Slow down, fill your boots and quench your thirst while enjoying the thriving trend of alco-tourism – with plenty of places along the Great West Way to learn the crafts behind some delicious homegrown tipples.

With so many impressive drink establishments along the Great West Way route, from beer and real ales to wine and spirits, you could base your entire journey – east to west or west to east – learning the crafts behind some of the finest beverages in southern England, while also sampling a few along the way too. Here are some of the best distilleries, breweries and vineyards you can visit along the way.

Beer has been brewed in this area of England for thousands of years. Many delicious craft beers, IPAs and real ales are still produced right here on the Great West Way. From tiny microbreweries with their own taprooms to Great West Way institutions like Wadworth Brewery and West Berkshire Brewery, there are lots of opportunities to try our local beers.

Before you leave London learn what goes into making Fuller's ales taste so good at the Griffin Brewery, or for live music and cocktails pop into The Tap on the Line, Kew on the second Thursday of the month. For a night of jazz Fuller's host a different trio or quartet at The Old Fish Market, Bristol on Sunday evenings.

One of the oldest steam breweries still in existence and one of the finest examples of a Victorian steam brewery anywhere in the world, Arkell's Brewery is a fully-functioning brewery today and Swindon's oldest established company.

The ten-acre site is located in Kingsdown on the outskirts of the town behind the original Kingsdown Inn. Actual tours of the site are very limited and usually by invitation only, however you can enjoy a virtual tour from the link here. You can also visit many Arkell's along the route including The Cross Keys in Newbury, The Downgate in Hungerford and The Lansdowne in Calne.

At Wadworth Brewery Visitor Centre you can sample the delights and learn about the traditional brewing methods used at the site since 1875. Take yourself on a self-guided tour through their exhibition before reaching the sample bar where there are traditional pub games and five cask ales on draught.

West Berkshire Brewery is an independent brewery nestled in the heart of Berkshire with over 23 years of brewing experience. With a new state of the art brewery and packaging line they are the proud producers of many traditional cask ales and innovative craft beers.

The Flying Monk Brewery is a forward-thinking brewery based at Hullavington, near Malmesbury, is focused on producing great beer for the local area - as well as offering a unique Cafe & Tap in a 200 year-old Cotswold stone barn, with a breakfast and lunch menu.

Bristol is also one of the UK’s leading craft beer destinations and is brimming with brilliant breweries. Head to a local brewery to sample the delights of real, local English beers and learn about the history of this ubiquitous English drink.

Previous page left to right: West Berkshire Brewery; Wadworth Brewery Left to right: Lavestoke Mill Bombay Sapphire; Abbey Hotel, Bath Art Bar Cocktails

Bombay Sapphire Distillery is based at Laverstoke Mill in rural Hampshire, just 15 miles from Winchester and 60 miles from London, the Bombay Sapphire Distillery is in a conservation area with over 1000 years of history.

For over 225 years, the Victorian and Georgian buildings set astride the crystal-clear River Test produced bank note paper for the Bank of England and the British Empire. Now, Laverstoke Mill is a state-of-the-art sustainable distillery, which produces every drop of Bombay Sapphire gin enjoyed from around the globe.

The distillery showcases the care, skill and artistry behind Bombay Sapphire, and allows you to discover the flavours of the botanicals which make Bombay Sapphire gin so unique. Start your experience with a trip to the Turbine Bar to choose a Bombay gin to make a gin and tonic before heading to the cinema room to be immersed in all things Bombay Sapphire in preparation for a tour of Laverstoke Mill.

Learn about the ten botanicals which make Bombay Sapphire so exquisite in the iconic glasshouses designed by Thomas Heatherwick, chart hundreds of years of Laverstoke Mill’s illustrious history, married with the fascinating heritage of gin and Bombay Sapphire and uncover the secrets of Bombay Sapphire’s unique vapour-infusion distillation process. Enjoy classic rum cocktails and learn of their colourful histories at the Bristol Rum Distillery. Learn about new ways to understand rum, and approach the spirit through fresh informed eyes while also being entertained with rum’s rags to riches story. Before you go, choose your own rum from over 40 types made at the school, then spice and re-distil your own 70cl bottle, including naming your rum with a personalised label and waxing the top.

Learn more about Bath gin at The Bath Distillery located on Queen Street in the heart of Bath’s city centre (just moments from Bath Abbey, Bath Thermae Spa and the Roman Baths). Bath gin is distilled using eleven of the finest botanicals from across the world, including bitter orange, kaffir lime leaf and English coriander. Floral, exotic citrus and deep spice notes are followed by a mild sweetness, creating a light, aromatic and balanced gin.

There's also the delightful (and tiny!) distillery Scout & Sage to visit in the village of Semington, Wiltshire. Join a master class and sip a delicious Scout & Sage G&T crafted using a tradional hand made copper pot still named Maud. Hear all about the history of gin, how it’s made and the process they use. There’s a tasting session of three Scout & Sage Gins and a Scout & Sage Gin cocktail – before making a shot of your very own gin from pre-distilled botanicals.

The chalk soils and temperate climate of the south of England are perfect for creating crisp, white, bubbly wines. Take a vineyard tour or attend a wine sampling session and you'll see for yourself why English wines are winning prestigious international awards.

Discover the local wines of the Great West Way with a tour and tasting at Alder Ridge Vineyard, nestled into the chalky slopes of the North Wessex Downs between Hungerford and Marlborough. A'Beckett's Vineyard near Devzies also offer wine tastings and walks around their impressive 20-acre site.

Bluestone Vineyards based just outside of Salisbury run morning and evening walking and wine tasting tours with one of their resident experts, Nat or Jack. Following an in-depth stroll around the vineyards learning about growing grapes in the UK, the challenges, and what it takes to produce high quality English sparkling wines, you’ll then be wowed with an expertly tutored wine tasting of four wines; two of Bluestone’s sparkling and two local still wines.

Aldwick is a 300-acre family-run farm nestled serenely beneath the northern slopes of the famous Mendip Hills - the largest vineyard in Somerset. The team on the estate are devoted to producing quality wine and offer tours of their 11 acres of grape vines. Witness the development of grapes from which their wine will be made before sampling a selection of their available vintages.