The weekend’s sunshine delivered a boost to this year’s Henley Ale Trail, with hundreds of customers visiting one of the 10 Brakspear pubs on the route and starting the trail with a pint of Brakspear ale: it’s clearly popular with customers, but surprising that more breweries and towns don’t develop their own Trail?
Over 1,000 Ale Trail maps have now been handed out since the Trail started two months ago, and the Henley Visitor Information Centre has requested a supply after receiving numerous requests.
For 2013, Brakspear has increased the number of pubs on the route to 10 – up from nine in 2012 – given it a makeover with new POS and widened the prizes available for customers who complete the trail.
The new look for the Ale Trail, appearing on the map, posters and window stickers as well as a brand new dedicated website, is based on a stunning oil painting of Henley Bridge by artist Doug Myers. Brakspear has also produced external banners, designed to encourage customers walking past participating pubs to drop in.
Ale Trail prizes
In previous years, ‘trailers’ have been able to claim a free pint of Brakspear with their completed map, and a special Ale Trail T-shirt which has become a collector’s item in Henley. This year, Brakspear is offering an alternative prize of an Ale Trail Gift Pack containing two bottles of Brakspear ales and a tankard.
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said, “The Ale Trail has developed over the years into a Henley tradition, with many loyal ‘trailers’ who complete it every year.
“Clearly, we didn’t want to change a winning formula too much, but we’re pleased with the improvements we’ve made this year, in particular the new artwork from Doug, which gives the Ale Trail a strong visual presence in the pubs. All our tenants on the route are delighted with it and, with a bit of good weather, we should be set for a bumper year for the Ale Trail.”
Caption: Mark Dunlop, tenant at the Angel on the Bridge, with the new Ale Trail banner outside his pub