A REAL ale watering hole has become a mecca for lovers of traditional bitter.

The Woodman Inn, in Gilesgate, Durham, stages four festivals a year in homage to real ale.

A recent pub of the year, as voted for by members of the Durham branch of the real ale pressure group Camra, The Woodman is popular with drinkers who are keen to sample as wide a range of beer as possible.

The latest celebration of traditional British beer features 47 real ales on offer during the next fortnight.

A second bar has been set up with a range of 30 different beers, selected by Durham Camra branch chairman Ken Weaver, from micro-breweries as far afield as Dorset and Fife. Many are newly-produced beers, from fledgling breweries unfamiliar in the North-East.

The main bar of the pub is featuring up to 17 beers produced by Bowburn-based Durham Brewery, a ten-year-old family concern run by ex-teachers Steve and Christine Gibbs, and daughter Elly.

Woodman licensee Paula Seed said: "We've almost become the brewery tap for the Durham Brewery, but they're very popular with our regulars. We generally have some of their beers at the bar."

Drinkers concerned about making their way home, without breaching drink drive regulations, can do so by taking advantage of the Woodman's private hire taxi service.

The beer festival runs until the end of the month.