16th Real Ale & Cider Festival!
This year, we are using Uptappd alongside our usual tasting notes. Keep up to date with the latest Beer & Cider list now!
All aboard for ales, ciders, Kent Green Hop beers, live music, and heritage trains!
Join us in Tunbridge Wells for an unforgettable four-day celebration of great beer, fantastic cider, live entertainment, and heritage railway travel at the Spa Valley Railway Real Ale & Cider Festival 2026.
Returning from 15th to 18th October 2026, our award-winning festival will once again transform the Spa Valley Railway into one of the largest and most unique beer festivals in the country. Stretching across our five-mile heritage railway, you’ll be able to explore multiple festival venues, travel on heritage trains, enjoy live music, and sample an incredible range of drinks from around the UK.
With an outstanding selection of 230 real ales, 34 Kent Green Hop beers, 14 keg beers, and 80 ciders, there truly is something to suit every taste. Whether you’re a dedicated ale enthusiast, a cider lover, or simply looking for a fantastic weekend out with friends and family, you’ll find plenty to discover throughout the festival.
The Home of Kent Green Hop Beer
One of the highlights of the festival is our famous collection of Kent Green Hop beers. Brewed using freshly harvested hops straight from the Kent hop gardens, these seasonal beers offer exceptionally fresh flavours and aromas that can only be achieved during the hop harvest period. Their limited availability makes them highly sought after, and our festival is proud to showcase one of the largest gatherings of Green Hop beers anywhere in the country.
Live Music Across the Railway
The festival atmosphere wouldn’t be complete without live entertainment. Throughout the weekend, visitors can enjoy a fantastic programme of music across the railway:
- Full bands performing at Tunbridge Wells West on the “Shed Stage”.
- Acoustic duos and solo artists performing at Groombridge on the “Folk In The Oak Stage” with an acoustic vibe.
- Smaller Bands performing at Eridge on the “Local & Live Stage”.
SEE BELOW FOR THE FULL LIST OF ACTS PERFORMING!
With music, food, drinks, and trains at every location, there’s something for everyone to enjoy throughout the line. The train timetable is now available!
Travel by Heritage Train
What makes the Spa Valley Railway Real Ale & Cider Festival truly special is the opportunity to travel between festival sites aboard our heritage trains. Your train journey becomes part of the experience, allowing you to explore the entire railway while enjoying the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of a living heritage railway.
Free Entry to the Festival
Festival gates open at 6:00pm on Thursday 15th October 2026 – and entry is completely FREE.
Entry to all festival sites is free of charge. If you’d like to travel on our heritage trains between venues, simply purchase a rover ticket, which provides unlimited travel throughout the day and can be bought online in advance or from any of our stations during the event.
A Festival for Everyone
Whether you’re visiting for the beer, the cider, the music, the trains, or simply the fantastic atmosphere, the Spa Valley Railway Real Ale & Cider Festival is the perfect autumn day out.
Bring your friends, family, dogs, and fellow beer lovers and experience one of the biggest and most distinctive beer and cider festivals in the South East.
Great beer, great music, great food, and great trains — all set against the beautiful backdrop of the High Weald. We can’t wait to welcome you aboard in October 2026! 
Opening Hours – Thursday 15th October
Opening Hours – Friday 16th & Saturday 17th October
Opening Hours – Sunday 18th October
What to expect and how it works!
Live Music Across the Railway
The festival atmosphere wouldn’t be complete without live entertainment. Throughout the weekend, visitors can enjoy a fantastic programme of music across the railway:
- Full bands performing at Tunbridge Wells West on the “Shed Stage”.
- Acoustic duos and solo artists performing at Groombridge on the “Folk In The Oak Stage” with an acoustic vibe.
- Smaller Bands performing at Eridge on the “Local & Live Stage”.
See the acts performing below!
With music, food, drinks, and trains at every location, there’s something for everyone to enjoy throughout the line.
The Shed Stage – Tunbridge Wells West
The Folk In the Oak Stage – Groombridge
The Local & Live Stage – Eridge
Great beer deserves great food, and we’ve got you covered!
Whether you’re looking for a hearty meal, a quick bite between trains, or something to accompany your favourite pint, you’ll find plenty of delicious options available throughout the festival.
Building on the success of previous years, many of the popular food vendors and crowd favourites from past festivals will be returning in 2026, alongside exciting new additions. From traditional festival classics and hot snacks to more substantial meals, there will be something to satisfy every appetite throughout the weekend.
Food outlets will be available across the railway, ensuring you can enjoy a bite to eat while exploring the festival, listening to live music, or travelling between our stations on heritage trains.
So whether you’re joining us for a few hours or making a full day of it, you can relax knowing that excellent food, fantastic drinks, and a warm festival atmosphere are all part of the experience.
Come hungry, leave happy, and enjoy one of the South East’s most unique food, drink, and railway events! 
Food – Tunbridge Wells West
Food – Groombridge
Food – Eridge
A visit to the Spa Valley Railway Beer & Cider Festival wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the charm, atmosphere and spectacle of our historic trains.
As you sample an impressive range of beers, ciders and ales, take the opportunity to travel behind a selection of beautifully preserved steam and diesel locomotives, hauling heritage carriages through the breath taking scenery of the High Weald. From the sights, sounds and smells of a hard-working steam engine to the distinctive character of classic diesel traction, there’s something to delight every railway enthusiast and casual visitor alike.
Whether you’re hopping between festival venues, heading to one of our station bars, or simply enjoying the journey, your ticket includes the chance to ride aboard trains that represent the golden age of British rail travel. Sit back, relax with friends, and enjoy spectacular views of rolling countryside, ancient woodlands and picturesque rural stations along the route.
This year’s festival features a fantastic line-up of locomotives, offering plenty of opportunities to experience the power, heritage and engineering of Britain’s railways up close. Don’t forget your camera – there will be countless opportunities to capture these magnificent machines in action throughout the weekend.
Great beer, stunning scenery and historic trains – it’s the perfect combination for an unforgettable day out at the Spa Valley Railway.
Bulleid Pacific 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’
Caledonian Railway 812 Class 828
BR Standard 4MT 80078
The Eridge Bar – Sponsored by Larkins Brewery!
A total of 30 cask ales and 10 ciders will be available in our iconic red van at Eridge, with five of the cask ales coming from Larkins: Green Hop, Traditional, Porter, Best and Pale Ale.
Larkins uses traditional brewing methods to produce outstanding beers from scratch at its brewery in Chiddingstone. Head Brewer Harry Dockerty, nephew of the late Bob Dockerty, expertly produces around two brews each week to supply the brewery’s 40 to 50 pub and restaurant customers, as well as a variety of local and private events.
The brewery grows three traditional Kentish hop varieties on the farm: Goldings, Bramling Cross and Whitbread Goldings. These provide the distinctive flavours and aromas found throughout the Larkins range. Only whole hop cones are used, with no added sugars, ensuring the beers remain as natural as possible.
Fermentation takes place using Larkins’ unique and closely guarded proprietary live ale yeast strain, which has been exclusively theirs since 1993. It’s a key ingredient in creating the character and quality that makes Larkins beers so distinctive.
What is Kent Green Hop beer?
The Spa Valley Railway Beer & Cider Festival is free to enter on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is no charge to access the festival sites at Tunbridge Wells West, Groombridge and Eridge, allowing you to enjoy the atmosphere, browse the bars, and sample the fantastic range of beers, ciders and other refreshments on offer.
Train Travel Tickets
Tickets purchased via the booking links are for rail travel only. If you’d like to travel between festival venues and experience our heritage steam and diesel trains, you’ll need a valid train ticket.
Whether you’re spending the day exploring the festival or simply enjoying a scenic journey through the beautiful High Weald countryside, travelling by train is one of the highlights of the event.
Thursday Evening Opening
Please note that no train services will operate on Thursday 15th October. However, Tunbridge Wells West station will be open for beer sales from 6:00pm until 10:00pm, providing the perfect opportunity to start your festival weekend early and sample some of the excellent beers and ciders available.
CAMRA Discount
Members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) can enjoy a 25% discount on train travel tickets upon presentation of a valid, in-date CAMRA membership card.
Please note that this discount is only available when purchasing tickets on the day of travel and cannot be applied to online advance bookings.
Amendments and Alterations
If you need to amend an existing booking, please be aware that a £10 administration fee applies to all booking alterations.
Free festival entry, great beers, heritage trains and beautiful countryside – all that’s left to do is plan your visit and join us for one of the South East’s most popular beer festivals!
Click here to view our refund, cancellation and alterations policy
Tunbridge Wells Together
Book Tickets
15 Oct 2026
6:00 pm departing from: Tunbridge Wells West
16 Oct 2026
Open Day Event departing from: Travel All Day, Any Train!
17 Oct 2026
Open Day Event departing from: Travel All Day, Any Train!
18 Oct 2026
Open Day Event departing from: Travel All Day, Any Train!
