Wrexham’s Tale Of Two (Ale) Trails

Just under a fortnight ago Wrexham held its first Ale Trail – since then we have been collating comments and feedback from participants of the event.

The Ale Trail was the first of its kind to take place in Wrexham, however similar events have taken place in Flintshire for the past few years.

This year’s route consisted of nine pubs and two breweries and throughout the course of the day there were buses transporting participants to and from the various locations.

The Wrexham Real Ale Trail route officially started off in Wrexham town centre, visiting Rossett, Minera, Ruabon and Froncysyllte before making its way to Overton.

Wrexham’s First Ale Trail received a mixed response from those who took part in the day and over the past week we have had several response from members of the public who took part in the trail.

Ian Price (@IanPriceUK) wrote: “The ale trail offers a significant boost to their income and helps keep local pubs in business as well as bring in new customers. Based on the number of people on the day, the good spirits in the pubs and on the buses, the day can be classed as as a success for the all those involved.

“Danny Williams took to Twitter to thank organisers: “We had great day yesterday. Cheers #beersandbuses”. A sentiment which was reiterated by many in the pubs on the day itself.

“With it being an event spanning the county and being at the mercy of a series of buses running along normal roads, it was always a possibility a few issues would arise.”

Mr Price added: “There were a few problems on the day but nothing which cannot be resolved in time for the next running of the event. People’s main concerns were with the buses throughout the day leaving some people stranded when buses were either too full to collect or didn’t show up.

“Charl Jones posted on Facebook: “It was awfull (sic) tbh £12 on a ticket, the buses were a disaster we didn’t see 1 bus untill 4 o’clock and had to get a taxi from ruabon back to Wrexham!”

“Taking the award in the most bizarre happening of the day was the Griffin Inn at Rossett who ran out of ale soon after lunchtime!

Others however took to social media to comment on the disorganistion with transport, along with various other issues.

Tony Pugh contacted Wrexham.com explaining his experience of the day, stating that it was an ‘Ale Trial’ rather than an Ale Trail. During the event Mr Pugh commented on the transport issues, lack of signage and even pub closures upon arrival

Mr Pugh said: “Arrived at King St. around 1pm and there was a large, confused looking, crowd milling around Stand One. Everyone agreed it was where they were told to get the bus but there was no signage, and no representative of the organiser.

“Around 1:30 there was no bus and, by now, the crowd would have, possibly needed two buses. There, obviously hadn’t been one just prior to my arrival. A short while later a driver walked up to the stand an announced he was going on his 30min break but would try and find where the other buses where.

Mr Pugh went onto comment on the various transport issues throughout the afternoon, which eventually resulted in him to head back into the town.

Mr Pugh added: “Several of us decided just to head back to Wrexham as the day was a disaster. The bus headed out of the ‘Sandstone’ brewery, and back towards Marchwiel. It took an age to get back into Wrexham, even then he had missed out the ‘Big Hand’ Brewery!

“So, it took from 1pm to 5:15pm to get a pint in two pubs. The rest of the time was spent hanging around, or travelling aimlessly in an old bus. From what I heard there were also issues getting to the Tyn-y-Capel.

“This was a complete shambles. When I was at the ‘Jockey’, in Wrexham, the organiser turned up. Obviously, I asked her for an explanation, she did speak to me, for a few minutes, but kept blaming the bus company. She said her food was going cold and that she would return to continue the conversation, but she disappeared.

“We filled in their on-line feedback form, requesting a response, and have heard nothing.”

However Destination Wrexham have said lessons have been learnt from the event and public feedback will be taken on board to resolve any issues.

Joe Bickerton, Destination Manager at Wrexham County Borough Council said: “The Wrexham Real Ale Trail was co-ordinated by the Real Ale Trails company who have led similar events in Flintshire for the last 3 years. The Chair of Wrexham’s Destination Partnership – a local publican in Ruabon, pursued Wrexham’s involvement in this event and brought together ten more public houses and two local Real Ale breweries.

“A big part of our Destination Management Plan here in Wrexham is to raise the awareness of the County as a quality local food & drink destination, so we took the opportunity to work with those involved and help promote the event. With the exception of some, the pubs on the trail were fairly remote, so a big part of their challenge was to give a great welcome on the day and encourage new visitors to return. There were also knock-on benefits for other local businesses, with many visitors from outside the County staying and spending locally too.

“As with every first event, there were lessons learnt – particularly as the buses struggled to cope with the numbers taking part on the route. We also sadly saw the Buck House Hotel in Bangor-on-Dee close just before the event. However the feedback from each publican has been really good, with many having had to bring in extra staff, food and Real Ale to cope with demand.

“The feedback via social media from the public has been useful too – mainly positive but with constructive criticism to help future events improve. The Real Ale Trails company and the publicans have an agreement to have a further trail in Spring 2015 and in partnership with all involved, we’ll look to take on-board the feedback plus help resolve the transport issues that arose first time around to develop this as an annual quality event for Wrexham.”

The next running of the Wrexham Real Ale Trail is planned for May 2015, and you can stay notified by following them on twitter @WrexhamAleTrail, search for “Wrexham Real Ale Trail” on Facebook or visit www.realaletrailwrexham.co.uk

Thanks to Tony Pugh and Ian Price for your comments and feedback. More of Ian’s work can be found here, on IanPriceUK.com