Rhythm and booze: contesting leisure mobilities on the Transpennine Real Ale Trail

Abstract

Ale Trails, where a series of pubs noted for serving real ale and craft beer are linked together along a prescribed route followed either on foot or by bus or train, are now a well-established activity in the UK and beyond. However, in some cases they have become associated with large groups of rowdy drinkers characterised by excessive consumption and disorderly behaviour. While copious research has focused on drinking urban leisure spaces, few studies have examined leisure mobilities involved in drinking in, and intoxicated mobilities through, rural and suburban spaces. This article uses Henri Lefebvre's concept of rhythmanalysis to analyse leisure mobility through the spaces constituting the Ale Trail -including pubs, train carriages, station platforms and village streets. In these spaces, the differing rhythms of diverse individuals and groups as they move through heterogeneous spaces on foot and by train give rise to both shifting alignments and conflicts. The article concludes with a discussion of the spatial, temporal and affective dimensions of alcohol consumption and demonstrates the relevance of rhythmanalysis concepts and methods for exploring contemporary forms of leisure mobilities.

‘It’s a Small Little Pub, but Everybody Knew Everybody’: Pub Culture, Belonging and Social Change

“…Interestingly, many retired participants spoke of a mismatch in time availability where they had an abundance of time during the week, in contrast to working age family members such as their adult children who could only visit them on occasional weekends and public holidays. While a full analysis of the implications of these temporal aspects of changing pub going practices is beyond the scope of this article, there is some suggestion in recent research that competing and overlapping leisure rhythms might explain how different groups gain different pleasures from pub-based leisure (Thurnell-Read et al, 2021).…”

“…Particularly following the Licensing Act 2003, which made it easier for venues such as cafes and restaurants to acquire alcohol licences, the emergence of hybrid spaces such as ‘alcohol-added’ cafes also further diversified the landscape of venues offering food and alcoholic drinks in different combinations (Thompson et al, 2018). At the same time, the growth of niche real ale and craft beer venues such as brewery tap rooms (Wallace, 2019), ‘micropubs’ (Hubbard, 2017) and events such as beer festivals (Thurnell-Read, 2017a, 2017b) and ‘real ale trails’ (Thurnell-Read et al, 2021) further diversified the drinking landscape. Finally, the biggest shift has been towards domestic alcohol consumption meaning that, while many maintain a ‘traditional drinking’ habitus focused on evenings and weekend visits to pubs, a ‘home drinking’ habitus involving ‘consumption of wine in regular, moderate amounts throughout the week, often with meals and as part of domestic and family life’ typifies an increasing number of people’s relationships with alcohol (Brierley-Jones et al, 2014: 1059).…”