Join us
We hold monthly branch meetings and social events in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and beyond.
BRANCH DIARY
Beer festivals and events
Find out about upcoming beer festivals and beer related events in our area.
EVENTS
Ale Trail 2025
Following our successful 2024 event, we are planning another Ale Trail during August.
Full details of the participating bars will be posted here shortly.
Latest branch news
Harrogate news
Harrogate Brewing Co has opened in the former Old Bell following their acquisition of the pub and a redecoration. Six cask ales are served, five Harrogate and a guest from another local brewery. Card payments only. Note that a significant premium (80p/pint) is charged for half pints.
Major Tom’s Social has extended its opening hours, now opening at 12 noon daily. Just three cask ales are now served, alongside real ciders from Dudda’s Tun.
Knaresborough news
The Cricketers at Calcutt has been severely damaged in a fire. Police are investigating the incident as arson, and have made one arrest.
Ripon news
The Golden Lion (Greene King) has reopened again with new tenants. One real ale, usually from Greene King, although Old Peculier has been spotted.
At South Lodge (Star Pubs, Heineken) refurbishment work is currently underway with the pub expected to re-open at the end of May. https://www.yourharrogate.co.uk/local-news/harrogate/reopening-date-revealed-for-ripon-pub-after-360k-refurb
The White Horse (Stonegate, no real ale) lease is being advertised for sale by the pubco.
Other towns and villages news
The Ship Inn at Aldborough (Star Pubs, Heineken) ‘will soon re-open with a new temporary operator’ according to the pubco. https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/25037880.star-pubs-says-ship-inn-aldborough-re-opens-april
The Crown Inn at Grewelthorpe has reopened under independent ownership. Two Theakston beers when visited on opening night.
The Anchor Inn at Langthorpe (Red Oak Taverns) has re-opened with a new tenant.
In Masham, The Bay Horse (Greene King) has reopened with a new tenant, while across the road at The Bruce Arms (Stonegate) the pub is closed with the pubco adverting for a new tenant.
Club news
At the Bilton Club (formerly Bilton WMC) on Skipton Road four ales are now served, a regular Daleside Old Legover, Tetley Bitter and two changing local beers, often including a dark. The club welcomes CAMRA visitors.
Brewery news
Harrogate Brewing Co is to hold its Hookstone Hooley beer festival again, 8-10 August. Tickets available at https://harrogatebrewery.co.uk/beer-festival
If you have any pub, club or brewery news that we are not reporting here please email harcamra@hotmail.co.uk
Plan a local pub crawl...
KNARESBOROUGH
This small market town boasts a diverse selection of great real ale pubs.
HARROGATE
RIPON
The spa town with victorian inns, modern bars and micropubs.
From one-eyed rats to unicorns, this cathedral city has a variety of real ale watering holes.
Branch boundary map
You may be surprised by how large an area Harrogate and Ripon Camra covers, from Thornton Watlass, near Bedale in the north, to Pool in Wharfedale on the edge of Otley in the south. The map below shows the branch boundary.
Branch diary
MEETINGS
SOCIAL EVENTS
PRESENTATIONS
Tuesday 13 May 2025
Branch meeting
Bilton Club
7:30pm
The club has step free access and the No2 bus stops very near. (Grange Ave/Kings Rd Post Office stop), buses from bus station stand 4 at 18:15 or 18:45.
Saturday 10 May 2025
York Walkabout
Meet York Tap from 11:45
Beer festivals and events
Beer scoring and the Good Beer Guide
You are probably aware of the ‘Good Beer Guide’, National CAMRA’s flagship publication which lists the best real ale pubs in the UK. But what you may not know is how those pubs are selected to appear in the Guide. The answer is that it is largely via beer scores submitted by CAMRA members from all over the country. If you are a CAMRA member you can send in beer scores. If you’ve ever wondered why your favourite pub isn’t in the Guide, this may well be because you, and others, haven’t entered scores rating the quality of beer there. By beer scoring, you can contribute to the process of selection of pubs that go in the Good Beer Guide. Here's how...
How do I submit my scores?
In order to submit your scores you need to either login to CAMRA’s online pub guide www.whatpub.com on a desktop computer or a smartphone, or you can use the GBG app on a smartphone. On WhatPub you will find over 30,000 real ale pubs from all over the UK; these are not all Good Beer Guide pubs, merely pubs that serve real ale. The same pubs can also be viewed on the GBG app or you can just select the Good Beer Guide pubs. In order to start submitting scores via either WhatPub or the GBG app you need to:-
1. Login to WhatPub. To do this you need your membership number and your CAMRA password. Or, in the GBG app link your CAMRA account by following the ‘Profile’ icon in the bottom right-hand corner.
2. You can then search for your pub by name. Be careful here as there are many pubs in the country which share the same name. Try searching the pub name and the town or postcode. The What Pub web page on a mobile device also gives you the option to search for real ale pubs nearby, very useful if you are in an unfamiliar town.
3. Once you have found your pub, go to the ‘Submit Beer Scores’ box on the right-hand side of the screen (on the WhatPub desktop version), tap ‘Submit Beer Scores’ on the tab bar underneath the pub photo (on the mobile WhatPub version), or tap ‘Beer Scoring’ immediately above the pub description (in the GBG app).
4. Simply fill in the date and your score, then as you begin typing, the brewery name should automatically appear underneath where you are typing. You do not have to enter the name of the beer you are drinking but if you wish to do so once you have entered the brewery name you should be able to click on the arrow in the beer box and a drop down list of that brewery’s beers should appear. In some cases the beer you are drinking may be new or a one off by the brewery so may not appear on the list, if this is the case you can simply type in the beer name. Select the beer name, click ‘submit score’ and your score will be entered into the database. (You can also optionally include the price per pint and comment on the beer under ‘Advanced options’).
It is as simple as that. An added bonus is that a record of your scores is kept so you can look back (on either WhatPub or the GBG app) to see the beers you’ve had and how you rated them.
How do I edit my scores?
If you submit an incorrect score by mistake or decide you want to change a score, here is a link to step by step instructions on how to edit your submission. EDIT MY SCORES
Want to know more?
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For more information about CAMRA, or to become a member visit camra.org.uk
