A Cheltenham club which caters to motor enthusiasts has won the prestigious Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Club of the Year award for the third time, having also taken home the title in 2013 and 2017.
This friendly and welcoming club, established in 1906, has six real ales and three real ciders on tap. It also boasts a draught German beer, a bottled Belgian beer range and two craft keg lines. The club is decorated with motoring paraphernalia and pump clips and continues to run a beer festival every year.
The club will be presented with a plaque to commemorate the award at an event open to the media on 19 February at 1 pm.
Keith Spencer, Chairman of CAMRA’s Clubs Committee says: “Cheltenham Motor Club keeps raising the bar in this competition – year after year! It is clear that the club is a pivotal fixture in the local community, and you can see people of all ages and from all backgrounds throwing their support behind it.”
Neil Way, Cheltenham Motor Club Manager says: “It came as a profound shock to have won this year’s Club of the Year Award. As a long-term member of CAMRA, I am incredibly proud to have won it again. An awful lot of hard work goes into running a private member’s club and to have finished ahead of the other three superb clubs in the final is very humbling. I need to thank the competition judges, my management committee for their unswerving support, the local Cheltenham CAMRA Branch for their long-term support, my amazing suppliers and breweries, my fantastic bar staff past and present, my great locals and last but not least my long-suffering wife George who is, without doubt, my rock. Long live great real ale!”
The CAMRA Club of the Year competition is run in conjunction with Club Mirror magazine with the simple aim of finding the clubs with the greatest commitment to quality real ale – those which offer a fantastic atmosphere, welcoming surroundings and most importantly, top quality real ale served in great condition. All nominated clubs in the competition are independently assessed by a panel of CAMRA volunteers throughout the year.
Runners up in the competition include the Appleton Thorn Village Hall in Warrington, the Flixton Conservative Club in Manchester and the Orpington Liberal Club in Orpington.
