The 2014 National Camra Winter Ales Festival (aka Derby Winter Beer Festival) : Weds 19th to Sat 22nd February.

Here is my complete guide to the 2014 National Winter Ales Festival being held at the historic Derby Roundhouse, running from Wednesday 19th to Saturday 22nd February. This beer festival was formally known as the Derby Winter Beer Festival but is now the new home of the NWAF which used to take place in Manchester.

This CAMRA beer festival will take place the Derby Roundhouse on Pride Park, Derby. See my detailed maps below.

Here is a short video I made at the 2012 Derby Winter Beer Festival in the roundhouse, this will give you a good idea of the venue for the NWAF :



If you have never been to a beer festival before then you are missing an experience, there are not just beers on sale there are ciders and Perries.  You can get some hot or cold food too. T-shirts and glasses are available to buy and great live music to watch each day.

Its best to arrive using the free bus service from near Derby Assembly rooms or from Derby Bus Station.

There will be real ale on sale in the Carriage Room as well as the Main Hall of the Round House itself. This year there is a separate marquee for the live entertainment (last year you may remember it took place in the Carriage Room)

Dates and opening times:
Wednesday 19th February 4pm to 11pm
Thursday 20th February 11am to 11pm
Friday 21st February 11am to 11pm
Saturday 22nd February 11am to 11pm

Entrance charges:
FREE to CAMRA Members up until Thursday 5pm when it will be £2 thereafter.
Non-members will be charged as follows :

Wednesday 4pm - 11pm - £3
Thursday 11am - 5pm - £2, 5pm - 11pm - £5
Friday 11am - 5pm - £3, 5pm - 11pm - £6
Saturday 11am - 5pm - £3, 5pm - 11pm - £6

Travelling to the NWAF:
Where do I catch the free Beer festival shuttle bus?

In Derby this free shuttle bus "701" picks up at the times stated above from next to the Assembly Rooms then also from the Bus Station. It only takes 10 minutes to get to the Roundhouse.
The FREE Shuttle Bus between Derby Town Centre and the beer festival provided by Harpur's (Yes its FREE there and back honest !) and travels as below :
I have created a very detail map for this free bus showing locations etc. - Free Derby Beer Festival Shuttle Bus Map.

A photograph of the free bus picking up from next to the Assembly Rooms :




A photograph of the free bus arriving at the Roundhouse :



This free bus shuttle will run at these times :

Wednesday 19th, Leaves Derby City Centre at these times :
15:00 and then every 20 minutes until 22:20

Last bus is 23:00 from the Roundhouse to Derby City Centre.

Thursday 20th, Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd, Leaves Derby City Centre at these times :
10:00 and then every 20 minutes until 22:20

Last bus is 23:00 from the Roundhouse to Derby City Centre.

Live entertainment at the 2014 NWAF :

Wednesday 19th
Accoustic Open Mic

Thursday 20th - Local Band Showcase
Lucille - Video.
Parasight - Video.
Thieving Names - Video.

Friday 21st
Verbal Warning - Video.
Kins of Leon - Video.

Saturday 22nd
The Almaboobies - Video.
Antarctic Monkeys - Video.


Venue
The Roundhouse
Roundhouse Road, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8JE

For those non-drinkers giving people a lift in your car, the SATNAV postcode for Derby Roundhouse is DE24 8JE
Its also a perfect location to get to by train as Derby railway station is less that 30 seconds walk away from this venue !
See when the next train to Derby station is here - Thetrainline.com

Google Streetview of Derby Roundhouse.

Smartphone mapping pin for smartphone owners:
If you are a new visitor to NWAF then you will find my smartphone navigation pin of use. Simply view this blog on your smartphone and follow my instruction below.

Derby NWAF Festival drop pin <---- Tap this link on you smartphone.

When you tap the link above, it will launch your mapping application and place a "push pin" onto the map with the exact location of Derby Roundhouse beer festival. You can then use this marker to get walking directions.

For example on an iPhone you tap the "Directions" button at the bottom and this will pre-fill in the start location with your current location and the end location with the Roundhouse.

So all you need to do is just tap the "Route" button at the bottom then tap the walking icon and it will show you walking route. If you tap the bottom left icon 3 times then this will turn on follow mode, Centre mode and direction mode. What this means is that a blue flashing dot which represents you will stay in the centre of the screen and orientated in the direction that you travel in.

If you tap the middle button at the top, this will even show you which bus number and when the next bus to the Roundhouse is from your nearest location.
My push pins are far more accurate than any other map as its not based on the postcode which most maps are. My map is based on local knowledge of the location.

Beer and Cider Lists:
The Complete Beer and Cider lists are here : (These are in .PDF format.)

2014 Beer list.

2014 Cider and Perry list

2014 Continental List.

If you want more information then please visit the official website which is : www.nwaf.org.uk

They have an excellent Twitter page to keep up to date with this festival : nwaf on Twitter.

Thanks
Andy Savage
www.derbyphotos.co.uk