CAMRA Branch Website of the Year
Bailey Head in Oswestry – CAMRA National Pub of the Year
Bailey Head in Oswestry
CAMRA National Pub of the Year
Welcome to the Shrewsbury and West Shropshire branch of CAMRA
As members of the Campaign for Real Ale, we are passionate about real ale and our aim is to preserve and promote real ale and real cider, along with the pubs that provide them. If you’re a fan of traditionally brewed beer, looking to explore something new, or would like to get involved in our campaigning activities, then please get in touch.
Our members are very welcoming and we’re always happy for new people to join us. With our regular events, pub trails, and our famous Shrewsbury beer festival, there’s always something happening. Discover new tastes, make new friends, and support our local breweries and pubs. Hope to see you soon!
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About CAMRA
Find out more about one of the most successful consumer organisations in Europe, and our vision to have quality real ale, cider and perry and thriving pubs in every community.
Join CAMRA
Why not become a CAMRA member and become part of our campaign. Find out how to join up and see what benefits your membership package includes.
National CAMRA
For more information about the Campaign for Real Ale on a national level, have a look at the national website which contains a wealth of information about our campaign.
How You Can Help
Beer Scoring
Did you know that we had over 5,500 scores/ratings submitted for beers drunk in our branch area last year? A lot of these were from our own branch members but a considerable number were kindly submitted by visitors from other branches of CAMRA.
This may seem a lot but with over 300 pubs in our branch area, it averages out at just over 18 beer scores per pub. In reality, some popular pubs get hundreds of scores and other less frequented pubs just get a handfull. So the more members we can get scoring in more pubs, the better.
It takes no time at all to enter a score or rating for the beers you drink, and it helps each CAMRA branch create shortlists of pubs for entry into the Good Beer Guide and the Pub of the Year competition.
Have a look at our page on Beer Scoring page for more information. It may seem a bit complicated at first but after a while, it becomes a straightforward and easy process, and it really helps us to highlight beer quaility in pubs. If you are a CAMRA member, please have a go at scoring – we would really appreciate your input – thank you!
What's New?
- Community PubsThe community group, the Friends of the Fox at Ryton, have finally been awarded the government grant they have been waiting for to purchase the pub. See our news article for details.
- Pub of the SeasonCongratulations to the Dog Hangs Well in Ludlow for winning our Pub of the Season Winter 2024 award. More information is available on the new Pub of the Season page.
- AwardsMany congratulations to the Bailey Head in Oswestry, which has just won the CAMRA National Pub of the Year competition. See our news article for details.
- Young MembersWhy not join us on our next Young Members trip round pubs in the Black Country on 1st March. Older members are welcome too! For more details, see the Event Listing
- Shrewsbury Pub TrailsOn the Pubs to Visit page, there is now an option to see some suggested pub trails in and around Shrewsbury town centre, encompassing over 40 different pubs. Why not try some out?
- Community PubsThe community group, the Friends of the Fox at Ryton, have finally been awarded the government grant they have been waiting for to purchase the pub. See our news article for details.
- Pub of the SeasonCongratulations to the Dog Hangs Well in Ludlow for winning our Pub of the Season Winter 2024 award. More information is available on the new Pub of the Season page.
- AwardsMany congratulations to the Bailey Head in Oswestry, which has just won the CAMRA National Pub of the Year competition. See our news article for details.
- Young MembersWhy not join us on our next Young Members trip round pubs in the Black Country on 1st March. Older members are welcome too! For more details, see the Event Listing
- Shrewsbury Pub TrailsOn the Pubs to Visit page, there is now an option to see some suggested pub trails in and around Shrewsbury town centre, encompassing over 40 different pubs. Why not try some out?
Next Events
The Great British Beer Festival Winter is back with hundreds of UK beers, international beers and real ciders and perries. The venue will be the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, and the festival will run for 4 days from Wednesday 12th February 2025 to Saturday 15th February. For more information, please look at the festival website here. For tickets, please see CAMRA's event ticket website.
Ludlow Brewery's three-day Valentines festival of beer, the Valentine's Ale Massacre, returns in February 2025. Free entry during the day.Friday 14th February - 11am-6pmSaturday 15th February - 10am-5pmSunday 16th February - 12pm-8pm (Open mic 4.30-8pm) 20 + beers, lager, ciders and more. The Pizza Girls Saturday 12-5pm The Beefy Boys Sunday 12-5pm Ticketed live comedy + live music evenings at night.Friday Night Comedy Club - 8pm-11pmSaturday - 7.30pm-11.30pm Live Music
Shrewsbury & West Shropshire CAMRA festival working party, organising the next Shrewsbury Beer Festival. 7:15pm start at the Prince of Wales in Shrewsbury. Members and non-members welcome. For more information on these meetings, see the Festival Working Party section on the About Our Events page.