This Rail Ale Trail is expected to last for a few years – and it is being launched explicitly on Saturday 27th September to mark the exact 200th anniversary of the first modern railway.
The launch event will take place at Handforth Station, starting at 13:00 on Sat 27th September.
The Rail Ale Trail itself includes the stations at Crewe, Sandbach, Holmes Chapel, Goostrey, Chelford, Alderley Edge, Wilmslow, Styal and Handforth, and it will be open for as long as people are interested in participating.
Travellers taking part will download ‘Sticker Cards’ from the Rail Ale Trail website and, over any period of time, will visit participating pubs along the railway line. When they buy a cask ale, the pub staff will record the visit by sticking their pub’s sticker to the Sticker Card. Participants are encouraged not only to use the train, but also to enjoy the surroundings and historical places of interest in each location (which often includes the station at each location!).
The aim is to complete the Trail in a number of visits, stopping at 2 or 3 of the stations on the Crewe to Manchester line each time.