FAQs |
|
|---|---|
| When is the Festival? | Wednesday 7th to Saturday 10th
October 2026 |
| Where is the Festival? | Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, West Bridgford, Nottingham |
| What are the opening hours? | Wednesday 1pm-7pm CAMRA members, trade &
season ticket holders only Thursday - Saturday noon-10:30pm General admission |
| Is Corporate Hospitality available this year? | Please email festival@nottinghamcamra.org to discuss options |
| How do I get to the Festival? | Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a 20-minute walk from the train station. Buses to Trent Bridge pass the station at frequent intervals. Map |
| Is there a site plan of the Festival? | A site/groundplan will be on the Location page once finalised |
| What security precautions are in place? | Trent Bridge will be utilising their in-house security team |
| Is parking at the venue available? | The Cricket Ground has no parking of its own, however there is a large public car park nearby on Bridgford Road. |
| Let's get down to business - what is there to drink? | There will be several hundred different draught real ales and over 100 real ciders and perries, covering every imaginable style, including Vegan options. Beer and Cider lists will appear here around a week before the Festival. |
| Will all the beers listed be available all the time? | We will have as many beers as possible on sale
from
the start, but some will be in reserve. We hope to launch an app which
will show beer and cider availabiity in real time. |
| Do you have any gluten free beer? | We aim to have the widest possible choice of gluten free real ales as we can possibly obtain. The number available nationally has increased significantly in recent years. A list will appear on this web site about ten days before the festival. All of our ciders and perries are gluten free. |
| What is 'unfined beer'? | Given enough time beer will clear naturally, but there is often not time to allow it to settle in the cellar for a couple of weeks or more, while nature does it's thing. So it has long been the practice to add a suspension of tropical fish swim bladders mixed with sodium metabisulphite (a disinfectant and preservative). This is called isinglass and many beers at our festival will be cleared by this method. The process is known as fining the beer. So look out for beers marked as "Unfined" at our festival and give them a try, we think you will agree it is worth it. And of course these beers are suitable for Vegans to enjoy. |
| Do you have Vegan friendly beers? | We aim to offer a good range of beers that are suitable for Vegans. The number of such beers has increased considerably in recent years and it is probable that around 15% of the total number of beers on sale will be Vegan friendly, hopefully more. All our Ciders and Perrys are Vegan friendly. |
| Do you sell lager? | We sell some cask conditioned lagers i.e. real ales |
| Can I bring my own beer? | Not really, that would be like taking coals to Newcastle! |
| How much is a pint? | Beers
and ciders
will be priced broadly in line with pub prices and will be published here when finalised. The 2025 Festival had
standard strength beers at £2.40 per half and ciders at £2.50 per half |
| Advance tickets & Pay on the day | Advance tickets are on sale on-line, although it is possible to pay on the day. However, places are limited, particularly at peak times on Friday and Saturday and so it is always advisable to buy a ticket in advance whenever possible as this does guarantee entry. |
| Why do I have to pay to get in? | The festival costs a massive amount to stage, with large costs for venue hire, security etc. not to mention the beer and entertainment provided. |
| Do you sell drinks in a third of a pint? | Yes we do, our glasses are half pints but also have a third line on them. |
| Are there Beer Tokens or is it a Cash Bar? | In light of customer feedback, and in order to make the festival more accessible, beer tokens have been replaced by contactless payment on all bars, allowing attendees a simpler way to sample the delights of each brewery and drift from bar to bar without the need to revisit the token booths |
| Can I get a pass-out and come back in? | Unfortunately due to severe abuse of the system in previous years pass-outs are not available at any time during the festival. Once you have entered the Festival, you will not be permitted to return once you have left the site. In the case of emergencies customers should contact the stewards at the exit points. |
| Do you offer discounts to CAMRA members? | CAMRA members can gain free admission on presentation of an
up-to-date
membership card. |
| What is the policy about bringing dogs? | Only assistance dogs will be permitted to enter
the venue. |
| What if I have a disability? | We aim to make the Festival accessible to anyone with long-term or permanent disabilities, mobility, sight and/or hearing impairments. Venue facilities information is available by following the link here |
| Is the Festival Artwork available to download? | Posters will be available to
download on the main site |
| Will there be live entertainment? | There will be a full programme of live entertainment at all times. For those who prefer their festival to be music-free there are plenty of quieter areas. |
| Do you still need bar staff? | We rely on a dedicated group of volunteers
to
staff the festival. We hope to see many of the volunteers from previous
years back again and will be contacting many of you over the coming
weeks |
| How can I contact you? | See Contact page |
| Will there be a programme available? | Beer
and cider lists will be available online to print out. We aslo have an
app which will show beer and cider availabiity in real time. |
| Are you on Twitter and Facebook? | We have dedicated feeds/accounts on both Twitter and Facebook |
| Can I bring children? | Under 18's are not allowed in the festival. We have to implement Challenge 21 as a licence requirement. |
| Will I be able to buy food at the Festival? | There will numerous catering stalls offering a wide selection of world cuisine. However you may bring your own food, soft drinks and bottled water on site if you wish. |
| What if I have an allergy or food intolerance? | We attempt to show all allergen information on our beer signs, but if in doubt please ask our bar staff. |
| Is there a designated smoking area? | Smoking and vaping are permitted in designated areas. |
| Can you recommend accommodation? | Nottingham has a very wide choice of
hotels, varying in price from budget upwards. We would recommend using
the established hotel search engines but see our special deal on the Accommodation page. |
| What if I find conflicting information on this website or my query is not satisfactorily covered. | If you have a genuine concern that information on this website is misleading or confusing, please email us. If a page is not marked as information for 2025 then new information is likely to be forthcoming at a later date. |
| Are you GDPR Compliant? | Yes - for more information please visit the National CAMRA website |