Bedford Corn Exchange
St Paul's Square
BEDFORD
MK40 1SL
Wednesday 7 to Saturday 10 October 2026

This year's logo celebrates Bedford athlete Harold Abrahams, gold medal winner at the Paris Olympics in 1924, who died 48 years ago. Harold was one of the elite British athletes portrayed in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire.

Opening times. Wed 4 - 11, Thu/Fri 12 - 11, Sat 12 - 10.

Admission and bar charges. Entry £5, but CAMRA members free at all times. Glass hire £4, souvenir glass also £4 for purchase only. Beer token cards £5 and £10. Additional cards can be purchased from Glasses or the Festival Office.

Advance tickets. Admission tickets can be bought in advance from CAMRA's ticketing website, for one or several sessions, to guarantee entry at busy times. This service is now LIVE! Advanced ticket package costs £14, comprising entry £5, refundable glass hire £4 and beer/cider tokens £5. For CAMRA members with free entry the £14 package includes £10 tokens. Click BBCF48 advance tickets to open ticketing website.

Beer, cider and perry. The bars will offer about 100 cask, keg and international beers, ciders and perries, and a small selection of wines. All drinks are purchased with tokens, no cash is taken at the bars. Beer and cider lists will be posted on this page after orders are confirmed.

Other drinks. Rookery Craft Mead will make a return appearance and for the first time, there will be a stall for local distillery, Willow Tree Gin.

Please note that for everyone's safety, carrying glasses in neck lanyards is not allowed at this festival.

Food. We welcome the return of Milton Keynes based Better than Mamma's, with a new menu, taking into account customer feedback from last year. We also expect to offer award-winning pork pies!

Family area. Children’s play area in the Howard Room on Saturday, 12 - 6.30pm, but children must remain under adult supervision. No under 18's admitted at any other time.

Entertainment. We will have live, but unobtrusive entertainers n the main hall on Wednesday and Saturday evenings:
Wednesday: Ukulele Bedford
Saturday: Lily James

Staffing. Like every CAMRA festival, we need enough CAMRA members volunteering to serve behind the bars or glasses counter, sell drink vouchers, answer questions at the festival office, or help set up the event and take it down after the close. Even a couple of hours will be gladly accepted. Volunteers are entitled to reasonable free beer or cider of their choice and to a discount on food from the caterer. Those working late are offered a subsidised cab service to get home safely within the wider Bedford area. To volunteer, click BBCF staffing form and complete the online Jotform. We look forward to welcoming you on board!

Charity. Our festival charity this year is Alec's Angels, which works with and for children suffering from cancer. A very worthy cause that we are pleased to support.

Festival flyer and poster. A colourful A5 flyer is available to promote the festival. Click BBCF48 A5 flyer to download. For the equally colourful and even more informative A4 poster, click BBCF48 A4 poster.

Our grateful thanks to Gallagher Developments for being our main festival sponsor for the third year running.

Further details of the festival will be added to this page as they are decided. If you have any queries about the event or would like to offer useful skills or expertise to the organising committee, contact festival organiser Katherine Lilley at ku.gro.armac.sdebhtron@lavitsefreeb.