Completion of The Woodfordes Ale Trail 2011

The Woodfordes Ale Trail ended on 30th September and it was time to total up our stamps and collect our prizes. To recollect the rules, one has to visit Woodfordes outlets that are contained in their 2011 guide and on purchasing a pint of Woodfordes ale the publican will add an entry to the Trail Card with a unique stamp. There is only one stamp allowed for each venue and the trail only runs from June to the end of September. There is a different prize for collecting multiples of 10 stamps with the top prize being a polypin of ale for 60 stamps. In 2009 we managed to fill 2 Trail Cards and had started a third giving us a bounty of 2 polypins and a Nelsons Revenge t-shirt. This year we were not as successful due to being away from the area for a few weeks over the summer months. The end result was that we only completed half of the card. Nonetheless, this was thirty stamps collected which was rewarded with a mighty fine Woodfordes Hoody worth £25 as modelled by Kat in the photo above, an item that will most certainly keep us warm on our camping and walking expeditions

The trail took us to many pubs that we would not have otherwise visited, with some real gems found as well. The full list of pubs visited are below.

• Coach and Horses, Dersingham
• Albatros, Wells-next-the-Sea
• Ark Royal, Wells-next-the-Sea
• Golden Fleece, Wells-next-the-Sea
• >Crown, Wells-next-the-Sea
• Edinburgh, Wells-next-the-Sea
• Carpenters Arms, Wighton
• Three Horseshoes, Warham
• Red Lion, Stiffkey
• Anchor, Morston
• Lobster, Sheringham
• >Crown, Sheringham
• Windham Arms, Sheringham
• Fishing Boat, East Runton
• Kings Head, Cromer
• Red Lion, Cromer
• White Horse, Overstrand
• Manor Hotel, Mundesley
• Ship Inn, Mundesley
• Hill House, Happisburgh
• Kings Head, Norwich
• Ship Inn, Reedham
• Parrot and Punchbowl, Aldringham
• Dolphin, Thorpeness
• Plough and Sail, Snape Maltings
• Ship Inn, Blaxhall
• Lion Inn, Little Glenham
• Dove Street Inn, Ipswich
• Fludyer Arms, Felixstowe
• Hand in Hand, Trimley St Martin

The Three Horseshoes at Warham, a real old fashioned village pub - well worth a visit

A few interesting facts about the pubs we visited:

• The predominant Woodfordes ale on offer was Wherry which was available in all these outlets, followed by Nelsons Revenge and Sundew. A few pubs did have First Bittern and there was a rare example of Norfolk Nog at Happisburgh Hill House.
• Cheapest pint of Wherry was £2.40 at The Fishing Boat in East Runton
• Most expensive pint of Wherry was £3.60 at The Plough and Sail, Snape Maltings and The Dolphin at Thorpeness
• The most interesting pub was the Three Horseshoes at Warham, a very distinctive and old fashioned hostelry that I would recommend visiting, along with our old favourite The Albatros at Wells, a unique place to sup beer and watch the tide ebb and flow.
• The pub with the largest selection of ales was The Dove Street Inn in Ipswich which included three of their own brews on offer. The Kings Head on Magdalen Street in Norwich is also worth seeking out, which always has a large selection of local ales in this back to basics pub. The Windham Arms in Sheringham always has four or five Norfolk ales on offer. The Red Lion in Cromer has dedicated their hand pumps to an ever changing selection of Norfolk and Suffolk Ales. The Hill House at Happisburgh have a good selection of guest ales.
• The Ship at Mundesley has had a refreshing change from a year ago when it only offered Green King ales. They now offer a variety of local ales including Woodfordes and Green Jack.

The majority of the pubs were visited as part of our walks including:

• The Iceni Way from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton
• Cromer to Sheringham Circular Walk
• The Norfolk Coast Path from Wells to Morston
• Wells to Wighton Circular Walk
• A visit to Happisburgh
• Norfolk Coast from Cromer to Mundesley
• Leiston to Glenham Circular Walk
• Wherrymans Way, Loddon to Reedham
• Circular walk from Leiston to Thorpess that is not blogged - this is a regular Sunday lunchtime wander across the commons and heaths that border this part of the Suffolk coast
• A bus trip to Felixstowe and Ipswich on a wet and dismal Saturday
• Regular Friday lunchtime beer at the Kings Head in Norwich

On the left The Dove Street Inn, Ipswich which offered the largest range of ales; On the right The Ship Inn, Blaxhall

All in all this was a great way of getting out and about and if we had more time we would have tailored more walks to coincide with pubs on the Ale Trail. Hopefully Woodfordes will organise another Ale Trail in two years time and we will see if we can complete the card. I have put together a map of the Woodfordes pubs which you can find at http://vulcanarms.freehostia.com/woodfordes/2011pubs.htm

Last Updated: 2014-10-22