Crowds raise a glass for 20th anniversary of Newbury Real Ale Festival

Thousands of visitors filled Northcroft Park on Saturday for the return of Newbury’s popular one-day Real Ale Festival, which turns 20 this year.

Crowds packed into the craft beer, cider and ale tents in search of refreshing beverages on a pleasantly warm day, complete with live music which rolled on into the evening.

More than 5,800 tickets sold, including over 1,000 children who entered free of charge.

In total, visitors managed to sink 26,000 pints – more than the previous two years.

“It was an absolutely fabulous event,” said David Whittingham, a member of the organising team. “Everybody seemed to have an amazing time.

“A lot of hard work goes into it. We’ve already started to look at next year.

“The format really worked well this year, which wasn’t much changed from last year.

“As always, we’re looking to make it better.”

Mr Whittingham and his team wish to thank festival organisation leaders, Vincent Butler and Sara Dutfield, for their “amazing organisation” over the years.

They also thank all suppliers, sponsors and the 200 plus volunteers from Newbury and Thatcham Hockey Club for supporting the charity fundraising event.

This year’s beneficiaries were Sport in Mind, Mary Hare Foundation and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

Shaun Matthews, volunteer manager at Sport in Mind, said events like these are “massively important” for charities.

“It’s great to get our face out there and tell people what we’re about,” he said.

“We provide free sports sessions for people struggling with mental health and we have 135 adult sessions now.

“We are really grateful to the NRAF for having us here as one of their main charities.

“The donations we’re going to receive we’re massively grateful for and can help fund sessions going forward.

The charity had a stand at the festival, where it invited children to join in fun games, including bowls and archery, as well as giving out information on the work it does.

And at the opposite end of the field to the main stage was the acoustic tent, playing live music throughout the afternoon.

Sion Whiley, who organised the tent as well as playing there himself, said it had been a “really good” afternoon.

“It’s the second year we’ve done the acoustic tent as a standalone thing; in previous years we’ve done an open mic in the beer tent,” he told newburytoday.

“We’ve really loved having the acoustic tent out here and having something totally different to the main stage.

“It’s all local people, everyone is from Newbury.

“It’s important to keep live music going in a local base.

“A massive thanks to the guys who organise it and all the sponsors.

“They put on a great event and we’re really lucky to have it in Newbury. Long may it continue.”

Some visitors complained to newburytoday about the long queues for food, with some lasting up to two hours.

Mr Whittingham responded: “We had the same amount of vendors as last year.

“We’ll certainly be looking at that. For next year, we’ll be looking at bigger and better, with more vendors.”

Another recurring comment flagged was the cramped condition of the camping areas on either side of the VIP section, particularly near the main stage.

“The VIP/Sponsor Area does seem a lot bigger than it actually is,” added Mr Whittingham.

“We have to keep the cricket ground completely free. But we always take feedback on board.”

Limited early bird tickets costing £15 will soon go on sale for next year’s event, which will return on September 13, 2025.