The beer festival season is in full swing. 

Last week, the Epping & Ongar Beer Festival took place on the Epping Ongar railway line.
The privately run line operates all year round, staffed by volunteer train enthusiasts. 

On the beer festival days, diesel and steam trains operate between North Weald and Ongar stations. The trains also go out into Epping Forest, stopping in the middle of the forest before returning to North Weald station. Beer and cider are served on the trains. 

What better way to spend a sunny afternoon than travelling through forest and fields with a glass of beer in your hand? 

The non-mobile bars operate under marquees at North Weald and Ongar stations. This year there was also a gin bar at Ongar. 

The journey from Epping or Sheffield stations is all part of the package - revellers being picked up by vintage Routemaster buses to be taken to the venue.

It was all aboard the last bus out of North Weald, as everyone crammed on. The journey back from Epping to Snaresbrook was made all the merrier, with the musicians from the festival accompanying. So there was music and a beer-fuelled song to end the day.

A couple of weeks before Epping and Ongar came the Ealing Beer Festival - an easy trot on the Elizabeth line. 

CAMRA member Paul Donovan has been enjoying a summer of beer festivalsCAMRA member Paul Donovan has been enjoying a summer of beer festivals

The Ealing Beer Festival is held in Walpole Park. On a sunny day, it is a perfect venue, with a big marquee and hundreds of beers to choose from.

Last year was damp, with drinkers left sheltering under the marquee, watching the rain come down, whilst looking for a break to run to the toilets. But it was still fun.

Happily, the sun shone this year, with beer and cider consumed at an excellently organised event.

Both Epping & Ongar and Ealing beer festivals are organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), with members of our local East London and City branch prominent among the volunteers running both events.

A big gap in the CAMRA beer festival calendar this year comes with the absence of the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia. 

The biggest beer festival in the UK, it usually takes place in the first week of August but not this year due to the refurbishment of the venue. It will return next year.

The next big thing coming this way is the Wanstead Beer Festival on October 12.

In the second year of the event, organisers are hoping to build on last year's success.

The event was sold out in advance last year, so there is increased capacity this year along with more beers and ciders to choose from plus a gin bar. So don't miss out, tickets are available via the website: wansteadbeerfestival.co.uk.

Cheers.

  • Paul Donovan is Labour councillor for Wanstead Village ward, Redbridge Council and a blogger (paulfdonovan.blogspot.com).