The Great Cornish Rail Ale Trail has been launched, promoting travel by train to twenty of St Austell Brewery’s pubs close to stations throughout Cornwall.

The trail extends from the Eliot Arms in St Germans in South East Cornwall through to the Yacht Inn and the Dolphin Tavern in Penzance, taking in pubs in Looe, Newquay, St Austell, St Ives and a number of other towns and villages on the way.

All the pubs have been picked by St Austell Brewery’s Head Brewer, Roger Ryman.  A caricature image of him holding a pint of the Brewery’s flagship Tribute Ale is the trail’s logo.

People taking part in the trail can collect a stamp in the special Rail Ale Trail booklet at each pub.   After collecting ten stamps, they can claim a free St Austell Brewery Rail Ale Trail tourshirt.  After visiting and collecting stamps at all twenty pubs, they can also claim two free tickets for the St Austell Brewery Tour.

40,000 Rail Ale Trail booklets are being distributed and, thanks to First Great Western, they are appearing in leaflet racks at stations throughout their network, including London Paddington, Reading, Oxford and Bristol Temple Meads.

Booklets are also available from participating pubs and can be downloaded from www.railaleteail.com.

The Great Cornish Rail Ale Trail has been organised by St Austell Brewery and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, a non-profit partnership of local authorities and the rail industry which works to promote travel on the two counties’ branch lines.  The Partnership already runs branch line Rail Ale Trails.

Funding for the project has also come from the Designated Community Rail Development Fund, backed by the Department for Transport, Network Rail, and the Association of Community Rail Partnerships.

Marc Bishop, St Austell Brewery Trade Marketing Manager commented: "We are delighted to be working with the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. It's great for us as a local company to have the support of the Partnership. Rail travellers will get the chance to discover some hidden gems of pubs, enjoy some great beers and then journey home in comfort on the train".

Richard Burningham, Manager of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership said “The Great Cornish Rail Ale Trail is a wonderful addition to our existing range.  It is the result of a really good partnership with St Austell Brewery and I am sure it will be very successful, encouraging people to visit many great pubs by train.”

For further information, please contact Richard Burningham on 01752 233094.