Hello everyone!

On Saturday 16th August 2025, Myself, Matthew, Jamie and Lee will be cycling to The Smokehouse Railway Street in Bishop Auckland on our 52 mile round trip to collect our donated cask of ale. Carefully transporting it back to the golden smog in time for the palegrimage festival.

The smokehouse railway street have kindly donated the cask of ale for this amazing charity event along with many other brewery’s and businesses across the north east and beyond.

The annual pALEgrimage, organised by the Golden Smog, sees breweries far and wide donate a cask or pin of beer. The challenge is for teams to get this beer back to the Smog under their own steam. Every penny raised by the teams and from the sale of the beer goes to the Great North Air Ambulance. Since 2015 over £95,000 has been raised by the event!

Not as easy as it sounds as the pALEgrims carry their precious cargo while walking, running or cycling from their nominated brewery back to The Golden Smog with their ale. Once all the kegs and pins are back, they are racked in the alley at The Golden Smog and the pALEgrims, their friends and family and Smoggies have ourselves a brilliant beer festival with all the donated ale.

The pALEgrims are sponsored for their endeavours and every penny of the festival ale sales goes in the charity pot too with all the donations going to The Great North Air Ambulance.

Myself and the team are raising funds and awareness for a cause that’s incredibly close to our hearts.

The charity we are fundraising for is the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). This amazing charity provides a life-saving helicopter emergency service, delivering rapid medical care to people in critical need across the North of England. Every day, they save lives, and their work is truly extraordinary.

We need your support! Whether it’s a donation, a share, or a simple word of encouragement, every little bit helps. Your contribution can make a real difference in someone’s life, and together, we can ensure GNAAS continues to provide its vital services to those who need it the most.

Thank you so much for your support!