Arkell's Brewery Family Business Insight & Tour

Join us in Swindon at Arkell's Brewery for an insight and tour of the brewery as part of the 2026 Family Business Road Trip.

Anyone visiting Arkell's Brewery for the first time could be excused for thinking they have walked straight into a time machine.

The beer is still brewed in much the same way as it was when John Arkell first made it in 1843 and the brewery buildings seem untouched by the passing years. If you speak to any of the staff about the company it is clear that everyone is still as fiercely proud of its local and family roots as John Arkell was himself.

But Arkell's has not achieved its unique position as Swindon's oldest company and one of the oldest traditional breweries still operating in Britain today, simply by standing still.

The company has remained true to the principles of loyalty, quality and tradition set down by its founder 180 years ago, but it has also adapted brilliantly to the changing world around it. Some things never change at Arkell's, but it is the ability to change effectively when change is necessary that has been at the cornerstone of the brewery's success story over the last 180 years.

Join us in Swindon for a tour of the family brewery with Phil Mercer, Technical Services Manager with 40 years experience of the family business, and then meet and listen to insights from Alex Arkell, the current generation of the family involved in the business.