Not the most sucessful of beer fests ever, as we turned up on the second of the two days at 3pm, and there were only a handful of the 80-odd beers left - and those were the 9% pints of tar that are best avoided. Had we turned up 18 hours earlier, we would probably have rated it the best beer fest ever - as those that went then clearly had a good time drinking all the beer! Would have been nice if some extra beers had been on standby to compensate for anticipated heavy drinking on the Friday, but it wasn't - and so, after a couple of filthy halves, myself, Mr T and a third seasoned ale drinker began the gauntlet that was the Dover pub crawl.

Bearing in mind the state we were in after the previous night (the Canterbury crawl), and that breakfast had been bacon sarnies and Grolsch, this was never going to be a big one - and so we followed the pub guide in the fest handout, and began in the Prince Albert. Distracted from the pool table by seeing some quality ales on the bar, we eagerly ordered a pair of Black Sheep and a Flowers IPA and sat down to enjoy them.

Whether we were the first to drink ale that week, or the cellar was just having a bad day I couldn't say, but we slowly forced them down and headed on to the Eight Bells - the town Weatherspoons. Vast, and about to show the rugby, we got in a trio of better quality beers and a potato mountain of crisps.

After wandering around the freezing high street for a good 15 minutes, we finally got our bearings and made it to the Golden Lion. With the choice of Bass or Directors, I opted for the former, whilst the brave went for the latter. Not a bad pint, and the locals pub also had a pool table which was getting some good use. Nice place. However, the train beckoned, so we moved on.

The Renaissance caught us unawares on the way to the station, so we felt obliged to stop in for a quick one. Really nice pub - friendly landlady, a budgie next to our table, and the best pint of Bass I've ever tasted - realy cool and fresh. After much discussion as to the fundamental difference between budgies, parakeets, cockatiels and a variety of other winged beasts, I was left thoroughly confused, and so with the train expected to leave within 5 minutes we headed up to the station - only to find it wasn't actually due to go for another 40 mins...

Conveniently the Prior Hotal was just opposite the entrance, so another round was purchased (although by this time 2 of us were onto the fizzy lager). Finally got onto the train, feeling satiated after raiding the station chocolate machine for a fix.

A pub crawl wouldn't be a pub crawl without a sixth pub, and so whilst the curry was being ordered from the Raj, we popped into the Unity for a swift bottle. By this time, 24 hours of intoxication was beginning to make itself felt, so the sugary refreshment of alcopops was necessary. Looking back, Dover fest may be an option next year, but it's going to have to involve a Friday off work - otherwise it'll be back to Canterbury for a crawl...