PUB landlord Graham Ford is inviting drinkers to take a beery trip round the country.

The Beamish Mary Inn, at No Place, near Stanley, County Durham, is holding its annual beer festival this weekend and the 31 brews on offer are from the regions of England.

Mr Ford said: "The English countryside was closed last year because of foot-and-mouth, so we thought we'd devote the festival to the beers of the different areas.

"We are saying you can have a ramble round the Lake District and the Peak District, walk through the New Forest, sail up the Norfolk Broads and get the smell of the Tyne.

"We have got beers varying in strength from 3.5 per cent to 11 per cent - the aptly named Blackout by the Big Lamp Brewery at Newburn.

"This is the 11th festival we have held and the biggest yet."

The festival is on from noon to 11pm today and between noon and 10.30pm tomorrow, when there will be folk music during the day and jazz performed by Take it to the Bridge in the evening.