Dumfries & Stewartry Sub-Branch

Welcome!

This is the website of the Dumfries and Stewartry Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The Campaign for Real Ale is the world’s most successful consumer organisation. It aims to promote the great British pub and the great beer served in it. The campaign is organised into branches run by volunteers that cover the whole country. Each branch organises local events and campaigns and contributes to the overall national campaign to give the pub-going public a voice in the way our national pub heritage is maintained.

CAMRA supports well-run pubs as the centres of community life – whether in rural or urban areas – and believe their continued existence play a critical social role in UK culture. CAMRA also supports the pub as the one place in which to consume real ale (also known as cask-conditioned beer, live or cask ale) and to try one of the thousands of different styles now produced across the UK.

Pictured above (L-R): The Clachan Inn, St. John's Town of Dalry - Overall winner of the CAMRA 2018 Pub of the Year for the Dumfries & Stewartry region and individual winner for the Stewartry area; Cavens Arms, Dumfries - winner for Dumfries Town area; Blue Bell, Annan - winner for the Dumfriesshire area and overall winner for Cider Pub of the Year 2018. Photos provided by Phil Robinson.

Our Branch

Our branch is a sub branch of the neighbouring Solway branch and currently has over 130 members. We cover a large geographical area of South West Scotland, with many scattered villages and towns extending from Langholm, Canonbie, Gretna and Annan in the east, west to the towns of Kirkcudbright, New Galloway and St John's Town of Dalry, north to Sanquhar, Wanlockhead and Moffat and South to Castle Douglas and the Solway coastal towns of Kippford and Carsethorn. Neighbouring branches are Ayrshire & Wigtownshire, Glasgow & West of Scotland, Edinburgh & South-East Scotland and Solway branch.

If you live within our area and have an appreciation for Real Ale then you would be more than welcome to join us at any of our meetings or socials. Look in our BRANCH DIARY to see what’s happening.

Sub-Branch Meeting - The next Sub-Branch meeting will be held on Saturday 2nd March 2019 at 1pm (venue tbc).

Please also visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1721283788190177/

News

Don’t forget to check our NEWS page regularly.

Visitors to Dumfries and Galloway

Whether you are visiting this beautiful unspoilt part of Scotland just to do some touring around, or to take part in something more energetic, there may come a time when you want to find a welcoming good Ale pub. Simply click on our PUB GUIDE to find real ale outlets near to where you are staying.

CAMRA Pub Heritage Group

Scotland Real Heritage Pubs: Pub Interiors of Historic Interest

http://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/rhp/scotland

This publication, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) guide about Heritage Pubs in Scotland, is available as a free download. Edited by Mick Slaughter, this ground-breaking publication aims to create an up-to-date snapshot of the Pub Heritage picture in Scotland.

Paul Ainsworth, Chair of the CAMRA National Pub Heritage Group: "Over the past 25 years, CAMRA has developed its national and regional inventories of historic pub interiors. These highlight the crème de la crème of interiors which have either escaped much alteration for many years or contain features of exceptional interest. "

For example, built in 1894, the Phoenix Ale House (Inverness) is of classic Scottish island bar-style whereas the Plough Inn (Rosemarkie) is a small pub rebuilt in 1907 (as with a delightfully fitted-out, virtually intact front room. This has its original semi-circular counter and simple gantry.

Included is detailed comment on all the pubs in Scotland listed on the CAMRA Pub Heritage website. The guide is freely available from the CAMRA Pub Heritage website.

Grateful thanks are given to numerous individuals, the National CAMRA Pub Heritage Group and local Archives: the latter for providing access to unique historic documentation.