Church End Brewery

Church End Brewery sits in Atherstone, a proper working operation that takes its craft seriously without the pretence you'd get from some of the flashier places. This is a real brewery - you'll see actual brewing happening, not just a visitor experience grafted on top. The team here have been making their ales for years, and if you catch them on a tour day, you get the full walk-through of how it all comes together, from the grain to the glass.

It's worth going if you actually care about beer. If you're just after somewhere Instagram-friendly for an afternoon, you'll find it a bit no-nonsense for that. But beer enthusiasts and folk who like watching a proper craft operation in motion will find it genuinely interesting. The ales themselves are solid - nothing fancy, just well-made stuff that tastes like it comes from somewhere real.

If you're staying at one of the caravan parks nearby - Atherstone Stables is closest at just three miles away - it's a sensible stop-off without requiring much planning. Best ring ahead to check opening times and whether tours are running that day, as it operates on its own schedule. Allow a couple of hours if you're doing a full tour and tasting, less if you're just popping in to grab a bottle or two. It fits neatly into a Leicestershire trip as a break from the usual tourist circuit.