Holiday lodge Lancashire: local brewery tours
Holiday lodge Lancashire: local brewery tours from our Holiday Lodges
Lancashire and Cumbria’s brewing histories stretch right back to the mid eighteenth century, and there’s been a recent resurgence in the industry locally (with the number of brewers doubling in the last 12 months). As you’re here to enjoy one of our Lancashire holiday lodges, we thought some inside information on nearby brewery tours might well be of interest!
Lancaster Brewery, Lancaster
“From a very simple, primitive brewery located in a tired Lancaster shed, to a modern, energy efficient and much larger brewery situated in Lancaster Leisure Park with almost an acre of outside space and a large Tap House drinking den.”
Lancaster Brewery had humble beginnings but it’s now the largest micro-brewery in the North West, and well worth a visit. They run regular tours, which include barley tasting, hop sniffing, and a witty commentary from the guides. After the tour, you head through to the tasting area for 6 x half pints and a complementary pork pie, which is served with silverskin pickled onions and salad.
Top tip: There are four core ales – Red, Amber, Black and Blonde, and seasonal specials to enjoy. If you’re not drinking you can request non-alcoholic tasters and then purchase bottles of the real thing to bring back to the lodges.
Hawkshead Brewery, Staveley
“Hawkshead Brewery is a small-scale brewery that is passionate about beer. Since 2002 it has been brewing traditional English beer with a contemporary twist. The processes are hands-on, with little automation, and the brewers hand-source all their hops to create brews that are pretty special.”
Hawkshead Brewery runs scheduled daily tours at 1pm, which means visitors can choose to combine the 45 minute tour of the premises with lunch in the popular Beer Hall. The tour includes a short film and either a pint or two halves; they last approx. 45 minutes. The Beer Hall is a thriving local venue for music and they host a couple of beer festivals in May and July – visit their website to see what’s on during your stay.
Top tip: Staveley has its own train station so you can combine this brewery trip with a train ride up to Oxenholme and then connect to the Lakes service from there.
Old School Brewery, Warton
This is a hidden gem situated not far from us, but it’s only open to the public every second Friday in the month. Although there is a bottle shop on site where you can purchase their brilliantly named ales (Dentention, Hopscotch, Try Harder – we love their ‘old school’ theme). And, if you happen to be exploring Warton Crag and call in, you may drop lucky and get a quick and personal tour from one of the team behind the brewery.
Top tip: If the timing is right and your stay coincides with their rare openings, do head their way.
We look forward to welcoming you to our holiday lodges in Lancashire and can’t wait to hear about your brewery adventures. There are some fantastic microbreweries popping up and they make us incredibly proud of the thriving food and drink scene in our county.
Sheryl, Paul and the Lakeland Lodges team