The Bowgie Inn Ale & Cider Festival
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The Bowgie Inn West Pentire Crantock, Newquay Cornwall TR8 5SE
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Discover the inspiring journey behind The Bowgie Inn's Ale & Cider Festival ahead of its 2024 return, as told by the Bowgie Inn themselves, highlighting a decade of community spirit and fundraising for Cornwall Hospice Care.
The Bowgie Ale Festival - Changes Through The Ages
With the return of the Bowgie Inn Ale & Cider Festival this August, after a 6 year hiatus, we thought we would go back to the start and tell you how it all began!
The first Ale & Cider Festival was held at the Bowgie in 2013 to showcase local Cornish ales and ciders and to raise money for Cornwall Hospice Care. Since its first year, there have been six Festivals and Sally has raised additional funds for the charity through treks and themed nights - taking the total raised to a huge £50,000 and counting - wow!
And this year it’s back!
But how did the Ale & Cider Festival start? Where did the inspiration come from - other than an excuse to celebrate Cornwall’s local breweries and enjoy live music with amazing views over Crantock Beach? Maybe we’ve answered our own question. Let's take it back to the beginning.
The start: A very big mountain and a humbling adventure
In 2011 Sally, the Bowgie’s landlady, was looking for a challenge. She wanted to try something she had never done before. The opportunity literally fell into her lap after hearing a speech made by Vicky Crossingham, Chair of the St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust.
Sally said: “I was left inspired by what I heard; the challenges of managing work and family life and learning of Vicky’s achievement in helping to establish the very first Hospice Care beds in Cornwall. Many people in my close local community including friends and family members have been cared for at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice.”
Within weeks of hearing this speech, a Cornwall Hospice Care leaflet about a Trek to Everest Base Camp fell into Sally’s hands and instinctively she signed up to take part. A spontaneous hike to Mount Everest Base Camp (easy, right!?) marks the beginning of Sally’s relationship with Cornwall Hospice Care, the start of the Ale & Cider Festivals and 10+ years of supporting the charity!
Sally embarked on the Everest Base Camp Trek in November 2012 and described the experience as life-changing. “Despite not having any personal ‘reasons’ for taking part, I shared an emotional and spiritual journey with fellow trekkers whose stories left a lasting impression. For some, it was a pilgrimage taking ashes to the tallest mountain in the world, for others, it was the fulfilment of a promise to a loved one, who had been cared for by Cornwall Hospice Care. The entire life-changing experience humbled me, and on returning from the trip, I decided that this was just the beginning of my support for the charity.”
Ales, ciders and cliff top beer gardens in the sun
In August 2013, Sally organised the first 4-day Ale & Cider Festival at the Bowgie. There were over 60 varieties of ale and cider, live music, family activities, food and of course, the unbeatable view over Crantock Beach. Donations from all the beer and cider consumed over the event, as well as from sales from Festival merchandise, were given to Cornwall Hospice Care.
And the weekend was a hit!
After the success of the first Ale & Cider Festival, Sally still wanted to do more and continue to raise awareness for this incredible charity. Next up on the challenge bucket list was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro which she summeted in 2014. The total raised for Cornwall Hospice Care hit a huge £20,000! This was raised through Sally's Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro Treks, the Ale & Cider Festival, Bowgie Friday Nights Revisited, Grunge Revival nights and James Bond Night, plus sponsorship forms and collection tins on the bar.
The Ale & Cider Festival continued every August Bank Holiday for the next 5 years. With the best Cornish ales and ciders, a Tarquin’s Gin bar, live music, comedy, amazing food, fireworks and family entertainment, no one wants to wish the summer away but it was a highlight of the calendar! Is there a better way to spend a bank holiday than listening to live music, eating pasties, drinking great ale and having an amazing time with friends and family? The answer is of course, no!
As well as the annual Ale & Cider Festival, Sally continued to raise money for the charity through challenges. She completed a gruelling, and very hot, Sahara Desert Trek (50 km across desert sand!) in 2016 and in 2017 alongside Tish, trekked the Great Wall of China and in 2019 the pair embarked on a sponsored hike in Iceland for the charity. Following these epic and ambitious challenges, the total raised reached a huge £50,000!
The Bowgie Inn Ale & Cider Festival 2024
The Ale & Cider Festival is back on the 24th-26th August 2024!
The 3-day Ale Festival will feature a host of Cornish ales and ciders, live music, fireworks, amazing food, and entertainment, all with one of the best views in Cornwall. Taste new local tipples or stick to your staples from the likes of Skinners, Sharp’s, St Austell Brewery, and Healeys.
See you there!
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