Middle-earth Beer and Music Festival Comes to Lancashire

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” J.R.R. Tolkien

This year marks the seventh anniversary of The Middle Earth Beer & Music Festival in Lancashire, England. Each year, the festivities are held in the village of Hurst Green, which is famous for its connections with author J.R.R. Tolkien.

From The Middle Earth Beer Festival website:

J.R.R. Tolkien often visited his son John at Stonyhurst College in Hurst Green, Lancashire and it’s widely believed that the beautiful Ribble Valley countryside and the mystical Forest of Bowland were amongst Tolkien’s influences for Middle Earth – the setting for his masterpiece, The Lord Of The Rings.

J.R.R. stayed in a guest house in the grounds of Stonyhurst College and worked on the The Lord of the Rings in a classroom on the upper gallery of the Halls. His signature appears in the College guest book.

Names which occur in The Lord of the Rings are strikingly similar to local names, Shire Lane in the village of Hurst Green and the River Shirebourn, a near perfect match for the Shireburn family who built Stonyhurst; and was the wooden ferry across the nearby River Ribble the inspiration for Buckleberry Ferry on the Brandywine River?

This year’s event will be held in the Hurst Green Memorial Hall. Festivities start on Thursday, 11 June and continue to Sunday, 14 June, 2015.

Celebrations include a craft market featuring crafts made by local artisans and, of course, an extensive range of great ales, beers and ciders–some sourced locally and others from around the country. There will be great local food and fantastic live music throughout the festival.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit the festival’s official website and their Facebook page. There’s also a Facebook Event Page where you can invite your friends and get updates (for example, they might still be looking for teams for the Tug of War competition)!

Hopefully we’ve given you enough advance warning so you can attend! Drop in for a smashing time (just please refrain from chipping the glasses and cracking the plates)!