I mentioned in the previous post about unearthing a
“treasure trove” of pub and brewery-related material, which I was sure
would prove of interest to blog readers – once I’d knocked it into some sort of
shape. I added that much these writings
was out of date, and thus no longer relevant to a modern audience, but I’m pleased
to report that with a bit of tweaking quite a chunk of these ancient “scriptures”
can still tell a tale, as well as forming a link back to simpler times. A world
without personal computers (desktops or laptops), digital cameras and the most modern
contrivance of all the mobile phone.
What I’m about to reveal now is a rather lengthy account of
a visit I made to Elgood’s Brewery, a classic, country brewery, deep in the
heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens. The trip was one of the best and most memorable
brewery visits I’ve been on, as I’m about to impart. First though, a quick look
back at the final sentence in the previous paragraph, because back in the pre-digital
world, the taking of spontaneous photos, or indeed of any photos, was quite
rare, given the performance around getting one’s snaps developed and printed.
Consequently, there aren’t that many photos, or indeed other material to
illustrate this post.
I’d noticed a trip to Elgood’s at Wisbech, advertised in the
CAMRA newspaper, “What’s Brewing”. It was organised by Maidstone & mid-Kent
CAMRA, a branch that I’d formerly been a member of. This was before I moved to
Tonbridge. I was still in touch with one
or two members of the branch, so without further ado I booked my place, paid my
deposit for the mini-bus and waited for the day of the trip to arrive.
It promised to be a
glorious July day, as I set off by train from Tonbridge to Maidstone. The
weather, in fact, had been hot for several weeks, and the sun was already
beating down as the train rumbled along the picturesque Medway Valley Line
between the two towns. The river Medway itself was looking very attractive as
it glinted in the early morning sun, and before long my train was pulling into
Maidstone. I alighted at the Barracks station and walked across high-level Medway Bridge towards the rendezvous point for the trip outside Maidstone East
station. As I crossed the river I was surprised at some of the changes that had
taken place since I moved away from the town.
Most of my fellow travellers were already waiting when I
arrived at the pickup point, and after a brief wait the that would transport us
to Wisbech and back. It turned out I wasn’t the only CAMRA member to come from
a different branch because on the way we stopped to collect members from
various other CAMRA branches. After that we crossed the Thames at Dartford
before joining the M25 and M11 motorways, as we headed towards Cambridgeshire.
We stopped for a short break at the Bishop Stortford
services, before continuing our journey, arriving in Wisbech with the sun
shining out brightly across mile after mile of dead flat Fens. Our hired
transport took us into the centre of town and then along the north bank of the
river Nene, known locally as the North Brink. This is where Elgoods Brewery is
located. This was not my first visit to Wisbech, because I’d stopped off in the
town in the spring of 1983, whilst on a journey from Suffolk to Leeds. I’d
stopped in Wisbech to have a look at Elgoods brewery – externally, and enjoy a
pint of the brewery’s beer, in one of several pubs tied to the brewery. This was the King’s Head, in the town’s Old
Market Place. My memories of that trip enabled me to direct our driver to the
brewery.
We were deposited just outside Elgoods, but with a couple of
hours before commencement of the tour, it was time for some much-needed liquid
refreshment. We walked back along the North Brink, where two options presented
themselves. First was the Rose, a pleasant free house, whilst a bit further on,
was the Red Lion, an Elgoods tied house. Both pubs were listed in the Good Beer
Guide, at the time, but I opted for the latter, as after all, we were there to
enjoy the products of the local brewery. I made a good choice, and after a long
and hot journey up from Kent, that first pint of the Cambridge Bitter hardly
touched the sides! Whilst at the pub, we pumped into the Elgoods’ Head Brewer, and
his assistant who were enjoying a spot of lunch. We introduced ourselves and
mentioned that we were due to visit the brewery, later on.
We made our way back towards Elgoods, calling in briefly at
the Rose, on the way. We met up there we met up with the other members of our group
and found an excellent range of beers on sale. These included Cains F.A. plus the
well-hopped, straw-coloured Geoffrey Hudson Bitter, from Oakham Brewery. That definitely
was find of the day, as far as I was concerned, but stay tuned, as there’s more
to come in the next instalment.
