A NEW Beer Festival is set to take place in The Ratty Arms at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. 

It will take place across the weekend of Friday 7 to Sunday, June 9. 

The new event will feature live music on Friday night, and then throughout both days and evenings on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a selection of local Cumbrian and Eden Valley ales on draft.

It’s all been timed to coincide with the run-up to an anniversary for The Ratty Arms, which will be marking 50 years to the day since it first opened on June 13, 1974. 

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway team explained: "It was officially opened by the then chief executive of the English Tourist Board after British Rail’s original buildings came under the ownership of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Company and its general manager had the idea of converting them into to a pub in the early 1970s.

"The Ratty Arms is uniquely situated on the train platform at Ravenglass station, where people can enjoy watching the trains go past while they relax with traditional food and drink.

"It has recently undergone a revamp and is now proving popular with a new generation of visitors.

"The pub’s refurbishment is part of a whole new look for the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. As well as new state-of-the-art facilities to support people with complex access needs which opened this Spring, it unveiled a new-look ticket office and shop in 2023.

"Last year also saw a refurb of the former railway manager’s cottage for overnight stays, as work was completed on Hilton Cottage - affectionately known as 'the Bungalow' - to transform the former railway manager’s cottage into a heritage-themed holiday hideaway.

"Directly overlooking the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway line on platform one, Hilton Cottage takes pride of place as the third of the railway's quirky self-catering properties, after two near derelict Pullman Camping Coaches dating back more than a century brought back to life using National Lottery Heritage."