The latest issue of Mansfield and Ashfield CAMRA’s Pints of View is now available to download and read on our website.
View & Download here: Pints of View – Summer ’24
CAMRA is considered one of the most successful consumer organisations across Europe. Founded by four real ale enthusiasts back in 1971, today we represent beer drinkers and pub-goers across the UK. As the map below shows, the Mansfield and Ashfield Branch covers a large part of the central belt of Nottinghamshire as well as a small area just over the western border into Derbyshire. The towns of Mansfield, Mansfield Woodhouse, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kirkby-in-Ashfield are at the heart of their area, giving the branch its name – but it also extends north, south, east and west to include more rural areas and a large number of surrounding smaller towns and villages.
The branch was formed in 1992 in the Greyhound, Mansfield Woodhouse. The decade also saw the sale (to Wolverhampton & Dudley) and subsequent closure of Mansfield Brewery, changing the local pub scene forever. Many successful beer festivals were held at Mansfield Leisure Centre and Kirkby Festival Hall in the noughties, then moved on to several other venues before finding a home at The Post Mill Centre for several years. During 2019 the branch failed to form a committee and attempts to save it were thwarted by the onset of COVID. After a couple of years of inactivity, a new committee was formed in 2022 and set to work trying to re-establish the key elements of a successful branch, which continues to this day.
There are now eight active breweries within the branch area, two of which opened this year. The area also boasts a wide range of hostelries, from many successful micro pubs to traditional country inns. You can be sure you’re never far from a great pint, wherever you are.
Currently, they hold a branch meeting every month, which anyone is welcome to attend. They are working to get survey trips and social events back regularly, with the plan to reintroduce a branch beer festival eventually. For news and updates visit: www.mansfield.camra.org.uk