The Saddle Beer Festival

Pam and Don Ashton, managers of the Saddle Inn, started the Saddle Beer Festival in Blackpool in 1994. Pam recalled that the party was rather emotional for them, mentioning their early retirement was due to their daughter’s serious illness. She commented further that they loved not just the building but the fantastic customers. The customers presented them with a set of crown green bowls, which they knew the couple wanted to try. Pam and Dom confirmed that receiving the gift from the locals was very touching for them. The Saddle Festival and the summer festival they introduced continued under the following managers: Paul and Jacqui Bonar, who previously ran the popular Blackpool pub Raikes Hall. Don Ashton began his career as a bottle boy at the Winter Gardens and has managed several Bass pubs, including a 13-year stint at the Bloomfield Hotel before moving to the Saddle. During renovations at the historic coaching inn, the site was rumoured to have been used by Oliver Cromwell’s men during the Civil War. Bearing in mind that the Civil War ended on 3 September 1651 and that Oliver Cromwell died in 1658, the only building there was a saddlery rather than an inn. The details available don’t seem to clear up this anomoly. The inn’s builders found three old tankards and three antique clocks, which were restored and now hang behind the bars. They also reintroduced coal and log fires, and Pam, who comes from a pub family in Kent, decorated the fireplaces with Kentish hops.

The festival pictures featured here are from 18 August 2024, showing that the Saddle Beer Festival is still going strong.