HUNDREDS of people from across the country are expected to turn out for a beer festival in town this weekend.

Starting yesterday and running until tomorrow at St Peter and St John the Baptist on Doncaster Road, the Barnsley CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Beer Festival will include 29 beers of different types, strength and variety, six ciders and a gin and rum bar.

This will be the second time the festival will be held here, having previously taken place in Elsecar before moving following the Covid pandemic.

CAMRA are hoping that 500 people per day will attend, boosting tourism in town.

Fr Blair Radford of the church said: “The great thing about this is it’s not about church in a preaching sense, but it’s bringing people in.

“How often do you get 1,500 people to come to church?

“It’s a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing space even if you’ve got no faith at all.”

This will be an expansion on last year’s events, with live music taking place today and tomorrow and hopes the festival can continue to grow.

“The beer will be in the church hall, but the gin and rum bar will be in the actual church this year round,” Fr Radford added.

“Increasingly churches seem to be hosting beer festivals – it seems we’ve gone full circle to mediaeval times when churches were a social and community space.

“I’ve been a member of CAMRA for years and years now so it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do.”