The routes which will guide thousands of ale-lovers through Norwich are coming together as the host pubs of the City of Ale festival have been announced.

https://infogr.am/city_of_ales-7416

A total of 45 venues have signed up to the festival, which runs for more than a week this summer and is now in its sixth year.

And this summer will see six new additions to the ale trails around the city.

New or returning pubs for 2016 include The Black Horse on Earlham Road, the Cellar House on Eaton Street, The Lawyer on Wensum Street, Number 12 on Farmers Avenue, St Andrews Brewhouse on St Andrews Street and Unthank Arms on Newmarket Street.

Maps are now being drawn up to distribute to punters at the start of the festival.

Dawn Leeder, co-chair of the City of Ale festival, said the idea was to provide manageable routes through clusters of the pubs that have signed up.

'As usual it is a good range of pubs involved this year with some historic and others more modern,' she said. 'The one thing they have in common is they all sell real ale. 'We are now in the process of putting together the ale trails with our colleagues from CAMRA. That is still coming together but we are looking at having four trails with six pubs and three trails with seven pubs.

'They make very nice walkable trails, and allow people to get a bit of fresh air and exercise along the way. Norwich is getting a lot more publicity as a city of ale and we are very excited about that, because it is now getting the recognition it deserves. 'It seems the rest of the country is finally beginning to agree with us.'

The City of Ale festival will run from May 26 to June 5 this year. The next City of Ale meeting will be held on Monday at 10am at the Bridewell Museum.