York CAMRA is a branch of the national Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). CAMRA is a well-established national organisation with more than 160,000 members which aims to promote traditional real ale and pubs.
Upcoming Events
Our next events are:
Nov 28 – Branch Meeting @ The Falcon
Dec 1 – Friday Five starting at The Phoenix Inn
Dec 9 – Beverley Coach Trip
Further details of events can be found on our diary page.
Phoenix Nights: Celebrating Our Pub of the Year 2023
Members gathered under ominous clouds in what was a warm summer evening on one of the longest days of the year to recognise the Phoenix which had been voted York CAMRA Pub of the Year 2023.
We were treated to the Wold Top Finch, Saltaire South Island, Roosters Go Backer and Timothy Taylors Landlord.
After 6pm the well known York pub started to fill up steadily and the intrepid CAMRA members took up station in the beer garden nestled beneath the City walls. Licensee Paul Rodgers provided plenty of umbrella cover for those that didn’t want their beer diluted with rain drops.
Branch Chairman, Chris Tregellis, opened proceedings with a few words about the pub and why it was chosen. It’s an old pub and rumours that Dick Turpin was a regular may or may not be true but he is buried conveniently over the road. It is certainly true that the pub was a welcome resting place for people attending the former York cattle market where the Barbican now stands.
Many years ago the pub was a fairly basic boozer and Chris remembers playing pool in the small front bar which made some shots understandably tight to play. The pub had been closed for a while before its major transformation some 15 years ago by Tim and Val Everton. Theirs was a labour of love which restored the pub to the attractive style that you see today. Their love of jazz paved the way to establish the Phoenix as an important music venue. Paul, Mark and the staff of the pub have built on this legacy and have conserved a really attractive pub which is appreciated by locals and visitors alike.
Delicacy prevented Chris from praising the gents which are so tastefully decorated.
Real Ale features prominently on their neat website and the tripadvisor reviews are almost all glowing. One of the very few negative reviews was from a customer from Leeds which starts: ” Now I know some people like pubs which are still pubs…” Well, we do! And that’s why the Phoenix is our 2023 York CAMRA Pub of the Year.
Paul thanked CAMRA for this recognition and said that he will proudly display the trophy which is his for a year and the plaque which is permanent. He acknowledged the good work of Val and Tim in renovating and re-energising the pub and is delighted to carry on the good work.
Members then got down to the serious work of addressing the very tasty wraps and pies kindly provided by the pub, ignoring the light rain and enjoying the daylight of this long Phoenix day. Here’s to many enjoyable Phoenix days and nights to come. Well done!
Ouse Boozer – our quarterly magazine
Our magazine, Ouse Boozer, is distributed free to real ale pubs in the branch area and available to download from the branch website.
Advertising is available at competitive rates for pubs and breweries. If you would like to enquire about quarter page, half page or full page adverts, please email Jordan Hennessy via comms@york.camra.org.uk
Our latest issue is Winter 2023.
Check out the archive for issues going back to 2012.
York Branch Area
The York branch covers an extensive geographical area, which includes Selby, Tadcaster and rural parts of North and East Yorkshire, as well as the city of York itself.