Abingdon Craft Market and Abingdon Beer Festival

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The Town Crier announced the Local Excellence Craft Market on the Market Place.

One local craft, beer brewing, has been happening in Abingdon for hundreds of years. The LoveBeer Brewery brew beer four miles from Abingdon in the village of Milton. They said they’d also be at the Beer Festival.

At the Abbey Buildings, the Town Crier called, ‘Welcome to Abingdon’s Traditional Beer Festival in the Abbey Buildings. Upon this hallowed ground the monks have brewed beer for a thousand years. Tonight, you will have ale, you will have food, you will have fun and you will have live music. Tonight at 7 pm you will be regaled with music by local legends, The Mercenaries …’

There were 32 beers and four ciders to choose from. For a £10 ticket people could choose 4 half pints or 2 pints.

They included eight beers from Abingdon’s own Loose Cannon brewery, and two beers from Lovebeer (Wookie 3.9 and Bonnie Hops 4.6 on the list above). A couple of beers had sold out on Friday night and were crossed out. Others sold out on Saturday. The festival continues on Sunday.

There was food from Fat Tabby and a cake stall. The cake stall does well as some people like to take cakes home to their loved ones after their night drinking beer.

The Mercenaries played their set. People were still entering in good numbers when I left to write this post.

The festival helps raise money for the Friends of the Abbey Buildings who maintain, and are looking to improve the Abbey Buildings with a lottery grant that will need matched funding.

Back to Black buses going back-to-back

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Two buses arrived on Abingdon High Street this afternoon, the 33 and 44. The 33 and 44 bus routes were changed this month. The Abingdon to Oxford section of the 33 bus route is now operated by the 44 bus. The 44 bus goes from Abingdon to Oxford via Cumnor. The 33 now goes from Abingdon to Henley-on-Thames.

They are both advertising the Amy Winehouse film “Back to Black,” now on at the Abbey Cinema.

New Café Bar on the Market Place

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A new café bar opened two days ago at 15 Market Place, Abingdon, offering a daytime café and a wine bar in the evening.

On my first view on this chilly April morning, people were enjoying the warm seats indoors, but not too many were using the seats outside yet. Someone joked that the additional seating adds to the ongoing “Chair Wars” on the Market Place.

Martin, originally from Belgium, says the chairs on the Market Place remind him of the wonderful café culture on the continent.

The premises were previously a nursery shop and, before that, another café with a French name. The name lives on in Bath Street.