PEOPLE with a penchant for the amber nectar are set for a treat as they are invited to join a pub crawl taking in some of Worcestershire's finest hostelries.

The Worcester branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has organised an 'ale trail' to run from tomorrow to Friday, March 31.

It follows on from last year's event and aims to encourage people to visit the region's 23 pubs which are listed in the 2006 edition of the Good Beer Guide.

They include The Dragon Inn in Worcester's Tything - which has won the local CAMRA Pub of The Year accolade three times in a row and is in a listed Georgian building.

Worcester CAMRA treasurer Peter Bottomley said: "The idea is for people to visit pubs they haven't been to for a bit and encourage them to go a bit further than they might normally to see what they're missing."

Participants need to collect stickers from 15 pubs to be in with a chance of winning tickets for Worcester Beer and Cider festival tickets, from Thursday, August 17 to Saturday, August 19 August.

The pub crawl comes as the national CAMRA organisation is celebrating National Pubs Week, tomorrow, Saturday, February 18 to Saturday, February 25.

During the week, the local branch will present Knightwick's Talbot Inn its award for pub of the year.

To tie in with the trail, the organisation is launching pub guides for Worcester and Malvern.

Real Ale in the City of Worcester details pubs within the city boundaries selling real ale, while Real Ale around the Malvern Hills covers a larger area centred on Malvern and the Malvern Hills.

Both 26-page guides contain descriptions of the facilities, features and beer range for the 61 pubs and hotels in Worcester and 63 around the Malvern Hills.

They also provide information on opening hours, food, whether there is an outdoor garden or patio, articles on the history of breweries and pubs and the price you can expect to pay for the beer based on the relative price of a pint of bitter.

They cost £2.50 and are available from Worcester and Malvern tourist information centres or by post from CAMRA (Worcester) at 84 Guarlford Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 3QT. Cheques for £3.50 including p&p should be made payable to CAMRA (Worcester).

THE CAMRA ALE TRAIL

1, Admiral Rodney, Berrow Green.

2, Swan, Birlingham.

3, Farmer's Arms, Birtsmorton.

4, Plume of Feathers, Castlemorton.

5, Greyhound, Eldersfield.

6, Chequer's Inn, Fladbury.

7, Great Malvern Hotel,

Great Malvern.

8, Fox Inn, Hanley Broadheath.

9, Three Kings Inn, Hanley Castle.

10, Walter de Cantelupe, Kempsey.

11, Huntsman Inn, Kempsey.

12, Talbot, Knightwick.

13, Nag's Head, Malvern Link.

14, Fox, Monkwood Green.

15, Brandy Cask, Pershore.

16, Coach and Horses, Pinvin.

17, White Lion Hotel,

Upton-upon-Severn.

18, Lamb, West Malvern.

19, Bell, Worcester.

20, Berkeley Arms, Worcester.

21, Bush, Worcester.

22, Dragon, Worcester.

23, Cap 'n' Gown, Worcester.