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As far as train stations go, I don’t think I’ve ever been inside one with quite so much buzz around it as St Pancras in London. The station is much more than just a transport hub though, it’s a luxury shopping arcade, a place to enjoy some fantastic food at the likes of Searcy’s, Carluccio’s and Prime Burger, a place to meet friends, it’s home to a fantastic neon art installation by Tracey Emin and it has a beautiful hotel built into the facade. The building itself is a stunner too and I love even passing through it, it always feels very alive!
This year there is, even more, happening at St Pancras than normal though as they are celebrating their 150th anniversary. To coincide with this very special milestone, a packed calendar of events has been lined up over the course of the year but since this month is October and it’s a month very closely associated with beer, they are currently running the St Pancras Beer Festival, which offers a nod to the station’s longstanding relationship with the brewing industry.
Beer has always been at the heart of the iconic station building, in fact, the area that now houses the upscale retail stores was at one point vaults and was used to store over 200,000 barrels of beer from the Bass Brewery in the 10 years following opening. To facilitate this, the 688 cast-iron columns included in the building’s design were specially spaced to fit the width if two beer barrels between them.
There are daily beer tasting sessions being held on the main concourse, as well as the chance to take advantage of a host of beer-related offers, competition and loyalty cards which can be used throughout the station’s bars, including their newest pub, The Barrel Vault.
If you fancy trying something new, there will be beer tasting sessions taking place daily at the beer festival stand in the concourse from The Betjeman Arms, Sourced Market and the Barrel Vault so there will be plenty of opportunities to broaden your palette.
The Beer Festival is running at the station until the 21st of October so make sure you drop by before then to experience it for yourself. Not that you need one but I’d say that It’s the perfect excuse to enjoy a beer or two with friends this weekend at a very iconic location.
#StP150
