Ely & District Branch

Newsletter

  • Branch Newsletter - May 2026 Thursday 14 May 2026

    Click here for May's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - April 2026 Thursday 16 April 2026

    Click here for April's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - March 2026 Friday 6 March 2026

    Click here for March's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - January 2026 Friday 16 January 2026

    Click here for January's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - December 2025 Tuesday 9 December 2025

    Click here for December's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - November 2025 Friday 14 November 2025

    Click here for November's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - October 2025 Wednesday 15 October 2025

    Click here for October's Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - September 2025 Saturday 13 September 2025

    Click here for Septembers Ely & District Branch News.

  • Branch Newsletter - August 2025 Monday 11 August 2025

    Click here for Augusts Ely & District Branch News.

  • Ely CAMRA July News Friday 27 June 2025

    Welcome to this update of what's happening in Ely CAMRA's branch area.

    Annual General Meeting and July Branch Meeting.

    Our July Annual General Meeting and Open Branch Meeting is on Tuesday 1 July in the Prince Albert from 7pm. The AGM will receive the branch accounts and reports and will appoint officers and committee members to the serve the branch for the next year. The branch meeting will deal with more general matters, including where our August meeting, on Tuesday 5 (tbc) will be held. There will still still be plenty of time to chat and have a drink. Why not join us. As an added incentive, if your first time at an Ely CAMRA AGM we'll buy you a pint!

    Beer Festivals.

    Summer is prime time for beer and cider festivals whether they be run by pubs & clubs, town and village committees or CAMRA volunteers. Local ones this weekend include Haddenham Beer Festival on Haddenham Recreation Ground and Oakington Cider Festival as part of Oakington Village Day on their Recreation Ground. Check out the diary on our branch website and events listed below for those we know about and please email us about those that aren't listed.

    Beer Scoring.

    Many thanks to all CAMRA members who have been scoring their beers recently. It helps us to monitor pubs so please score the beers you drink whether they be good, mediocre or poor. Our June branch meeting heard that we had received 77 beer scores from 17 members in the previous 4 weeks. The Chequers in Sutton and the Drayman's Son were the rural and city pubs with the highest average annual beer scores. Beer scoring is easy to do via the pub’s CAMRA website entry. If you have a smart phone and internet access you can score while you drink. If not you can do it from home later. Your beer scores help us to discover which pubs are serving the best beer and also helps in selecting candidates for the Good Beer Guide. CAMRA’s website can also be used to give us feedback on pubs. If you spot that the pub description is inaccurate or the opening hours are wrong, click on “Suggest an edit” and let us know.

    Upcoming Events.

    Friday 27 - Sunday 29 June. 10th Anniversary Haddenham Beer Festival on Haddenham Recreation Ground. Local beer, food, music and fun. 5:30-11:30 on Friday. Noon to 11:30 on Saturday. Noon to 6 on Sunday.

    Saturday 28 July, 12:30-9pm. Oakington Cider Festival on Oakington Recreation Ground. 20+ real ciders and perries from Cambridgeshire producers. The cider festival main sponsor is the Black Horse in Rampton. Individual ciders & perries are also sponsored by local companies. It is part of Oakington Village Day celebrations raising money for local good causes.

    Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 July. Red Lion Swaffham Prior. John & Lana are leaving but not without celebrating the enjoyment of the last two years.

    Tuesday 1 July from 7pm. Branch AGM and Monthly Meeting at the Prince Albert.

    Friday 4 - Sunday 6 July. Chequers, Cottenham Beer Festival. Beer, Pizza, Live Music.

    Friday 4 - Sunday 6 July. Rose & Crown Impington. Beer Festival. 16 Real Ales, 8 Real Ciders, Food Trucks.

    Friday 18 & Saturday 19 July. Willingham Social Club Beer Festival. Beer, Food, Entertainment.

    Friday 26 - Sunday 28 July. Northstowe Beano at Northstowe Tap & Social. Beer festival with live music, market stalls and food trucks.

    Wednesday 30 July - Sunday 3 August. Crystal Ship Earith Booze Fest. 25+ Beers. 15+ Ciders. 2 Lagers. Wednesday Quiz. Saturday Live Music & Food Van.

    Tuesday 5 - Saturday 9 August. CAMRA's flagship Great British Beer Festival at the NEC, Birmingham.

    What's happening in July
  • Ely CAMRA June News Friday 30 May 2025

    Fordham Royal British Legion Club Presentation While on our bus tour at the end of April we stopped in at Fordham Royal British Legion Club and presented them with their certificate for being our Club of the Year. The club has since gone on to become Cambridgeshire Club of the Year.

    Drayman's Son Presentation Prior to our May monthly meeting at the West End House a group of us visited the Drayman's Son to present manager John with their certificates for being our City Pub of the Year, overall Pub of the Year and Cider Pub of the Year.

    June Open Branch Meeting Our June Open Branch Meeting will be held on Tuesday 3 June from 7:45pm at the Plough, Little Downham. Come along and hear what your branch is doing. Our July Annual General Meeting and Open Branch Meeting will be on 1 July in the Prince Albert.

    Beer Festivals I'm sure that many of you will have visited and enjoyed last week's Cambridge Beer Festival on Jesus Green. There will be many other smaller beer and cider festivals in and around our branch area over the summer months. Check out the diary on our branch website and events listed below for those we know about and please email us about those that aren't listed.

    Beer Scoring Many thanks to all CAMRA members who have been scoring their beers recently. It helps us to monitor pubs so please score the beers you drink whether they be good, mediocre or poor. Our May branch meeting heard that we had received 74 beer scores from 21 members in the previous 4 weeks. The Chequers in Sutton and the Drayman's Son were the rural and city pubs with the highest average annual scores. Beer scoring is easy to do via the pub’s CAMRA website entry. If you have a smart phone and internet access you can score while you drink. If not you can do it from home later. Your beer scores help us to discover which pubs are serving the best beer and also helps in selecting candidates for the Good Beer Guide. CAMRA’s website can also be used to give us feedback on pubs. If you spot that the pub description is inaccurate or the opening hours are wrong, click on “Suggest an edit” and let us know.

    Upcoming Events Tuesday 3 June from 7:45. Open Branch Meeting at the Plough, Little Downham. Thursday 5 - Saturday 7 June. Hitchin Beer Festival. CAMRA event at Histon Rugby Club. Friday 13 - Sunday 15 June. Cutter Inn Beer Festival. Local beers and cider. Friday 20 - Saturday 21 June. 25th Wilburton Beer Festival on Wilburton Recreation Ground. Beer, bands, food and fun. 3:30-11 on Friday. Noon to midnight on Saturday. Friday 27 - Sunday 29 June. 10th Anniversary Haddenham Beer Festival on Haddenham Recreation Ground. Beer, food, music and fun. 5:30-11:30 on Friday. Noon to 11:30 on Saturday. Noon to 6 on Sunday. Tuesday 1 July from 7:45. Branch AGM and Monthly Meeting at the Prince Albert. Friday 4 - Sunday 6 July. Chequers, Cottenham Beer Festival.

    What's happening in June