Family day to celebrate Leamington's historic Arches

Business owners are inviting people to make tracks to The Old Town Railway Arches for a day celebrating this historic part of Leamington.

The Victoria Business Centre will play host to family activities, including free face painting and a Mexican wrestling display, as well as showcasing the area’s rich history going back two centuries through a series of displays.

Live music will also come from ARCH RIVALS, who also have a unit on the site, plus The Ben Jennings Ensemble. DJs Miss Carol, Steve Glitch, Rob Etch, CROM and ILK will keep the sounds coming throughout the day and special music guest appearances are also planned.

Street food and drinks will be available to purchase from Warwick Street Kitchen.

The event, on July 8 , has been organised by four of the businesses which operate out of The Arches - Windmill Hill Brewing Company, BRUBL Beer, Warwickshire Gin Company and Vice Motorcycles.

Windmill Hill Brewing Company was established six years ago by friends Gavin Leach and Rob Singleton and now brews and sells award-winning seasonal and limited-edition craft ales.

Ahead of the event, Gavin said: “It’s the first time we’ve done something like this. We want to open our businesses up and so people can see what we get up to down here and drum up some interest.

"We’d encourage people to pop down, talk to us and see first hand what we do.”

Visitors on the day will also have the opportunity to see motorcycles on display, including a Triumph Bonneville with sidecar and Vice Motorcycles’ TT Lightweight custom Mutt, back in Leamington after being displayed at shows in London and Thruxton Racetrack as well as Mutt HQ in Birmingham.

Vice Motorcycles build custom bikes and manufacture parts for Triumph motorbikes.

Founder and manager Carl Harris has been based at The Arches for the past six years and has spent his working life in product design-related industries.

He said: “This area is not appreciated enough for its history and thriving business community so we hope to address that through this first open day.”

The Arches has been home to Warwickshire Gin Company, run by Dave Blick, for five years.

The hand-crafted drinks range of five gins and a rum and vodka recipe, are all inspired by historical events, with two more rums soon to launch. They also offer gin tasting experiences.

The newest Arches tenant is BRUBL Beer, run by Nathan Barnes who moved in at the end of last year after building the business which started life as a home-built garden beer shed in lockdown.

BRUBL continues to add to its wide range of ales, from an easy-drinking IPA, ‘Highway to Hop’ 4.3 per cent ABV, to the luxurious, deliciously dark ‘Baltic Smoked Porter’ 7.6 per cent ABV.

Nathan said: “With all the artisan businesses here, this area has real potential to become a future destination. We want people to come down here and enjoy our products and linger a while longer.”

Other businesses based in The Arches engage in cake-making, metal casting, vehicle and shop signage and even power lifting and amateur wrestling.

The event runs between 12pm to10pm.