Real Ale In Wiltshire

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colinw

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In September or October I'm off on a work trip to the UK and Spain - my first visit to England. I expect to spend a short time in London, but most of my time will be in the town of Chippenham, Wiltshire, about 150km west of London.

I have a CAMRA guide which shows only one real ale pub in Chippenham, and lists the beers as one of the Greene King stable and a couple of the Fuller's beers (London Pride & Chiswick Bitter).

Does anyone experienced with travel to the UK know what the local beers & any other pubs I should seek out in the area are? I'll be carless so dependent on taxis, trains, local bus services, the good will of English colleagues. On weekends trips further afield by rail (eg. to Bristol or Bath, or back up the line to London) are feasible.

Any ideas? I won't be spending all my time hunting for beer - rail museums & tourist railways are also a priority.

cheers,
Colin
 
I'll look into this for you in the next few days and find some info for you :)
 
kook said:
I'll look into this for you in the next few days and find some info for you :)
[post="71867"][/post]​
Thanks, much appreciated :super: The CAMRA Good Beer Guide is helpful, but nothing beats local knowledge.

cheers,
Colin
 
colinw said:
kook said:
I'll look into this for you in the next few days and find some info for you :)
[post="71867"][/post]​
Thanks, much appreciated :super: The CAMRA Good Beer Guide is helpful, but nothing beats local knowledge.

cheers,
Colin
[post="71882"][/post]​
Can't say I've done much drinking in Wiltshire - it's one of those counties you whiz through on the train on the way to somewhere more interesting. On the whole, I don't think it survived Grand Met very well, and with Gibbs Mew gone as well,...

Still, Salisbury is worth a look if you can get there, and Bath is a great place for beer. And, of course, look out for some good Wadworth's pubs where the beer still comes from genuine wooden casks behind the bar.
 
Forgot to say because it is so ingrained that i take it as understood: for much of England you need find ways of getting out into the villages to find the best pubs. There are notable exceptions, but in most towns and cities the pubs are tied up almost entirely by big pub owning companies. In the villages there are a lot more genuine free houses and a lot more good examples of regional brewery owned pubs.
 
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