Make tracks on a real ale trail

We are having a remarkable summer in Britain this year: warm, sunny and so dry that we're on the verge of a drought. So after a dismal performance in the World Cup and with no local talent left at Wimbledon, how about drowning your sorrows on a pub crawl with a difference? Let the train take the strain and venture through some beautiful countryside sipping good beer along the way on a real ale trail.

I was reminded by this recent article in The Guardian about how lucky we are here in Manchester. Not only do we have a surplus of  many good pubs, but there is easy access to other drinking dens nearby set in gorgeous scenery which make for a grand day out.

Manchester's own Victoria Station may not have its own fine drinking establishment (let alone a proper roof,  more on that later), but from here it's a 15-minute hop to the Victorian delights of the trackside Buffet Bar in Stalybridge.

Only 10 minutes further down the line is gorgeous Greenfield. After a canalside walk, a hike into the hills or a ramble through the other villages in the valley there is no better place to rest up and await the train home than at a picnic table outside Greenfield's Railway Inn. No chance of missing the train here, unless you've had a few too many.

Mountain scenery near Greenfield

Plenty more pubs await travellers along this same train line as it crosses the backbone of England, the Pennine mountains. For more information, click over to this website which has a full list of pubs plus a handy itinerary maker. No danger of drinking and driving, when it's only a few minutes till the next train pulls in.

Other popular options around the country include Cornwall, Norfolk and the Home Counties near London. Most of these websites also have maps and ideas for walks near each station, giving you the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air and a chance to work up a thirst.

Many of the pubs along the 'offiicial' ale trails offer discounts when you show your train ticket. Some lines offer a 'passport' scheme which means after collecting stamps from each participating pub you might be rewarded with a T-shirt or other memento.

But you can't go wrong anywhere, because practically every train station in the country is within staggering difference of a pub. To find the ones that sell the best beer, be sure to buy the latest copy of the Good Beer Guide published by the Campaign for Real Ale.

So don't go off the rails, trek along an ale trail in England this summer!