The voting form for the CAMRA North East Suffolk branch Good Beer Guide 2026 allocation and Pub of the Year 2025 is now available to download from the Members' Area of this website.

The minutes of our branch Annual General Meeting for 2024 have been added to the Members Area of this website for access by local branch members.

Voting for the CAMRA North East Suffolk branch GBG 2025 allocation and Pub of the Year 2024 has now closed. The results of the Pub of the Year voting will be notified to members at our Branch AGM and then added to 'Branch News' on this website.

The Rumburgh Buck has been voted as CAMRA Suffolk County Pub of the Year for 2023 and the Caxton Club has been voted as CAMRA East Anglian Club of the Year for 2023.

We are pleased to announce our CAMRA branch PotYs (Pubs of the Year) for 2023

Overall PotY is the Rumburgh Buck

Town PotY is the Green Dragon in Bungay

Rural PotY is the Westhall Racehorse

Club of the Year is the Caxton Club in Beccles

Congratulations to all of the winners.

The Campaign for Real Ale has cancelled all national and local events until at least 30th June 2020 following the advice given by the Government. Future events will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

North East Suffolk branch bus trip - 1st June 2019

Our 2nd annual bus trip saw us meet in Beccles Old Market on a warm and sunny day to await the arrival of our transport for the day, a 1971 poppy red bus. Everyone was punctual so the 40 of us on board were delighted to set off on time for the drive to the Wenhaston Star, our first stop of the day where we met up with another member. We found home-made sausage rolls available at the bar alongside the beer selection, which included three beers from Green Jack – Golden Best, LGM1 and Ripper. The group got their drinks and spread out in the bar area with many taking advantage of the sunshine and going into the lawned garden where there was also a marquee that provided shade. There is a war memorial opposite the pub, which several people stopped to take in before getting back on the bus for the next stage of our journey through Halesworth, Walpole and Heveningham to Laxfield in the neighbouring CAMRA branch area where we had the joy of two pubs to visit. I first went to the Laxfield Low House (Kings Head), which was bought from Adnams in 2018 and is now a community pub with all beers served on gravity from a tap room. The beers waiting for us to sample included Bull of the Woods Summer Pale, Green Jack Golden Best & Gone Fishing, Adnams Southwold Bitter, Lacons Encore and Star Wing Stain Glass Blue. There is a large enclosed garden to the rear with a view of the church over the top of the pub. After sampling the Summer Pale and Stain Glass Blue, I walked around the corner to the Laxfield Royal Oak which is in a nice position close to the church and museum. The bar and front patio were busy with visitors, guests attending a wedding and our group with their choice of Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold, Adnams Southwold Bitter, Earl Soham Victoria and Woodforde's Wherry. It was soon time to move on so we once again boarded the bus for our trip back over the (imaginary) border to North East Suffolk and our next stop, the Bramfield Queen's Head. The arrival of our bus in this small village resulted in several people coming out of their homes and some taking photos of the bus. The rural Grade II listed 16th Century pub re-opened under new ownership in August 2018 and has been tastefully refurbished. On the pub's single bar at our visit, beers from Adnams and Woodfordes were being served alongside Tipples Lady Evelyn and, as it was still a lovely day, many of us sat in the pub's lovely enclosed garden to the rear. With time moving on, we made our way back to the bus for the journey to our final pub of the day, the Shadingfield Fox. The original pub dates back to the 16th Century with some original features being retained. The bar features eight pumps with the beer range constantly changing. At our visit, breweries featured included Grain, Oakham, Tindall, St Peter's, Nene Valley and, a nice find, Nelson's Tree from Beccles Brewing Co, a new local brewery. I enjoyed my final drinks sitting on the pub's patio before it was time to board the bus one final time for our return journey to Beccles. Feedback suggests that this bus trip was enjoyed by all, especially as it took in rural pubs with virtually no public transport that most of us had not visited for a long time and, in some cases, never before.

Our Pub of the Year awards for 2019 are listed below.

Overall Pub of the Year - Stanford Arms, Lowestoft; Town Pub of the Year - Triangle Tavern, Lowestoft; Rural Pub of the Year - Wenhaston Star; Cider Pub of the Year - Caxton Club, Beccles;

North East Suffolk branch - socials report: Jul18-Sep18

In mid-July a group of us travelled to Sheringham for our annual visit to the North Norfolk Railway beer festival held on the station's Poppy Line platform. As it was a nice day, I took advantage of the weather, arrived early and took a long walk along the coast path returning in time for the opening of the festival. Plenty of real ale or real cider plus steam trains – a good combination for many with several visitors taking the trip to Holt and back. The following Wednesday was one of our rural mid-month meanders, on this occasion a two-pub visit starting at the Wenhaston Star where Adnams Southwold, Magpie Best, Woodforde's Volt IPA, Golden Best and Summer Dream from Green Jack were available alongside Giggler Cider. We sat in the pub's large garden for a few beers then walked – some took the bus - to the Blyford Queen's Head which is an Adnams pub recently under new management. We chose our beers from those available and sat at tables just outside the front of the pub and had a good view of nesting parent birds going back and forth feeding their young. It was soon time for most of our group to catch the bus home via Southwold leaving three of us, one of whom was driving and who gave me a lift home. The route took us past the Shadingfield Fox so we decided to pop in to see the staff and have a last drink. Our final social in July was another regular on our calendar – the annual Humpty Dumpty Brewery beer festival in Reedham, a short walk from the train station. As well as the brewery's own beers, many others were available. I personally had Wibblers Hop Black, Three Blind Mice Lonely Snake, Elland Road Trip, Itchin Hampshire Rose, Colchester Brazilian and Billericay Zeppelin. There were also five unusual beers from Norfolk Broads Brewing called Jane's Addiction which were based on sweet shop treats – Lemon Sherbet and Black Jack were available when I visited, although Old English Toffee, Rhubarb & Custard and Fruit Salad were due to be available.

We met up at the Walberswick Anchor for our August mid-month meander and found Oakham JHB being served alongside Southwold Bitter, Ghost Ship and Mosaic from Adnams. We sat in their front garden and were joined by the landlord for a chat and who proceeded to look after us well providing a jug of an experimental porter and a bottle of his Harvest Ale to taste. We were also joined briefly by a couple of CAMRA members from Essex who, I think, were on a walking holiday. Much later than planned we moved on to the Walberswick Bell and sat in their large garden with our choice of the four Adnams beers on offer, most of us opting for T'Drop. We then walked towards the ferry to find a long queue so we decided to walk along the river path and cross the footbridge where we headed to the Harbour Inn where Adnams Southwold, Mosaic, Ghost Ship and Broadside were being served. Once again, we sat in the garden only to find that the warm weather seemed to have encouraged the wasps as they were all around us. We eventually found a wasp-free spot and finished our drinks before heading back to the bus stop and travel home. At the end of August, we ventured to the Norman Warrior in Lowestoft for their annual beer festival, which was held in their newly refurbished and family friendly garden. Some 20 beers were being served along with a large number of ciders and, thankfully, the weather stayed dry while we were there. At the end of the month a small group of us joined locals and visitors at the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft for their late Summer event where all beers served on their 12 handpumps were from London breweries Canopy, Crate, East London, Hammerton, Howling Hops, One Mile End and Truman's.

In early September we met at the Oddfellows in Pakefield for their beer festival, which is held on Oddfellows Green opposite the pub and adjacent to the coastal path. Breweries featured included Church End, Wye Valley, Derventio, Lincoln Green, Revolutions, Wolf, Green Jack and Great Heck. A very pleasant afternoon was spent drinking and chatting and listening to the live music later in the afternoon. Our September mid-month meander took us to Halesworth. We met at the Triple Plea,a 20 minute walk from the railway station, where Woodforde's Wherry, Adnams Southwold, Mauldon's Dickens and Triple Tipple, a 4.1% beer brewed by Greene King, were waiting for us. There were many customers for lunch so we settled down with our drinks in the seating area close to the bar. We then walked to the town centre's White Hart where a few of our group decided to have some lunch. The beer choice was from Fuller's London Pride and three beers from Adnams – Southwold, Ghost Ship and Broadside. We continued our afternoon out by walking to the White Swan situated opposite St Mary's church. Adnams Southwold was being served with Greene King Old Golden Hen about to come on. Our final pub was meant to be the Angel, but upon arriving, we discovered that it was hosting a wake and was very busy so we decided to return to the White Hart for a final drink. Later in the month we were invited to attend a St Peter's Brewery 'meet the team' event at the Butcher's Arms in Beccles where four pins of the brewery's beers – Mild, Bitter, Golden Ale and Plum Porter - were being served alongside the pub's regular offerings. This was a rare Sunday outing for us and it was at short notice so it was a pretty good turnout by our branch who enjoyed the afternoon, which also featured live music.

Great Yarmouth social

Our final social of the quarter was a trip across the border into Norfolk to visit a few pubs in Great Yarmouth. Our first beer was in the Tombstone Saloon, a one-bar local where we were joined by a local CAMRA member. The beers are served by gravity with three other breweries featured on the day as well as the Tombstone ales. I tried Texas Jack and Arizona from Tombstone and a beer from Magpie. From here, we walked the short distance to the Mariners where amongst others being served were Nene Valley New Age Chestnut and Bosun's Razamataz, which were both enjoyed by our group. The third pub that we visited was the Red Herring - close to the Time & Tide Museum - where there was a choice of three beers including Robinson's and Lacon's. Finally, we walked back to the Oliver Twist - a small pub close to the market area – where I finished with another beer from the Tombstone brewery.

North East Suffolk branch bus trip

As it is no longer possible to visit many rural pubs by public transport we decided to organise our own bus trip, which is the reason that a group of 28 gathered at Beccles Old Market on a wet June morning to await the arrival of our transport for the afternoon, a poppy red 1970's single deck bus. Leaving only 10 minutes later than planned, the driver soon made up the time as we picked up a passenger in Bungay and again in Halesworth before arriving on time at our first stop of the day, the Wissett Plough, which is under new ownership and has been nicely refurbished including the previous small brewery area now being part of the pub. Leaving our driver to perform the tricky task of reversing the bus into the pub's car park the group, now numbering 30, entered the pub and received a warm welcome from the staff including the provision of some nibbles to eat. On offer on the day were Lacon's Encore, Adnams Southwold Bitter, Green Jack Trawlerboys and Greene King Abbot. Within a short time the sun had made an appearance so some of the group moved outside to the terrace front garden while a few of us were shown around the cellar area. After an hour or so it was time to move on so we boarded the bus for the short drive to our next stop, the Rumburgh Buck, which was found to be quite busy with local customers when we arrived. This pub has a dining room and three drinking areas off of the bar with a games room for pool and darts. Ruddles County, Adnams Southwold Bitter, Woodforde's Reedlighter, Mauldons Cuckoo and Shortts Farm Strummer (G) were available along with real ciders. By now, the temperature had risen significantly so the pub's pleasant garden was popular. A couple of beers later and it was soon time to move on so we boarded the bus once again for the longer journey over the county boundary into Norfolk and the Earsham Queen's Head, home to the Waveney Brewery with their East Coast Mild, Lightweight, Welterweight and Great White Hope waiting for our thirsty bunch of drinkers. It had now turned into a fine day so many of our group opted to sit in the pub's garden with the added treat of a few smoked prawns (thanks Richard). This lovely pub is just a few minutes by car or about a 20 minute walk to Bungay's pubs and I try to include it whenever I visit Bungay. Now running a little late, I had to encourage everyone to finish their drinks and get back on the bus for the short drive to our final stop, the Broome Artichoke. This pub always has a large number of beers available with Adnams Southwold Bitter, Exmoor Hound Dog, Nethergate Suffolk County and Lacons Encore on handpump with Ringwood Boondoggle, Dorset Brewing Gastank, Crouch Vale Yakima Gold, Box Steam Spring, Lacons Legacy, Bull of the Woods Twisted Wheel, Green Jack Lurcher, Kelham Island Pale Rider and Thornbridge Jaipur on gravity from the cellar. We managed an hour here before having to board the bus for the final time and our return trip to Beccles for onward travel having had a very nice day out on a poppy red bus.

North East Suffolk branch

Mid-month meanders and other socials: Jan18-Mar18

Our New Year social took us to Pakefield for a pleasant afternoon where 18 of our members met up at the Oddfellows, which was hosting a mini beer festival with a choice of Adnams Southwold Bitter, Green Jack's Pakefield Pride, Ploughboys & Old Ale, Woodforde's Once Bittern & Norfolk Nog, Gales Seafarers, Shepherd Neame Spitfire and Lacon's Falcon. Our mid-month meander later in January was in Beccles meeting at the Caxton Club where Ascot Gold Cup, Tetley Gold, Severn Brewing Golden IPA and Dark Side of the Moose from Purple Moose were available along with at least 10 real ciders. From here our 11 strong group moved to the Ingate, which had not featured in our previous visits to Beccles since its rejuvenation under new management in 2017. The pub now serves four ales on a regular basis, Sharp's Doom Bar and usually three from Green Jack – at our visit it was Rising Sun, Trawlerboys & Gone Fishing. Our next stop was the Wine Vaults at the top of Blyburgate where GK IPA, London Glory & Fireside were available and where we were joined by another two of our branch members. We then walked to the Old Market area for our next pubs. First we went to the Caxton Arms where dark beers were the order of the day with Titanic Cherry Dark and Severn Brewing Ruby Porter being served alongside GK Abbot Ale. We then moved just around the corner to finish at the Bear & Bells for Adnams Southwold, Sharps Sea Fury and Marstons Pedigree – a convenient place to end our walk for those travelling home by bus.

In early February our annual branch meal was held at the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft where a wonderful meal and plenty of good beer were enjoyed and, in a change to our usual meanders, we ventured to Norwich for the Great British Beer Festival Winter where a great choice of ales was available.

The weather then caused a few problems making it necessary to rearrange our AGM, which took us back to Beccles and the Caxton Club and, after sampling their offerings, several of us opted to finish the afternoon at the King's Head Hotel for the Wetherspoon beer festival where I can recall us drinking Saltaire Onyx, Strange Fellows Talisman, Exmoor Whakatu, Tring American Brown, Mordue Sterling, Sixpoint Lo-Res and Oakham Attila. We met up in Bungay for our March meander and started at the Green Dragon for a choice of their own beers, Chaucer, Bridge St Bitter, Gold & Strong Mild. They also had a local real cider available called Cid'er'oad. We moved to the Three Tuns and found St Peters Hoppy T'Ale, Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, GK IPA & London Glory available. Next we strolled to the Castle Inn where their two pumps were serving Earl Soham's Victoria and a trial beer from Bull In The Woods brewery, an IPA at 5.9%, which we enjoyed while sitting in the pub's lovely little garden. We re-traced our steps to go to the Chequers for an interesting selection of beer, namely Oakham JHB, Wantsum Dynamo, SUA Louis's Pale Ale and True North Stout. We then just had enough time for a Woodforde's Nelson's Revenge or GK IPA at the Fleece Inn before catching the 5:30pm, and last, bus home to Beccles and onward travel. Our final March event was on the last day of the month at the Easter 'Sheffield breweries' beer festival at the Stanford Arms where landlords, Dave & Sam Burd, were presented with a certificate for branch Town Pub of the Year for 2018. Breweries featured on the day included Abbeydale, Bradfield, Sentinel, Neepsend, Exit 33, Little Critters, Blue Bee, Lost Industry and Emmanuales.

Our other 2018 branch Pub of the Year certificates are overall PotY to the Shadingfield Fox, rural PotY to the Wenhaston Star, Cider PotY and Club of the Year to the Beccles Caxton Club and Most Improved PotY to the Ingate in Beccles.

NES branch socials report for Oct17-Dec17 Sunday 7 January 2018 North East Suffolk branch

On an overcast Saturday in October we went on a pub surveying trip to Southwold. We visited the Sole Bay Inn, Red Lion, Lord Nelson and the back bar of the Crown and between the pubs had a choice of Adnams Southwold Bitter, Regatta, Mosaic, Ghost Ship, Broadside and the seasonal Nut Brown. We also planned to visit the re-opened Swan Hotel, but it turned out that it was not re-opening until the following week.

The following Saturday was the East Anglia Regional Pub of the Year presentation by Andrea Briers to Dave & Sam Burd of the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft where CAMRA members from several branches and locals watched the presentation and had a choice of 12 real ales.

Later in October, our mid-month meander took us to Carlton Colville where we met at the Bell Inn and found a choice of Greene King IPA & St Edmunds Golden Beer, Adnams Ghost Ship and Nethergate Suffolk County. The pub has a wood-burner in the main bar area with a separate restaurant to one side and other seating areas to the other. A short walk away is the Old Red House, which was serving Green Jack Golden Best and Fuller's London Pride. This cosy pub is definitely dog-friendly as one local arrived bearing three bags, each containing a chihuahua who all ended up sharing a chair at the bar. A longer walk away is Carlton Manor, a large multi-roomed hotel with a bar which, at our visit, had available Lacon's Falcon. We moved on and as we passed the East Anglia Transport Museum next door it started to rain so we hurried to our final pub, the Crown, which was serving GK IPA, GK London Glory and Adnams Ghost Ship. We hoped to see out the rain before leaving, but the weather got worse so we all got wet going home.

In November, we had branch socials at two local beer festivals. The first was at the Shadingfield Fox, which several members managed to get to despite the poor public transport. A good choice of beers were available with Mr Bees Pollen Power and Three Blind Mice Milk Worm proving the most popular. Our second event was the popular and easy to get to Beccles Beer Festival held at the Public Hall and fundraising for local charity, Beccles Lido. All 30 beers were from Suffolk & Norfolk breweries and the organisers always manage to obtain a few rarely seen or new ales. This time, Rock Steady and Inca Gold from Bull of the Woods, Beelightful from Mr Bees, Chaucer from Green Dragon, 25PA from Fat Cat and Thurlton Gold from Peoples Brewery featured with the latter being voted Beer of the Festival. A 1st Beccles Spring Beer Festival is scheduled for 6th-8th April 2018.

Our November mid-month meander found nine of us on a visit to Halesworth. We met at the Triple Plea at opening time to find Lacons Old Ale alongside regular beers Woodforde's Wherry, Adnams Bitter and a house beer from Greene King, Triple Tipple. The Lacons Old Ale was new to me and I found it to be particular tasty. We then moved to the White Hart, most of us on foot but some members caught the bus. On this occasion the town centre pub had Southwold Bitter & Ghost Ship from Adnams and Fuller's London Pride. We followed our usual route and walked along the Thoroughfare towards St Mary's Church and the White Swan which had Adnams Southwold Bitter and Elgood's Saturday Night Beaver. Our final pub was the Angel, an Adnams hotel which was serving their Bitter, Ghost Ship and the seasonal Old Ale.

On the first Saturday in December a very good turnout of members caught the train to Reedham and walked to the Humpty Dumpty Brewery for its annual Open Weekend. Seating was available both inside where several of their brews were racked ready to sample and outside where a barbecue was up & running. Tours of the brewery had been scheduled for those wishing to have a look around and the shop was open for anyone wanting to take a few bottles home. This year I left the brewery earlier and went back to the station in daylight to avoid having to walk along country roads in the dark using the torch on my mobile.

On an overcast Wednesday lunchtime in December seven of us met up at Livingstone's in Kessingland to find on the bar Adnams Bitter & Ghost Ship along with Lacons Encore. This open plan pub has a lot of seating including a large area with sofas and feels very spacious. At our visit six Christmas trees were in evidence. We could tell that it was raining outside so decided to leave before it got too heavy and walk the mile or so down towards the beach where the Sailors Home is located. We found four other members already there and a good selection of 10 beers including some served by gravity. These were Adnams Bitter, Ghost Ship & Tally Ho, Green Jack Lurcher, Rising Sun, Trawlerboys & Gone Fishing, Humpty Dumpty Christmas Crackling, Wolf Grandma's Rich Porter and Stain Glass Blue from Star Wing, a brewery new to most of our members present and very good it was too.

Our Christmas social was a visit to the 'taverns' in Lowestoft. We met at the Oak Tavern, a nice little pub in the back streets, where the four pumps featured GK IPA & IPA Reserve, Adnams Bitter and Lacons St Nicks. We settled down and sampled a couple of beers each before moving on to the Triangle Tavern where there was the usual choice from the Green Jack range. My notes from this point on went missing sometime over Christmas, but I recall drinking Orange Wheat and Gone Fishing.

North East Suffolk branch

Mid-month meanders and other socials: Jul17-Sep17

On the first day of July we met up for a social in Oulton Broad starting at the Commodore. As it was a nice day, we sat in their garden overlooking the Broad with our choice from the available beers, Adnams Bitter, Ghost Ship & Broadside and Green Jack's Summer Dream. It was soon time to move on so we walked the short distance to the Wherry Hotel, a large waterside Castle Carvery. The ales served here are normally from East Anglian breweries with two each from Woodforde's (Wherry & Reedlighter) and Adnams (Bitter & Ghost Ship) on our visit. We then walked across the lock bridge to Broadview, a one-bar glass-fronted pub, once again with views across the water. There are normally one or two Adnams beers available with a changing guest beer. On the day the guest beer was Ilkley Mary Jane, which most of us opted for and supped in the screened patio to the side of the pub. Our next pub was the Waveney, which was serving Bitter, Ghost Ship & Broadside from Adnams and Greene King IPA. As the weather was still pleasant we sat at a table in their large rear garden. Our final drink of the day followed a walk through Nicholas Everitt Park to the Quayside Bar & Restaurant, which is situated by the water on the Broadland Holiday Village site. Adnams Bitter & Broadside and GK IPA were available.

Our Mid-Month Meander in July took us to central Lowestoft. We met at the Joseph Conrad, a large JDW pub on two floors. The regular Ruddles Bitter, Sharp's Doom Bar and GK Abbot were on alongside guest beers Adnams Regatta, Jennings Hop Commotion, Roosters YPA & Woodforde's Bure Gold. We made our choices and discussed the route that had been planned for the afternoon. A new bar, Ropeworks, had recently opened on the site of the old Gourock Ropeworks building so we took a minor detour to have a look. The narrow building has three floors with a tea room at the bottom, a bar and restaurant on the middle floor and a gin bar on the top floor. We were pleased to find real ale available and had a pint of Adnams Ghost Ship. Our next stop was Hearts Of Oak, a locals pub close to the railway and bus stations serving Old Specked Hen. We then walked to a couple of pubs, the Factory Arms and Freddy's, but neither currently serve real ale so, after a brief chat with their bar staff, we moved on to the Mariner's Rest where Adnams Mosaic, Salopian Lemon Dream, Mordue Workie Ticket, Fuller's ESB, St Austell Proper Job and Oakham Scarlet Macaw were available along with several ciders. We took our drinks and sat at a table in the pub's very nice garden. A strong wind had picked up, which showed itself when the table's umbrella was lifted out of the table and deposited over the nearby garden fence. Undeterred, we went back to the bar for another drink. Our final stop of the day was the East Anglia regional Pub of the Year, the Stanford Arms, which had it's usual array of beers available. Unfortunately, I only noted those that I drank so I can just state that Allday Green and Grain Coriander were on.

Also in July, we ventured across the border into Norfolk for socials at beer festivals. The first was held on the platform of the North Norfolk Railway in Sheringham and the second was Humpty Dumpty Brewery's summer event on Reedham's playing fields. Both were much enjoyed by those that attended.

Our first event in August was the delayed presentation of the Suffolk PotY certificate to the Stanford Arms, where those that attended the afternoon presentation had a good choice of real ale with many staying for the regular pizza night.

Our August Mid-Month Meander was our regular visit to Walberswick. Arriving on foot (well, most of us) from Southwold, we met at the Anchor where we had a choice of Oakham JHB and the regular three Adnams ales plus several bottled continental beers. The pub has gardens at front and rear as well as a spacious interior. Our next stop following a short walk back towards the river was the Bell Inn which was serving Adnams Regatta as the seasonal option alongside their three regular Adnams beers. This pub was very busy serving meals in its large garden where we managed to find a table to enjoy our drinks. We had timed our day so that we would get back to the ferry when it re-opened so we managed to get in the boat together and arrived on the Southwold side of the river. We followed the harbour road and walked along Ferry Road to Sail Loft which was serving Adnams Ghost Ship and Timothy Taylor's Landlord and where some of our group decided to have a meal. Our next and final stops were the Red Lion and Lord Nelson which were both serving Adnams Bitter, Ghost Ship, Mosaic and Broadside with the latter also serving Regatta. As it was now late afternoon, we had missed the busy lunch period so were able to sit in comfort at both pubs.

Over the August bank holiday the branch visited the Norman Warrior for their annual beer and cider festival. The event is held in the pub's large garden and 30 ciders were available alongside 20 festival beers. Breweries featured included Brains, Daleside, Hopback, Peerless, Saltaire and Thornbridge. A week later we went to Pakefield for the Oddfellows real ale festival held on the green opposite the pub alongside the coastal path. There were 34 beers on offer from the marquee including some from Green Jack, Oakham, Fat Cat, Redwell, Colchester and Elland breweries.

Our September Mid-Month Meander was more rural than normal. Some travelled via Southwold whilst others, me included, caught the bus at Halesworth Rail Station. Travelling south-east, we passed the Lord Nelson at Holton (now a B&B) and went through Blyford alighting outside our first pub stop, at the end of the long garden of the Wenhaston Star Inn. Eight of us had turned up and enjoyed the cosy atmosphere of this friendly free house, which has three small public rooms and much of interest adorning the walls. On the bar were Green Jack Golden Best, Harvey's Sussex Bitter, Adnams Bitter, Wolf Golden Jackal, Calvor's Lodestar and Giggler Cider. It is certainly the only pub where I have had the opportunity to play bar skittles whilst using the toilet facilities. After a few pints and a bite of lunch it was time to move on to our second and final pub. Most of us set off to walk back to Blyford through Wenhaston village, though some took the next bus. We arrived at the Blyford Queen's Head just after their lunch service had ended so only a few customers were there. This Adnam's pub was serving Southwold Bitter, Ghost Ship and seasonal brew Nut Brown. Following a chat with the manager about the pub, we plumped for the Nut Brown and sat at a table outside. The pub is situated on a crossroads and is opposite the 11th Century Parish Church of All Saints Blyford. The grounds surround the pub and include a car park, large garden, children's play area and the pub's ducks, chickens and pigs.

On a personal note, I always strive to visit a few beer festivals with CAMRA involvement and, in the last three months, managed to visit those at Chelmsford, Stowmarket, Ealing, GBBF, Clacton, Chappel and St Albans. From the fairly small to the huge, I thoroughly enjoyed each of them. Finally, I met friends in North Walsham to attend an open air beer festival organised by the local Round Table. Very much a local festival, it featured beers from only Norfolk breweries. Unfortunately, the weather turned very wet and we were forced to find shelter but, fortunately, we remembered that a new bar called Hop In was opening in town that very day so we made our way there. We found six beers being served direct from the cask in this micro-pub which, although small, has seating upstairs. We were pleased that we had made the effort to visit the pub.

North East Suffolk branch

Mid-month meanders and other socials: Apr17-Jun17

Our Saturday April social was in Beccles. We met at the Butchers Arms, a short walk from the town centre opposite Beccles Cemetery. Our group of 13 members were offered a choice of St Peters Golden Ale, Woodforde's Nog, Blond Witch from Moorhouse, Marston's Pedigree and Best Bitters from both Barrell & Sellers and Theakston. There was also a cider, but I neglected to make a note of its details. Apart from enjoying the beer, we also discussed with Ian, the landlord, the street corner pub's layout discovering that the now open plan pub is mainly an extension and was once comprised of just small lounge and public bars. Apparently, the pub was originally called Victoria Gardens before the owners gained a slaughterhouse licence and changed the pub's name. Our next stop was at Graze at the White Horse, a refurbished cafe bar and grill in the centre of Beccles that was serving Fuller's London Pride and Woodforde's Wherry on our visit. As it was a warm sunny day, we took our drinks and sat in their lovely garden. It was soon time to move on to the Waveney House Hotel, which was serving Lacon's Legacy, Adnams Southwold Bitter and Woodforde's Wherry. We took our drinks outside and enjoyed a lovely view of the river before walking back up the incline to the Bear & Bells, a 17th Century Victorian pub. This was serving Adnams Bitter and, a beer not seen for a while by most of our group, Wadworth 6X. A short walk round the corner lies the Caxton Arms where, on this occasion, we had a choice of Caledonian Double Dark, Great Oakley Abbey Stout and Box Steam Piston Broke. This was the last pub scheduled so most of our group went home, although some went via the Caxton Club (four beers available) and others via the King's Head Hotel, a JD Wetherspoon with 12 hand pumps.

Over the Easter weekend we paid a visit to Lowestoft to present Pub of the Year certificates. The Mariner's Rest (Cider PotY) had ciders from Snails Bank, Gwynt Y Ddraig and Westons as well as ales from Purple Moose, Tyne Bank, Three Blind Mice, Skinners, Ringwood and Heavy Industry. The Stanford Arms (PotY) was running a Celtic Ales beer festival featuring beers from Scotland, Wales, Ireland & Cornwall plus some from Brittany & Spain and ciders from Wales & Scotland. Our midweek meander in April was a visit to Lowestoft, south of the bascule bridge. We met in Fisherman's Wharf, a bar on the pier where, on a sunny, but cool day we chose to sit in the pub rather than outside with our choice of Southwold Bitter or Ghost Ship from Adnams. We walked the 30 yards or so to our next pub, Harbour Inn, which had Adnams Bitter & Broadside and Lacon's Encore. Much of the pub's customers have meals, but there are seats at the bar for drinkers and also at the tables when it isn't busy. Next door is Notley's, a locals bar that also had Bitter & Broadside from Adnams available. A short walk took us to Blues Bar which, on this occasion, had no real ale available so we moved on to Spring Tide, a Marston's pub, serving beers from their group - Pedigree, Hobgoblin and 61 Deep. We sat in their garden and watched a gull going around the tables looking for scraps where it found a pot of mayonnaise and the odd chip. Apparently the gull is a regular and the customers and staff have named it Bob. We then moved on to the Plough & Sail, our final pub of the day, which was serving St Peter's EPA, Doombar and GK IPA & Old Golden Hen.

On the first Saturday in May, our social took us to Pakefield. We met at the Ship where Old Speckled Hen and Sharp's Doombar & Atlantic were available. This two bar pub is quite large inside and also has a well-used garden. Our next stop was the Tramways, which is split into a large restaurant area and a separate bar serving snacks. The ales change on a regular basis and at our visit we had a choice of Whitstable Bay Red IPA and Timothy Taylor Landlord. We then moved along the road to the Carlton, a street corner pub under new management which was serving Doombar + Woodforde's Bure Gold & Nelson's Revenge. Heading closer to the coastline, we moved on to the Trowel & Hammer with sea views from its garden and a choice of Purity Gold, Adnams Broadside and Doombar. Our next pub, the glass-fronted Jolly Sailors, is on the cliff top next to the coastal path and is normally busy. Here there was Wolf Lupus Lupus, Green Jack Trawlerboys and Broadside & Ghost Ship from Adnams. We then followed the path along the clifftop to our last pub, the Oddfellows, where we had a choice of Redwell New Zealand Pale Ale, Lacon's Encore, Woodforde's Norfolk Nog, Adnams Bitter and Pakefield Pride (Green Jack).

The May meander was at the northern end of our branch area and involves more walking than most of our trips. We met at the White Horse in Corton where we sat in the small conservatory with our choice of GK IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Doombar. We walked along the road to the Corton Inn, a large pub adjacent to holiday parks, where we had a swift half of Doombar before continuing. Our route took us past Gunton Hall Coastal Village, which has a bar open to visitors so we decided to pop in where a choice of Pedigree and Hobgoblin awaited us. We then moved on to Potter's Kiln, a Harvester restaurant serving Doombar and Adnams Ghost Ship. After a pint, a stroll along the road took us to our final pub, Foxburrow, a Beefeater restaurant serving Woodforde's Wherry and Purity Pure Gold.

June's meander was a two-village trip to Wangford and Wrentham. We met at the Angel in Wangford where we were greeted by the landlord who offered us a choice of Lancaster Bomber, St Peter's Bitter and a fresh cask of Brakspear's Bitter. Some of the group elected to walk to Wrentham whilst others stayed at the pub and caught the bus. The walking group went to the Wangford Plough, an Adnams pub that was serving Southwold Bitter, Ghost Ship and The Great Get-Together (a celebratory collaboration beer). This fortified us for the 2½ mile walk along back roads to the Five Bells in Wrentham, an Adnams pub serving Lighthouse, Bitter, Ghost Ship and Broadside and where we met the non-walkers. Another 10 minute walk and we arrived at our final pub, the Horse & Groom, which is under new ownership and is currently open all day. GK IPA and Old Speckled Hen were available at our visit and we had just enough time for a last drink before catching our bus home.

The branch also had socials at pub beer festivals. Firstly at the Wenhaston Star, which featured 25+ ales from Green Jack, Dark Star, Colchester, Loch Lomond, Potbelly & Tydd Steam breweries. Secondly at the Sailors Home in Kessingland where eight beers were available in the Marquee with another eight at the pub bar. The last of these socials was at the Shadingfield Fox where 10 beers were available in the marquee with eight more at the bar. These included beers from Nene Valley, Dark Star, Oakham, Beeston & Lacon's. A few of us also had a day out visiting several pubs for Norwich City of Ale. I paid a personal visit to a small beer festival being held at the Three Horseshoes in North Cove where additional ales from Nethergate, Crouch Vale & Wolf complemented their regular beers and, like many others, I also found time to explore and visit out of branch CAMRA festivals at Bury St Edmunds, Bexley, Cambridge and Colchester – all very enjoyable. A week travelling around Yorkshire (walking, steam trains and sight-seeing) and drinking beer was great. Far too many pubs to mention all of them, but a few I particularly liked are the Lion & Key and Hop & Vine in Hull, The Cornerhouse in Beverley, the Brown Cow in Bingley and the Fleece Inn at Haworth.

North East Suffolk branch

Mid-month meanders and other socials: Jan17-Mar17

Our first meander of 2017 took us to Bungay where we met at the Green Dragon. Ale is brewed in outbuildings adjacent to the pub's car park and their regular beers, Chaucer, Bridge St Bitter, Gold and Strong Mild were available and joined by Magnum IPA when we visited. All were sampled and enjoyed while we waited for stragglers to join our 14 strong group. Our planned next stop, the Castle Inn, was closed for refurbishment so we moved to the very spacious Three Tuns where the 2.8% ABV Tolly English Ale, GK IPA, Shepherd Neame Masterbrew and Green Jack Trawlerboys were being served. A decent pint later we moved on to the Chequers (some via a local bakery) where Oakham JHB, Green Jack Golden Best, Adnams Southwold Bitter and a very nice Adnams Old Ale were sampled. We then walked back up the slight incline to the Fleece Inn which is primarily a restaurant, but serves a variety of local ales. On our visit, their regular GK IPA was joined by Lacons Encore and Redwell Steam Beer, which we enjoyed in their comfortable bar area. Having time to spare before the bus home, many of us returned to the Green Dragon just in time to try a few samples from their newly reinstated Wednesday Curry Nights to go with the beer, in my case another pint of Strong Mild.

In February, another good turnout of 12 members went to Halesworth and met at the Triple Plea on the outskirts of town. Adnams Southwold Bitter, GK IPA and Triple Tipple (a branded 4.2% GK beer) were sampled. As it was a mile or so to our next pub, some left early to catch the bus into town for lunch and so we all met up again at the centrally placed White Hart which had recently been taken over by new tenants. On the bar was Southwold Bitter, Ghost Ship and Broadside from Adnams with guest ale Fuller's London Pride. We then walked to ex-Lacons inn, the White Swan, which is situated at the opposite end of town close to St Mary's Church. This was serving Adnams Southwold Bitter and had a guest beer on, St Peter's Mild, which most of us sampled and enjoyed. The eight of us remaining then finished an enjoyable afternoon by walking to the Angel in the centre of town and settling in the cosy back bar for more Adnams, although some managed to get the last of guest beer Longman's Number Eight.

In March on a very pleasant day, nine members met at the Norman Warrior in North Lowestoft where GK IPA, GK Grubber, Doom Bar, Old Speckled Hen and Bombardier Burning Gold were available. We took advantage of the CAMRA discount offered by the pub before making our way to the next pub on our itinerary, the Tudor Rose, where we met up with another CAMRA member. The pub was busy with customers watching the horse racing from Cheltenham on TV, but we were quickly served with our choice of the three ales on offer. Cassock (or was it Habit) from Flying Monk Brewery had just run out and was replaced with Adnams Ghost Ship, which joined Old Speckled Hen and Tudor Rose Pale Ale (brewed we think by Green Jack) on the bar. Our next stop was the Oak Tavern where we had a choice of Adnams Southwold Bitter, GK IPA Reserve, Bristol Beer Factory Seven and Humpty Dumpty Spark Arrester. After a very enjoyable pint we strolled the short distance to the First & Last. This large street corner pub does not currently serve real ale, but had bottled beers so we shared some Fuller's London Pride and Adnams Broadside while we chatted to the landlord in the comfortable bar. From here a small group of us diverted to the Royal Falcon, a bar and hotel which does not serve real ale but needed to be visited and had bottled Hobgoblin available. We then moved on to our final pub of the day, the Triangle Tavern, to rejoin the others for something from the Green Jack range. A couple of us like to try something different so we mixed some Mahseer IPA and Baltic Trader for a pretty good combination.

At the end of March we were invited by staff at the Joseph Conrad, a Wetherspoon pub in Lowestoft, to attend the first day of their beer festival. 20 branch members took up the offer and spent an enjoyable Wednesday afternoon being offered tasters of bottled beers, real ales both on tap and from the pub's cellar as well as discounts for the afternoon on real ales and any food purchased. We also took up the pub's invitation to visit its (packed) cellar with taller members having to be careful of its low ceiling.

We also had a New Year social at the Oddfellows in Pakefield, our annual branch meal at the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft, a visit to the National Winter Ales Festival in Norwich where a very enjoyable time was had sampling some great ales - not all of them dark - and our AGM at the Beccles Caxton Club where we were surprised to find Worthington's White Shield available on hand pump.

Suffolk pub named one of CAMRA's best four pubs in Britain

The Stanford Arms in Lowestoft has for the first time made it to the finalist round of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Pub of the Year awards, one of the most respected and well-known pub awards in the UK.

Pubs are selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, community focus and most importantly – quality of beer. The four finalists will now have a chance to win National Pub of the Year, which will be announced in February 2017.

The Stanford Arms in Lowestoft is in the running for the first time after new local ownership has seen significant improvements to the free house. It is an increasingly rare example of a back-street drinking pub, with a spacious open-plan bar and a large array of hand pumps serving mainly local beers. It boasts live music at the weekends, a courtyard garden, its own wood-fired pizza oven, and small aviary.

CAMRA will presenting the pub with its award on Saturday 10th December at 2:00 pm

**Statement courtesy of Nigel Smith and Last Orders**

CAMRA press release states "As it launches the latest edition of its Good Beer Guide, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has named the top 16 pubs in the country as part of its nationwide search for the National Pub of the Year. The top 16 features a wide range of different types of pubs, from community owned, to pubs which have been in the same family for centuries, to micropubs. The 16 regional winners have been selected as the best pubs in their areas by CAMRA volunteers as part of the prestigious competition, which culminates in the announcement of the National Pub of the Year in early 2017. Each of the regional finalists will now compete in the next round of the competition, hoping to be named one of the four super-regional finalists - and stay in with a chance of becoming the overall winner. All of the regional finalists are celebrating being featured in the new edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, published on 15 September - which lists thousands more of the top pubs across the country, as well as giving full listings of all breweries in each county. National Pub of the Year Co-ordinator Andrea Briers said: "You have to be a great pub to get featured in the Good Beer Guide and an absolutely fantastic pub to be named a Regional Pub of the Year - so whatever happens all the pubs should be extremely proud of themselves."

At our meeting in early January, it was decided that we should increase the frequency of our pub surveying as a group and, as there were several interested members who have retired from work, our mid-month meanders were initiated. These involve a monthly midweek afternoon trip to around five pubs in a specific area.

The first of these was a visit to Halesworth in January where eight members met at the Triple Plea on the outskirts of town to receive a warm welcome from the staff. This pub is under new ownership and was fairly busy for a Wednesday lunchtime. Most of us first chose the guest beer, Tom Wood's mild, and very nice it was too before opting for one of the regular beers, Adnams Southwold Bitter or Woodforde's Wherry. On a remarkably warm day for January, we walked in to the centre of Halesworth to our next pub, the White Hart where several beers were available. We tried the Purity Gold, Adnams Ghost Ship and Fuller's London Pride and most of our group also chose to eat there. We then walked up the Thoroughfare and past the Angel to visit the White Swan, an Enterprise pub situated opposite St Mary's church. This ex-Lacons pub had Adnams Southwold Bitter available so we settled down at a table in the window with a pint. With time moving on, we re-traced our steps to the Angel which is an Adnams hotel and has an Italian restaurant within the building. We settled in the cosy back bar and tried the beers on offer with the Adnams Old Ale being particularly popular.

Our February meander took us to Pakefield where nine members met at the Ship Inn, a privately-owned pub that was serving Doom Bar and Atlantic from Sharp's as well as Sipping In the Rigging (this turned out to be Morland Original). The latter two beers were sampled and were in good condition. We walked down the road to the Tramways Hotel, which survived a takeover bid following a campaign by local residents and has now been leased out by Enterprise. The leaseholder is running it primarily as a fish restaurant, but with a separate bar area for drinkers. Two beers from Adnams were initially available upon our arrival, but the Ghost Ship ran out as we arrived leaving the Southwold Bitter. We then moved just along the road to the Carlton, a large street corner pub where Greene King IPA was available and in good condition. A swift pint later and another change of venue was required, this time the Trowel & Hammer whose garden looks out across the green to the sea. It had started to get cold so it was nice to see a warm fire upon entering the pub, although the dog lying in front of it was not inclined to budge. Southwold Bitter and Broadside from Adnams are regular beers with Robinson's Trooper the guest beer on our visit. All were sampled and enjoyed. A short walk towards the cliff path found us at our fifth pub, the Jolly Sailors. This was quite busy for a midweek afternoon and had three guest beers available as well as a certain beer from a local coastal brewer. At this point I seem to have stopped writing notes, but I recall enjoying a beer from Wolf brewery before a smaller group of us braved the now wintery weather to walk along the coastal path to the Oddfellows for a final pint before catching the bus home.

March found us in South Lowestoft with Fisherman's Wharf being our first port of call. This bar is on the pier and is linked to an adjacent fish & chips restaurant. The beer range varies with something from Adnams normally available but, as it is early in the holiday season, only Doom Bar was on the bar and it was pretty good. Once everyone had arrived, we walked the short distance to the Harbour Inn and ordered eight pints of Lacons Encore (we got 7½ plus an Adnams Broadside). There was then a lengthy discussion as to the origins of the pub and its previous names and also for our next pub, Notley's, which I discovered was previously a cinema and could explain the spiral staircase in the middle of the room. We found two Adnams beers available except that the bitter ran out after a pint was poured so most of us had the Broadside. Not entirely unexpectedly, we had noticed on our recent meanders that many pubs simply do not have the business during midweek to serve more than one beer. The same was true of our next pub, the Blues Bar, which had Adnams Broadside on tap. This is a street corner pub with a friendly welcome and musical instruments and other assorted objects adorning the walls. All of us agreed that the beer was excellent so we stayed for another. Dragging ourselves away, we went to our final pub, the Spring Tide, a Marston's pub that opened in 2012 that was serving three different beers - Pedigree, Hobgoblin and Thwaites Wainwright. Most of us opted for the latter, which was very nice as a final drink before heading home.

We have also arranged Saturday socials, which are normally attending local pub beer festivals with the most recent being at the Stanford Arms 'Yorkshire Breweries' beer festival over Easter. Two of us even found time to join Ipswich branch on their visit to Woodbridge pubs in January.

North East Suffolk branch sends out a monthly email detailing events for the next month and any other relevant information, but these are only sent to branch members who have chosen to receive email from CAMRA. Changing contact details is a self-service process that members can access by signing in to the main CAMRA website where stored details can be viewed by clicking on 'My Membership' followed by 'Edit your membership information'. This takes you to a new screen where you will be able to edit your details.

Details of future branch events and other information can be found on our branch website or on social media. Website: http://www.northeastsuffolk.camra.org.uk/ Facebook page: www..facebook.com/nesuffolkcamra Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/569108989918608/ Twitter: @NESuffolkCAMRA

Following the AGM, we can announce that the Pub of The Year is the Stanford Arms, Lowestoft, rural PoTY the Star, Wenhaston and Cider PoTY Caxton Club, Beccles. Congratulations to all.

The branch now has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/nesuffolkcamra