The 10th Sandgrounder Beer Festival takes place in Southport this weekend. Organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), many beers from Lancashire and Yorkshire are there for you to try. These include Lagers, Bitters, Milds, Stouts and Specialty Beers from across the region.

The set-up, although housed in the Southport Arts Centre, is a little un-imaginative to say the least. One wall holds kegs of all the beers, stacked up to the ceiling, to the right they've got the same set-up for perries and ciders and on the left there's a tombola, in which you can win The Good Beer Guide or bottles of beer. There are only a handful of tables and seats, so most visitors will have to stand.

Admission for CAMRA members is free, and you get a half-pint glass and GBP 8 worth of beer tokens to enjoy. Non-members pay GBP 3, get a glass as well (which is refundable if undamaged) and GBP 5 in beer tokens.

However, be careful what beer you try! The first two beers I had were not the nicest I'd ever tasted (one tasted like cough syrup with alcohol), but the third was by far the worst of the lot! I tried Redscar Sands, and it tasted rank. I was actually looking for a toilet to put that beer where it belongs! I don't know whether it was a bad keg or not, but I know for sure that I'll never drink that one voluntarily again!