The tiny Bristol micropub where staff and customers have organised their own 10k marathon for charity

The staff and customers of The Lyons Den micropub in Kingswood will be working up an even bigger thirst than usual this weekend when they take part in their own 10k charity marathon.

Called The Den Ten, the fundraising effort has already passed its initial £1,000 target to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

Starting at The Lyons Den on Regent Street at 1.30pm on Sunday (July 30), around 30 participants will run or cycle the 10k route around Kingswood, finishing back at the pub, where there will be much beer consumed as the fund-raising raffle takes place and live music continues into the evening.

It has been organised by Sam Powell and Steve Parkin, who opened this hugely popular micro pub (in a former pet shop) in May 2019.

Since then, it has quickly gained a reputation with real ale and cider drinkers in the Kingswood area and beyond.

One of a handful of micropubs dotted around the city, The Lyons Den is compact and stripped back. There is comfortable banquette seating with plywood back panels and the blue walls are plastered with old beer pump clips.

The beers themselves are dispensed straight from barrels behind the bar and a large TV displays the names, styles, strengths and prices of the nine beers, lagers and ciders on offer.

A teetering pile of board games are stacked on a shelf at one end there are well-thumbed beer guidebooks in the window.

As well as an ever-changing choice of real ales and ciders, there are carefully selected spirits and ciders.

On the mid-week evening I popped in, the cask beers (all reasonably priced at £4.10) were Bristol Beer Factory Wild West, Parkway Norwegian Blue from Somerset and Stockport Centaurus.

The keg products on offer were: Bristol Beer Factory Well Above Sea Level, On Point En Route, Tiny Rebel Easy Livin’ and New Bristol Bristol Lager.

For fans of ciders and perries, there was Bristol Beer Factory North Street Cider and the Brislington Brain Twister (5.8%) made by Martin Campling, a one-man band cider maker who makes it behind his house in Brislington.

The Lyons Den is one of those small, friendly places where you inevitably end up chatting to strangers and I’m told countless friendships have started over a couple of pints at this perfectly formed micro pub. We need more places like it all over the city.

And if you can’t make the event but still want to sponsor or donate to The Den Ten 10k this Sunday, you can do so online here.

The Lyons Den, 121 Regent Street, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 8LJ.