Toast the royal wedding in style this weekend

A total of 600 real ales and 200 ciders and perries will be available at the Reading Beer and Cider Festival

THE 17th Reading Beer and Cider Festival opens later today with large crowds expected throughout the weekend.

The festival, held in King's Meadow, Reading, is one of the largest outdoor beer festivals in the country.

For the first time the festival will be open for five days rather than four.

Gates open at 6pm today (April 27) and close at 7pm on Sunday (May 1).

Martin Harbor, the festival organiser, said: "The royal wedding means we all get an extra holiday this year, and what better way to celebrate than to come down to the beer and cider festival, sit in the sunshine and enjoy a good quality pint made with natural ingredients. We hope to get well over 15,000 people through the gates this year and I want every one of them to be able to say that they had a good time.

“The sunshine has been great for the last week and I'm hoping for more of the same. This year we're open for five days instead of the usual four and, as long as the weather holds, we should get well over 15,000 people through the gates.”

A total of 600 real ales and 200 traditional ciders and perries will be on sale during the festival, along with 150 foreign beers from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. A selection of English wines will also be available.

The event will include entertainment, including local bands and morris dancing.

Trains are likely to be busy between Newbury and Reading during the festival.