The branch, part of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, was formed in 1977, as the Norwich & Norfolk Branch. Three other branches were subsequently formed covering the western, eastern and southern parts of the county, and in 2018 the branch was renamed Norwich & District, to avoid confusion. The branch is part of the East Anglia Region.
The current boundary runs from east of Wells-next-the-Sea, south to the west of Fakenham then south-east to Attleborough, across to Loddon, then north to the coast around Horsey. You can use WhatPub.com, CAMRA’s national pub guide, to determine whether any particular place is included in the branch area – just look up a pub in the area, the responsible branch is shown at the bottom of the page.
We currently have around 3,500 members, and are one of the largest branches in the country, both in terms of geography and membership.
Our biggest campaigning focus is around organising Norwich Beer Festival, and recruiting new members – 327 at the last festival in 2023!
Our aims are those of the national Campaign – promoting Pubs, Pints and People!
Pubs because the great British pub is a part of our life and culture, and we campaign to ensure their survival, as well as highlight their importance in our society.
Pints because we have a passion for real ale, cider and perry, and work to ensure you can access a broad selection of beer and ciders across the UK.
People because we’re a volunteer-led organisation, with our members at our heart.
The nature of campaigning has changed in the years since 1971 when CAMRA was founded. Back then the focus was on local actions – demos and letter-writing campaigns to save individual pubs and breweries. Today, it is much more about lobbying government and local councils, to try to change policies which harm pubs and breweries, and therefore real ale. This means that fundraising is our primary focus – to fund the permanent staff in St Albans, who plan, organise and to some extent carry out, campaigns on subjects such as beer duty, business rates, alcohol pricing and publicity.
Local actions are around supporting our wonderful local pubs and breweries, by holding regular social events to visit pubs, and fundraising by organising the popular Norwich Beer Festival every year – the next one being the 45th!
You can view and download the Branch Constitution here.
If you love beer, and love pubs – join us!
