tollswas, unsurprisingly, very unpopular and afterconsiderable protests they were abolished andother methods of paying for roadimprovements were found. Only a few of thecoaches were horsed at this inn.

The next stopping places were in the town ofDoncaster. The oldest inn connected withcoaching was The Old Angel. This inn wasoriginally called The Bear. In 1603 James Istayed here and in 1778 the Duke of Yorkstayed while the Prince of Wales came a weeklater. The other notable fact associated with thepub was that it was often frequented by themayor and other members of the corporation. Itgained a reputation when it was found thatsome of their wining and dining costs werecharged to the ratepayers. There was a well-known rhyme which was written at the time.

32 3332 33

The Doncaster mayor sits in his chair,His mills they merrily go,His nose doth shine with drinking wine,And the gout is in his great toe.

In 1810 The New Angel opened opposite theOld Angel in Frenchgate and it became themajor coaching and posting inn. The Old Angelwas eventually demolished to make way forThe Guildhall. After Queen Victoria stayed atThe New Angel in 1851 it became The Angeland Royal. In 1962 the pub was demolished tomake way for the Arndale Centre (Todayknown as The Frenchgate Centre). The nameof the pub, however, lives on at The Angel andRoyal in Cleveland Street. Other Doncasterpubs that supported the coaching businesswere:

The Salutation – Provided stables and manySt Leger winners were stabled here.The Black Boy – Situated on Frenchgate andhad 15 rooms with stabling for 30 horses. Verypopular with racegoers during the St Leger.This was demolished in 1959 to make way forthe new by-pass.Reindeer Hotel – Situated in Hall Gate anddemolished in 1962. Many coaches werescheduled to leave from outside the hotel.The Ram – On the corner of ClevelandStreet/High Street. This was demolished in1909.

Red Lion – Still in the Marketplace and bestknown for being the birthplace of the St Leger.

On leaving Doncaster for destinations such asWakefield, Pontefract and York the nextcoaching inn was The Red House which wassituated close to what is called the Red HouseRoundabout today. The final inns associatedwith coaching, before leaving Doncaster for thenorth, were 2 minor ones in the area of RobinHood’s Well or Barnsdale Wood. These wereThe New Inn and The Robin Hood. The NewInn is now a farmhouse.

The line of the Great North Road deviated inplaces from the original Roman road and todayit has deviated further as by-passes and newmotorways were created. Many Doncastriansfind it difficult today to visualise a major roadgoing through the centre of the town. If youlook at the black and white photos in Esquirescafé on Wheatley Hall Road there is a phototaken from clock corner where the A1 road signcan be clearly seen. The modern equivalent ofthe coaching inns are motorway servicestations, the power of the horses have beenreplaced by cars and fuel pumps, and theaccommodation by travelodges.

Steve Pynegar DRAG RACING AT WROOTAnyone visiting Wroot on December 27th

could be forgiven for thinking that therehad been a massive influx of stars,celebrities and royalty. It was in fact theannual Wroot Drag Race and it hadnothing to do with cars ( Although one ortwo did screech to a halt at the sight thatgreeted them ).

Madonna, Dana International, Elsa and ahost of other local gentlemen dressed indrag took the starting line outside theCross Keys, raced to the war memorial,downed a bottle of beer and raced ( I usethe term loosely) back to the pub to begreeted by cheering crowds and flashingcameras – well, a few family members withmobiles. It was a lovely, crazy afternoonfull of laughs in this very friendly pub ( Aformer CAMRA Pub of the Season ).However, I’ll never see landlord DaveDixon in the same light again. And neverbefore have I been served by royalty!

FURTHER READINGHistoric Coaching inns of the Great North RoadTaking in the history of these buildings (including achapter on highwaymen, who often concealedthemselves in secret rooms and tunnels in theseinns,) as well as the literature that has celebratedthem. Roger Protz describes these coaching houseswith an expert and discerning eye. A gazetteer of thehistory and culture that are draped along this iconicroad.Available from the CAMRA bookshop for £9.The Old Coaching Days in YorkshireWritten by Tom Bradley and first published in 1889.Very detailed account and available on Amazon.Doncaster PubsWritten by Peter Tuffrey this book gives you theopportunity to see what some of the long lostcoaching inns of Doncaster looked like.Available in local bookshops. Margaret Bartley-Zukiel

34 35

In the last issue of Donny Drinker I featured awalk of approximately 10.5 miles. Sadly, I havenothing so impressive to offer in this issue. Theweather has been appalling, I have beenattending Christmas concerts to seeperformances by my grandchildren, andChristmas itself has taken up much time inpreparation for the festivities – not to mentionall the shopping! Consequently, I've had littletime to go on rambles. So, instead of a properramble, how about a gentle stroll round thetown centre to sample the pubs?My rambles tend to be in the countryside andusually feature village pubs, so the town pubsrarely get a look-in. Admittedly, last time's longramble did end up at the Hallcross on Hallcross– in contradiction of my last statement!Anyway, there are many good pubs in the towncentre and, as I can't feature them all, I'llconcentrate on the six pubs which appear inthe current Good Beer Guide.

Let's start off with the Queen Crafthouse &Kitchen on the corner of Sunny Bar near themarket place. After a brief period as arestautant, the Queen has emerged once againas a popular alehouse with five ever-changingreal ales. The beers on offer are often unusualones for our area making this pub well worth avisit.

Having sampled the first pub's delights we cannow continue with our town “ramble”. Go alongSunny Bar and turn right to proceed up SilverStreet. At the crossroads turn left and walk upHallgate until reaching the Hallcross. I featuredthis pub in last time's article but you can't havetoo much of a good thing! The words “a goodthing” can certainly be applied to the Hallcrosswith all real ales costing £2.50 a pint. Abargain! In the dim and distant past StocksBrewery was located here and the Stocksbeers have now been resurrected and arecontract-brewed by Welbeck Abbey Brewery.Marvellous!From the Hallcross turn left and then right andwalk along Waterdale until reaching WoodStreet on the right. Go down Wood Street tothe end. Turn left along Cleveland Street andthen left up Young Street where you will reachDoncaster Brewery & Tap on the left. At thispoint I'd better mention the Tap's openinghours. It's closed on Monday, open from 5pmTuesday to Thursday, and from 12 noon Friday,Saturday & Sunday. Also, it closes at 5pm on

Sunday. If you're making this a daytime rambleyou would be advised to do it on Friday orSaturday because this is a pub not to bemissed! It's received numerous CAMRAawards – including local Pub of the Year andlocal Cider Pub of the Year and also YorkshireCider Pub of the Year. Several DoncasterBrewery beers are on offer along with guestbeers, ciders and perries. It's worth cominghere for the friendly atmosphere, the beers, theciders & perries, and the landlady's welcomingsmile.Well, that's three down and three to go. For thenext pub retrace your steps down YoungStreet, cross over Cleveland Street (be carefulof the traffic) and walk down Printing OfficeStreet towards the Frenchgate Centre. Turnleft along West Laith Gate to the “Little”Plough. This is a traditional unspoilt pub. It isso unspoilt that it has been unchanged since1934 and is featured in CAMRA's NationalInventory of Historic Pub Interiors. There is afront public bar and a comfortable lounge to therear. Up to four real ales are available here –including Acorn Barnsley Bitter.Leaving the pub turn right down West LaithGate until you reach the ring road. Cross overusing thepelican crossing and reach the Leopard onWest Street. Just look at the superb tiledfrontage before entering the pub. Inside, thereis a public bar to the left and a lounge to theright. Several excellent real ales are availablein this award-winning pub.

Next, leave the Leopard and turn left downWest Street and head towards the railwaystation. No, you're not about to catch a trainand leave town. The final pub is in the railwaystation and can be found on Platform 3b. Thisis the Draughtsman Alehouse which has beenconverted from a former Victorian buffet barand waiting room. Admire the superb Victoriantiled walls and enjoy the beers. There arethree ever-changing real ales on offer here.Impressively, the pub has received a specialcommendation in CAMRA's National PubDesign Awards. You can imagine how popularthe pub is with rail travellers. It's small in sizebut big in ambition.So that's the town ramble around Good BeerGuide pubs. This ramble may be short onmileage but just think of the excellent pubs toenjoy!

“Our business has been affected because somany people have had to leave the village”. Thatquote by Scott Godfrey describes just one resultof the devastating floods which hit the village ofFishlake in November. Scott and his wife Angelaare licensees of the Hare and Hounds, thevillage’s only remaining pub. They’ve played abig part in keeping the community together inthe most distressing time Fishlake hasexperienced in living memory.

Several places in our area were flooded whenthe River Don burst its banks following heavyrain but nowhere had it worse than this smallcommunity to the north of the town. About 50%of Fishlake’s 700 households were affected.Many of the locals are now in temporaryaccommodation in surrounding towns andvillages and it could be months before they canreturn to their homes.

Fortunately for Scott and Angela, thefloodwaters didn’t reach as far as the pubwhich, along the nearby St Cuthbert’s church,became the lifeline for the community. Thepub has its own gas and power supply and itwas able to heat up food for up to 70 peoplewho came every day. It also providedtemporary accommodation for a few whocouldn’t go back to their homes. Scott said hewas “inundated with calls” from peoplewithout electricity who wanted a hot meal.And on Christmas Day, despite their ownproblems, the pub laid on a Christmas dinnerfor 41 people who were unable to cook athome. Times of adversity often produceheartening stories like this.

The pub’s carpets and upholstery weredamaged with so many mud-stained feetcoming and going . And of course, the pub isnaturally feeling the strain after losing somany customers. If you’re anywhere near theHare and Hounds why not call in and giveScott and Angela some support. Fishlake’sother pub, the Old Anchor, had closed beforethe floods came so it’s important that this pubremains to serve its community.

Real ale drinkers will be pleased to learn theyhave two cask ales – when I called in recentlyBradfield Bitter and Bradfield Farmer’sBlonde were on offer – and it’s a crackingcommunity pub. After what they’ve done, theydeserve all our help and goodwill. Please paythem a visit.

RAMBLES WITH ROUNDTown Centre GBG Pubs

HARE AND HOUNDSA True Community Pub

Brewery Liaison Officers

Ian Round

As well as pubs the branch likes to support real ale breweries in the branch area. To enable us tokeep in touch with them we have a number of BLOs (Brewery Liaison Officers) who regularlykeep in touch with the brewers and brewsters. They act, not only as a link with the branch, but areresponsible for keeping CAMRA nationally and regionally aware of developments. We currentlyhave a few vacancies and if you are a member interested in this role please get in touch with thechairman.

Doncaster: Trevor JonesDon Valley: Ian JonesGreat Heck: vacantHill Top; Carole Leonard1086: John Edwards

Imperial: Chris HarrisonOld Mill: Margaret Bartley-ZukielSpotlight: Steve PynegarStocks: Julian Clark

Dave Bartley

36 37

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

A warm welcome to those who have joined CAMRA since the last edition, and also to allexisting members who have recently renewed, or moved into the branch area.

Your membership does matter, and I would like to introduce the following new members:Richard Broadley, David Fennell, Karen Hellen, John Hocking, Rick Hotchkiss, Tony Kelly, HarryKey, Philip Kimber & Jarina Chadbourne, Robert Lockwood, Andrew McKechnie, John Milan,Peter Milic, Trevor Reasbeck, Howard Rimmer, Stephen Robertson, Graham Robinson, Paul& Susan Taylor, Andrew Wake, John Whitehead, Steven Wood, and Ken Woodrow.

Thank you for your support, you should have received a membership pack from head office bynow, along with an edition of What’s Brewing. CAMRA’s monthly newspaper. This provides newsand information on a variety of subjects involving real ale, and also includes details of national andlocal activities, such as beer festivals, campaigning socials and other special events. We hopeyou will be able to come along to one of these occasions in the near future and look forward tomeeting you.

More information about local events and the Doncaster Branch can be found on our web-site;simply visit www.doncastercamra.org.uk for details, or turn to the Branch Diary section of thispublication.

New members and visitors are always made welcome to our events and socials, so why not comealong? Your input is something we value as new people bring in new ideas.Don't forget that new members attending their first social event or branch meeting can claima free pint of guest beer from me. Yes, that's right! Just show me your membership cardand I'll get you one in and CAMRA pays!Hope to see you all soon, in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have anymembership enquiries. Simply e-mail membership@doncastercamrs.org.uk

Single Membership by Direct Debit (DD) £26.50 No DD £28.50Joint Membership by Direct Debit (DD) £31.50 No DD £33.50Concessionary single (retired/under 26) £18.00 No DD £20.00Concessionary joint (retired/under 26) £23.00 No DD £25

Phone 01727 798440

Ian Jones - Membership Secretary

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FEBRUARYSunday 16

Doncaster 28th Beer Festival award, presentation in Derby. It is to Black Hole Brewery for theirbeer ALEien Invasion, which won the Best Mild category. Award to be presented at Mr Grundy’s,which is a pub serving their beers! The presentation is to take place at 14:30. Catch the train at10:32, return 20:09, unless other trains are cheaper, Keep in touch by mobile!

Wednesday 19

Take part in The Hilltop General Knowledge Quiz night. Catch bus X78 at 19:10, last bus back is22:48. Quiz starts approx 21:00. Cost is £2 per team entry & includes a supper!

MARCHMonday 9

Branch meeting at The Hallcross. Starts at 20:00.

Saturday 14

Social to The Little Plough Spring Beer Festival., Meet from 19:30. The festival runs from 12-15March.

Thursday 19

Town social - meet at The Brewery Tap from 20:00.

Thursday 26

Social to The Glasshouse in Kirk Sandall. Catch bus 84 at 19:35 or the train at 19:42. Last busback is 22:03, last train at 22:18

APRILMonday 6

Branch Meeting at The Railway. Starts at 20.00.

Thursday 9

Social to The Brewery Tap beer festival. Meet from 19:30. The festival runs from 09 – 13 April.

Wednesday 15

Pub of the Season presentation to The Leopard. Meet from 19:30. Presentation to take place at21:00.

Saturday 18

Pub of the Season presentation, to The Tom Pudding at Goole. Catch the train at 17:05. Visitother pubs first. Presentation is to take place at 20:00. Catch train back to Doncaster at 21:53.

MAYSaturday 2

Doncaster 28th Beer Festival award presentation to The Rat Brewery at The Rat and Ratchet inHuddersfield. They won this award in the best stout category for their beer called Rasteroid. Thepresentation is to take place at 14.00. Catch the train at about 10.30 with return at about 20.00.Actual times will be confirmed on our website, Facebook site and twitter nearer the time.

Thursday 7

Social to The Sun Inn at Scawsby. Catch bus 54 from the Interchange at 19:25.

Saturday 9

Social to Thorne. Catch the train at 18:05 or 18:25. Meet in The Punchbowl. Train back is at21:25 from Thorne North or 22:08 from Thorne South.

Monday 11

Branch Meeting at Doncaster Brewery Tap. Starts at 20:00.Thursday 21Doncaster town Pub of the Year presentation to The Doncaster Brewery & Tap. Meet from 19.30with the presentation taking place at 21.00.Thursday 28Town social. Meet at The Railway from 19:30

Over recent years the pubs in Armthorpe seemed to be disappearing at an alarming rate.Fortunately there are still several left but for how long?

GONE, GONE, GONE ......GOING?

BRANCH DIARY

Bus/train times can be confirmed at TRAVELINE on 01709 515151 ot atwww.travelsouthyorkshire.com

Visitors and members are always made welcome

Alterations and additions to the above events will be announced at branch meetings or throughour Facebook and twitter accounts or on the website.

www.doncastercamra.org.ukFor more information or to book coaches and meals contact Carole Leonard (details below) or use

the contacts system on the website.Phone 07973 969046

eventssec@doncastercamra.org.uk.

The site of the formerPlough pub. Now asupermarket car park.

The site of the formerTadcaster Arms.Recently beendemolished and the sitecurrently beingdeveloped for shopsand flats.

The site of the formerMiners Welfare Club.Club has beendemolished and nowthe site of anothersupermarket..

The Acorn is stillstanding but is nowboarded up. Manyrumours about its futureincluding possible sitefor flats or houses.Watch this space.

great reasonsto join CAMRA10

What’s yours?Discover your reasonand join the campaign today:www.camra.org.uk/ 10reasons

1 2CAMPAIGNfor great beer, cider and perry

Become a

BEER EXPERT

3 4Enjoy CAMRA

BEER FESTIVALSin front of or behind the bar

GET INVOLVEDand make new friends

5 6Save

YOUR LOCALFind the

BEST PUBSIN BRITAIN

87Get great

VALUE FORMONEY

DISCOVERpub heritage and thegreat outdoors

9 Enjoy greatHEALTH BENEFITS(really!) 10 HAVE YOUR SAY