{"id":993,"date":"2013-04-04T13:55:17","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T12:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/?p=993"},"modified":"2013-04-04T13:55:52","modified_gmt":"2013-04-04T12:55:52","slug":"real-ale-trail-has-become-a-monster-according-to-camra-expert-bob-tomlinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/?p=993","title":{"rendered":"“Real Ale trail has become ‘a monster’ according to CAMRA expert Bob Tomlinson”"},"content":{"rendered":"

[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 4th April 2013]<\/p>\n

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\"Marsden<\/div>\n
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A BEER expert has labelled the Transpennine Real Ale Trail as \u201ca\u00a0 monster\u201d.<\/div>\n
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Writing in the latest edition of Ale Talk, the real ale magazine of \u00a0 Huddersfield Camra, editor Bob Tomlinson asks if the trail has now become an\u00a0 out-of-control \u201cmonster\u201d.<\/p>\n

He pinpoints the moment the rot set in as 2009 when former Daily Telegraph\u00a0 wine writer Oz Clarke and petrol-nut, James May of Top Gear fame, popularised\u00a0 the trail on the BBC during \u201ctheir drunken spree through Yorkshire in their\u00a0 quest for the perfect pint.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was once a leisurely rail pub crawl by real ale drinkers has\u00a0 now become a frenetic and loutish day out on the lash by large groups of mainly\u00a0 lager drinkers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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It was supposed to provide a cosy and harmless pastime for men with unkempt\u00a0 beards, large guts and unfashionable jumpers.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Transpennine Real Ale Trail began life as a godsend for \u2018proper\u2019 beer\u00a0 lovers who still got a schoolboy thrill from travelling by rail.<\/p>\n

Originally it began life at the King\u2019s Head and the Head of Steam, both\u00a0 adjacent to Huddersfield Railway Station and the Mecca of real ale, The Grove,\u00a0 just a few minutes away.<\/p>\n

Drinkers might then enjoy the hospitality of Slaithwaite hostelries, in\u00a0 particular, the Swan at Crimble, the Commercial and the Wharfeside Inn. They\u00a0 would move on then to various pubs at Marsden before disappearing through the\u00a0 Diggle Tunnel and emerging at the popular Stalybridge buffet bar.<\/p>\n

So far so harmless and numerous wives were grateful to see the backs of their\u00a0 husbands during the week.<\/p>\n

But it was not long before, inevitably, it all started to go horribly\u00a0 wrong.<\/p>\n

Tomlinson said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Real Ale Trail appears to have been hijacked by stag and\u00a0 hen parties often in fancy dress, birthday revellers and people old enough to\u00a0 know better \u2013 all tanked up on cheap lager, wine and, alcopops.
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\u201cIt is not uncommon to see grown men dressed as schoolgirls or as \u2018Farmer\u00a0 Giles\u2019 types in flat caps, waxed jackets and green wellies.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven Batman and Robin, Superman, Spiderman, Billy Banana and his bunch have\u00a0 been seen staggering around.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to be a killjoy and stifle a fun day out but when it\u00a0 deteriorates into drunkards invading old ladies\u2019 houses, women and men urinating\u00a0 in gardens, dumping half-filled pint glasses of lager onto station platforms\u00a0 then it\u2019s hard to see the fun in it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There have even been reports that some of the more inebriated drinkers have\u00a0 been seen running across railway tracks at considerable risk to themselves.<\/p>\n

Both West Yorkshire Police and British Transport Police have promised to make\u00a0 dealing with ale trail revellers as one of their priorities for the\u00a0 year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read more: Examiner http:\/\/www.examiner.co.uk\/news\/local-west-yorkshire-news\/2013\/04\/04\/real-ale-trail-has-become-a-monster-according-to-camra-expert-bob-tomlinson-86081-33112969\/2\/#ixzz2PUxFedTR<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 4th April 2013] A BEER expert has labelled the Transpennine Real Ale Trail as \u201ca\u00a0 monster\u201d. Writing in the latest edition of Ale Talk, the real ale magazine of \u00a0 Huddersfield Camra, editor Bob Tomlinson … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,61,58],"tags":[8,42,32],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marsden","category-real-ale-trail","category-slaithwaite","tag-marsden","tag-real-ale-trail","tag-slaithwaite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=993"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":997,"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions\/997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smart-rail.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}