A PUB landlady is hoping to build on 13 years of support for Cornwall Hospice Care when a well-loved festival makes its return this August bank holiday.

After a seven-year hiatus, The Bowgie Inn’s well-loved Ale & Cider Festival will be held from August 24 to 26 and will help fund another significant donation to local charity Cornwall Hospice Care.

An Ale Festival attendee ordering a drink against the seaview from the Bowgie Inn
An Ale Festival attendee ordering a drink against the seaview from the Bowgie Inn ( )

Sally Pickles, owner of the Cornish pub, said: “We raised over £4,700 for Cornwall Hospice Care from just one of The Bowgie’s Ale Festivals, and with anticipation building for the event’s long-awaited return, we’re expecting our biggest turnout yet! Cornwall Hospice Care is the most incredible charity that does vital work caring for local people. They rely entirely on donations to support their life changing work, so we feel it’s so important to raise as much as we can for them.”

The Ale & Cider Festival is expected to mark another milestone of longstanding fundraising work for the local charity.

Sally has hosted several events at the Bowgie Inn in aid of Cornwall Hospice Care already, as well as going to great efforts herself to fundraise for the charity, trekking to the Everest Base Camp, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and completing an expedition in the Sahara Desert.

Something for all the family, the Bowgie Inn Ale Festival has facepainting and family activities
Something for all the family, the Bowgie Inn Ale Festival has facepainting and family activities ( )

Sally teamed up with her daughter Tish to fundraise for the charity on a sponsored trek on the Great Wall of China in 2017 and a sponsored hike in Iceland in 2019.

“In 2020, we hosted the Cask Ale Week fundraiser which supported both Cornwall Hospice Care and local breweries getting back on their feet after the first COVID-19 lockdown.

“This raised over £880 for Cornwall Hospice Care and helped us smash our massive £50,000 fundraising target, something I’d been working towards for nine years. This year’s Ale Festival is set to help us add a significant amount to this sum and I know that it will be gratefully received by the charity.”

The Cornish pub displays donation boxes for several local charities, including the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and has organised charity events ranging from themed party nights to walks.

The Bowgie Inn beer garden full with people enjoying the Ale Festival
The Bowgie Inn beer garden full with people enjoying the Ale Festival ( )

Sally added: “The Bowgie Ale & Cider Festival is a brilliant family event as it really brings the local community together, and what’s quite special about the Ale Fest is that we’re not only having a great time, we’re also raising money for an incredible charity.”

Cornwall Hospice Care works across two inpatient sites, Mount Edgcumbe Hospice and St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle, as well as running multiple community support hubs, caring for those at the end of life and their loved ones. Crucially, these services are available free of charge thanks to the support of fundraisers like The Bowgie Inn and the Cornish community.