The Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has been celebrating with an extra beer after winning a prestigious national award for the fourth time.

At the organisation’s National AGM held recently in Dundee, the local branch magazine, 'Full Pints', won the ‘Best CAMRA Magazine in Britain’ award after facing stiff competition from entries from around the UK.

The magazine is bright and airy with lots of local news and good coverage of branch activities and won praise from judges for its colourful and attractive covers.

The judges also found the magazine exceptionally well put together offering articles of local and national interest along with a crossword competition and beer scoring guide.

Editor Stuart McMahon, who is also CAMRA’s director for Scotland, admits he is delighted with the honour.

He said: “I took over the 40-page magazine back in 2013 and was delighted when the publication won the ‘Most Improved’ magazine award in 2014.

"It then won the 'Best CAMRA Magazine in Britain' title in 2015, followed by further wins in 2017, 2018 and now again in 2024, having been runner-up in 2023.

“When I started the magazine 11 years ago I never expected to win the title once, let alone four times now.

"It’s a great honour for the local CAMRA branch to be recognised at a national level.”

Stuart added; “We do our best to cover news from our local real ale pubs, breweries and festivals, as well as featuring articles on ales and outlets from around the country.

"But I must thank all the volunteers who assist me with the magazine – from sourcing advertising, providing articles and helping with the distribution – it’s a real team effort.

"And we are delighted with the service and quality of the printing we get from Brown Brothers in Irvine.”

2,000 copies of the free quarterly magazine are distributed to all the real ale outlets in Ayrshire and Wigtownshire, with the summer edition due out in a few weeks’ time.

Despite there being relatively few real ale outlets in the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch area, the branch is one of the most active in the UK, with more than 570 members.

They organise the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival, currently the largest real ale festival in Scotland, in Troon Concert Hall, which this year will be held from October 3 to 5.

Full details of all the branch’s events can be found in 'Full Pints' or on the branch’s website at www.awcamra.org.uk or Facebook group.