Spa Valley Railway Real Ale & Cider Festival

Now in its 16th year, this one spreads roughly 200 real ales, 40 Kent Green Hop beers and 70 ciders across five venues along the Spa Valley's heritage line — you hop between them by steam or heritage diesel train rather than standing in one field all day.

Free to get in, CAMRA members get money off, and it's a genuinely different format to a standard beer festival — worth it for the trains alone if beer isn't really the draw.