The Salisbury to Exeter Line Rail Ale Trail wins national accolade at the Community Rail Awards in Newcastle in the Tourism and Leisure category sponsored by Trans Pennine Express.
Rail Ale Trails – a new era! – Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, Blackmore Vale Line CRP, SWR and GWR
With 16 pubs closing in the UK every week, Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and Blackmore Vale Line CRP teamed up for a revitalised promotion of real ale pubs along community rail lines. Together with South Western Railway, the partnerships created a new ‘Rail Ale Trail’ between Salisbury and Exeter, inviting visitors from near and far to visit pubs along the line, collect stamps and win a T-shirt.
The new trail expanded Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership’s family of existing Rail Ale Trails on the Great Western Railway network, uptake of which had started to dwindle, despite the initiative’s 20-year run. Tying in with the Salisbury-Exeter launch, the CRPs re-launched the existing trails with a photoshoot, website revamp, posters and social media campaign.
After launching in May 2024, the summer delivered the trails’ best results since Covid, with 75 T-shirts awarded – triple the previous summer’s total. Participants came from as far afield as London, Shetland and Austria. Together they made 688 pub visits and bought 53 pub meals, injecting thousands of pounds into the local economy as well as boosting rail journey figures. What’s more, this doesn’t include the many who part-complete the trails but don’t claim a T-shirt – meaning the real impact is even greater.
“The rail ale trail is an old chestnut and it’s good to see it revamped. The new web pages look great – I’m not surprised they’ve had good feedback!” (Nicky Forsdike, CRA25 judge)
