Hook Norton Festival of Fine Ales

The Hook Norton Festival of Fine Ales, known as the Hooky Beer Fest, is a one-day charity festival in Hook Norton on a Saturday in mid-July. The next is on Saturday 17 July 2027, from midday to 11pm. It was on 18 July in 2026 and 19 July in 2025. The organisers say tickets will be on sale by 1 May 2027.

What happens

More than 100 beers and ciders from across the UK are served in the field behind Hook Norton Brewery. There is a wine bar and food stalls too. Live music runs all day: in 2026 the Hook Norton Brass Band opened from midday to 2pm, followed by seven more acts, the last at 9.30pm. The 2027 line-up is not out yet.

It suits people who want to try beers they have not met before, and under 18s get in free. Brewery tours are a separate booking.

Tickets and prices

For 2027 the organisers say prices are the same as last year but do not give them. In 2025 a full entry pack was £15, with a festival glass, two beer tickets and a beer list, and entry only was £8, which gets you the wine bar and other sellers but not the beer tent. Tickets are sold online, at the Village Shop and at the brewery's visitor centre.

Camping, parking and getting there

Parking and camping share the Rural Fayre Field on the north edge of the village, a short walk off the road from the festival site, and signs lead you in. Use OX15 5NY for the satnav. Camping is a £15 donation per tent per night, opens at 5pm on Friday 16 July 2027 and clears by 5pm on the Sunday. The organisers stress that it is not an official campsite and you camp at your own risk. Campervans park in the general field, and for hook-ups they suggest The Gate Hangs High or Cotswold Hills Country Park.

Stagecoach's 488 and 489 run roughly hourly between Banbury and Chipping Norton, stopping in the village, but on Saturdays the last bus back towards Banbury leaves in the early evening, hours before the music ends, so plan a lift or a taxi home. The Sun Inn is on the organisers' list of places to stay. The festival's pages give no access details, so email info@hookybeerfest.co.uk to ask.

Why it exists

The festival has raised money for charity since 1994, and the organisers welcome volunteers to help run it. The brewery's fundraising for leukaemia research began after its managing director James Clarke lost his sister Victoria to the disease in 1986, when she was 12. All the profit goes to charity: just over half to Blood Cancer UK and the rest to local groups. The total stood at £452,050 by the time the 2027 page was written.