One of the country's largest beer festivals is set to return to Tunbridge Wells with hundreds of beers, live music and heritage train journeys.
The Spa Valley Railway's Real Ale & Cider Festival will take place from Thursday, October 15, to Sunday, October 18, across three stations along the heritage railway line.
The Spa Valley Railway runs for five miles between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge and attracts more than 85,000 visitors each year.
Now in its 16th year, the festival will feature around 200 real ales, 40 Kent Green Hop beers, 14 keg beers and 70 ciders at Tunbridge Wells West, Groombridge and Eridge stations.
A major attraction this year will be the Kent Green Hop beer selection.
These seasonal beers are brewed using freshly harvested hops from Kent and are only available for a limited period during the hop harvest season.
Organisers say the festival offers visitors the opportunity to sample a wide range of traditional ales, stouts, pale beers, craft brews and ciders while travelling through the Kent and Sussex countryside.
Card-carrying CAMRA members can receive a 25 per cent discount on train travel when buying tickets at a station ticket office.
What you need to know
The event opens at Tunbridge Wells West at 6pm on Thursday, October 15.
While train services will not operate on the opening evening, heritage trains will run between the three festival sites from Friday, October 16, to Sunday, October 18.
Visitors will be able to travel between the venues on steam and heritage diesel trains through the High Weald while enjoying live music and food at each station.
Tunbridge Wells West will host full bands performing in the railway's engine shed, while Groombridge will offer acoustic acts and Eridge will also feature live bands.
Festival entry will be free at all three sites, although passengers travelling on the railway will need to buy a ticket. Rover tickets allowing unlimited travel between the stations will be available.
Jonnie Pay, general manager of Spa Valley Railway, said: "Few festivals let you arrive by heritage train, step into three very different venues and enjoy the landscape as part of the day.
"This is a celebration of flavour, music and railway travel rolled into one, equally rewarding for serious beer enthusiasts, cider lovers and visitors looking for an original autumn escape with friends or family."
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