BRAPA - Loxley, Sheffield North, Mexborough and Consibrough

South Yorkshire maintained it's 6th placed position in the BRAPA league table after a great five pub day.  I managed to achieve some 'ticks' I've been after for years, there was a 'brewpub' theme, and I got a couple of pub shaped monkey's off my back at the same time.

It started in a drizzly Sheffield station, where I learnt the tram stop has it's own opposite exit and soon with Dad and BRAPA transport aficionado Tom, we'd bussed and trammed through some of the more 'third world' areas of the city (yes I am a snob) and were in beautiful Loxley countryside, with it's walking and angling meaning the pub was a 10am opener, yes!

710.  Nag's Head Inn, Loxley

In Stacey Bank and not really Loxley if you were to be pedantic, Dad was a bit concerned whether they'd stick to the opening time, it was a relief to see a jolly woman (landlady?) sweeping up Autumn leaves outside as she accidentally photobombed the inaugural BRAPA shot of the day.  We entered and I was amazed to see the pub so similar to the view in my mind's eye, wooden farmhousy, basic but with comfy bits further back.  It was great to see the superb Bradfield ales on, a huge range so I plumped for a Jack O'Lantern, my first Hallowe'en beer of the season.  Quality stuff.  And was glad I'd recommended the Farmers Blonde to Dad.  Prices were dirt cheap.  The barmaid was a young, croaky mare, but once other staff and locals were on the scene, she managed to overcome any vocal chord incompetence and soon we were back in the unnecessary SHOUTING match that had plagued us at Pollington, but even more out of place as here was so intimate and down to earth (can I get a shouty first pub of the day hattrick next week in Bedfordshire?).  Barmaid did redeem herself for lighting the fire next to us.  Dad then cracked under the pressure of seeing a father & son with cooked breakfast and soon were all on 'em.  We had more time in here than your average BRAPA pub, so gave us a chance to savour it and do the kind of things you wouldn't normally get to do in a BRAPA pub, for example pick 5 celebrities you think are most likely to die!  As I desperately tried to hoover up the last of my mushrooms, the bus was 4 minutes away and we sadly had to leave.  If I was a Sheff Wed season ticket holder, I know where I'd go pre-match!

Me arriving at the Nag's Head, note sweepy woman behind car.....

After a classic bit of Tom bus/tram manoeuvering to help us beat the football traffic, we were at our next pub though we nearly walked past!

711.  Hillsborough Hotel, Sheffield

I'd been itching to come here since 2004 when we tried but found it shut before the midweek 2-4 victory.  Again, I'd built up an image in my mind but it wasn't quite the red carpetted one roomer with horseshoe bar I'd expected!  The place was in a state of chaos when we entered, not through football fans trying to have a quick drink or just the usual 'opened this minute but not ready for customers' scenario, but there seemed some bigger change had taken place, change of ownership Tom thought, but am not sure we had any evidence of that.  What was strange however, was in a Bradfield/Loxley way, we were expecting to see lots of Wood Street beers but instead 4 of the 6 were from another Sheffield brewery, Exit 33.   The barmaid was new, didn't know where anything was, and was a QPR season ticket holder, but we tried not to hold that against her as she chatted to us whilst we waited.  I'm not sure the man on my right can have been so impressed, him and his wife had to wait an eternity to get served, and when they did, they realised they were in the wrong pub, having wanted the Hillsborough Tap!  Dad had controversially gone to sit in an incredibly light and modern conservatory area, it was almost like being outside and didn't do much for the atmosphere.  Having said that, the place was comfy enough and my Exit 33 IPA was perhaps even more delicious than the Bradfield ales earlier.  Quite a good pub, will be interesting to see how the changes bed in. 

Me in my Hillsborough Hotel camouflage jacket

Our original plan had been to get a 'tick' on the way back to Sheffield station, whether it be in the Kelham Island area or more central, but as it was we played safe and headed straight for station,  However, with 20 mins to spare and full bladders, we nipped into Sheffield Tap for a very swift half though Tom correctly pointed out this broke BRAPA policy!  Dad then did his usual ST ritual "I hate this place, I hate this place, I really hate this place, oh I've been served, oh look, a nice quiet side room, oh this place isn't quite so bad!" 

Anyway, a short train journey followed and we were in the wonderfully stereotypical South Yorkshire town of Mexborough.

712.  Concertina Band Club, Mexborough

Another pub (club) I've had on my hit list for many years pre-BRAPA, me and Dad were a bit anxious on entering because (a) it is a club and sometimes they can be a bit funny about non-members and (b) they were due to close at 3pm and we were pushing it with time.  Tom, having been before, was more confident and we needn't worry as the friendly welcome we'd hoped for ensued, in fact they barely batted an eyelid at our presence, what a relief!  The theme of home-brews continued with their own Concertina ales, so I went for the award winning Bengal Tiger and it was very nice indeed, take that Sixpoint brewery of America who sell cans to Wetherspoons with a very similar name.  The main band room was huge and splendid, but I sat us in the games room mainly because if there was an end of year BRAPA award for 'worst coloured table of the year', this hideous sepia yellow example would have won hands down!  Okay so it wasn't the cosiest pub of the day, but the sheer down to earth, no nonsense brilliance of it shone through.  A cracker, and for once, CIS (Chris Irvin Syndrome) did not take hold!  And what happened to the 3pm closing? 

Dad points, but Tom is straight in - at the Concertina Band Club

It was great Dad had come to Mexborough with us but we went our separate ways now as he got a train back to York via Donny.  Me and Tom remained the hardcore two, pushing on to the next pub....

713.  Imperial Brewery Tap, Mexborough

Hiding down the edge of an industrial estate, we found our next pub, the home of Imperial brewing you won't be surprised to know.  We hadn't planned today like this, honestly!  It reminded me very much of the Cock o' the North pub I went to in Hipperholme with the Halifax Steam beers in an huge industrial style converted into something lounge like and comfortable.  As we trekked over the swathes of blue carpet to the bar, we found not only their own ales but plenty of interesting Locales too but it was only polite to go for one of theirs, a Blonde of top quality.  We sat to the right and the place was quite busy with mainly middle aged drinkers as I gave Tom his highly anticipated learning module of Untappd check ins (though he did encourage me to be abusive about Sixpoint brewery!), his next module is on Instagram.  Just to show I haven't learnt anything from my Leighton Buzzard day, I soon found myself dropping off - a combination of the comfy surroundings, the fact I forget to get the Corned Beef sandwich off Dad, the Loxley breakfast and the colour blue being calming.  Nothing beer related HONEST!  Anyway, Tom who'd been buoyed by finding a bottle of Farmers Stout to buy earlier, now managed to buy an Imperial bottle from their fridge.  A good result after my Twitter contact with them last week.  

Arriving at the quite unique (Hipperholme aside) home of Imperial brewing.

Next, we took one stop on the train to Consibrough, we then had a bit of a walk before boarding the X78 which took us towards the pub, even if the miserable bus drivers weren't a fan of our PlusBus ticket!  Having Dad's senior one by mistake probably didn't help things.

714.  Hilltop Hotel, Consibrough

But it was worth the effort - as we entered the left hand side of this cosy two roomer, and I kept my record up of accidentally selecting the room with the fewest amount of locals and hubbub!  It didn't matter though, we were soon chatting to the friendly couple who ran the pub.  I managed to get a bit of BRAPA chat going, and Tom then earned us maximum brownie points by telling them about '2' for 1 rail ticket offers for their trips to York - we'd been lamenting ridiculous beer prices in the city in comparison to say, this pub for example!  The range of ales was again an impressive cornucopia of micro brews from the South Yorkshire area and I had a brilliant 'Original Blonde' by White Rose - a Sheffield brewery I'd not even heard of.  Just when we thought we'd finally found a pub without their own brewery attached, the landlord pointed out of a window to show where they would soon be brewing their own ales!  Well, when Custom & Excise give them the go ahead apparently.  We had an even longer walk back to Consisbrough station after the bus but never mind, this was probably but second favourite pub of the day, well worth a visit.  

Tom favoured the "action shot of walking into a pub" photo style.

So there we go, I wished Tom bon voyage as we headed in separate directions.  I had a bit of wait both in Consibrough and Donny where I had a shortbread and lemon n lime drink in a half closed cafe.  I avoided York Tap too and was home for about 20:30, a successful day indeed!

Just to remind you, no BRAPA this midweek but archives will be out Monday and a "Special feature" later in the week if I've got time.  Then Bedfordshire next Saturday.  The feature will be about 'BRAPA pub do's and don'ts for any prospective pub landlords reading.  Well, I can hope.

Si

 
   

BRAPA - Ilkley

After a straightforwardly boring train journey from Leeds - Ilkley (just the way I like them), I crossed between rush hour traffic to find this pub, sunken into the ground so you were actually kind of underground when you entered.

I nearly came here on 2nd August 2014 when I bumped into Alex from work and his friends (who helped me celebrate my inaugural 500th 'tick') and they told me they were finishing here after their walk.  I knew it had pre-emptive potential but I'd had a long enough day as it was.

709.  Flying Duck, Ilkley

The pub building dates from 1709 and you probably wouldn't know that from the 2013 refurb, though the exposed stone plus cosy ambiance (made even better when the wood burner was put in) made for a very nice pub atmosphere indeed, just the calming sensation I needed after a fraught day at work.  This is the Wharfedale brewery tap, with the brewery out the back, so it would have been rude not to try one of their ales - a Wharfedale Black was an excellent mild, normally can be quite a disappointing beer type.  There was only one other customer (long haired man at the bar) but any hopes of a BRAPA chat never quite materialised as he and barman were quite reserved, and I don't like to force my religion on people!  It seemed wrong to come to such a nice pub (and pay almost £10 for a train ticket) and just stay for one, so I went big with a 6.7% Black Magik from the always great Abbeydale Brewery,  A local couple had come in and been sampling it, so it allowed for a brief bit of human interaction!  However, the peace was shattered when another couple brought in two crazed dogs, Marley and Chester and if ever there were dogs trying to win a "worst pub pet of the year" award, it was these two.  To be fair, the owners did as good a job as possible keeping them in control (save from bringing them in in the first place!) and when one poor old woman walked down the stairs, Chester went bat shit mental - apparently confused thinking she was a burglar and he was at home!  They stunk too, and I could see the rest of the dogless drinkers expressions, they were about as impressed as me.  Any hopes of a third and final Abbeydale pint evaporated in my mind at this point.  Time to go.  So off I went.

Flying Duck - the calm before the doggy storm! 

I then had a 'farce' trying to get back all self inflicted.  First I missed the train I was aiming for as I tried to take a short cut down Railway Road which didn't work out for me (not for the platform I needed in time anyway), and I then wrote down the next time as 19:49 instead of 19:43 so missed another one!  And then back in Leeds, I missed two by a minute and had to get a slower stopper back to York.  Maybe I was being punished for ordering a MaccyD's.  Anyway, the Ilkley kerfuffle at least allowed a very swift half of 'Chop & Change' in the excellent but posho food-smelling Crescent.

Chop & Change, whilst Cellino is "confident" over his court case - apt! 

Social Media Improvements

It's long been recongised that I have not been doing enough in BRAPA to promote my challenge, but recent positive Twitter experiences at Horbury Bridge and with the Imperial in Mexborough mean I have made it a fundamental rule to 'tweet' the pub if they have an account.  I did this after Whelans of Asselby with no comeback sadly, but tried the same at Flying Duck in Ilkley and 48 hours later I got retweeted and 'added' by them.  

What this means in the real concrete world is a win-win situation where their pub gets a bit of free advertising and I get BRAPA out there too.  This is the way forward, though recently forgetting to leave my cards in pubs has been a schoolboy error I need to rectify.

Dunn's Law

As suggested by one my newest BRAPA enthusiasts, Andy Dunn, I am going to try and stick to set release days for my blog.

Monday - Archives

Wednesday - Write up of Midweek BRAPA trip

Sunday - Write up of Saturday BRAPA trip.

Special reports will be released on any given day.

He even suggested I put set times on these releases, but as you can see from this blog, sticking to the day is going to be hard enough to maintain!  A good idea though. 

Coming Soon (the rest of October)

Saturday is Sheffield day, or to be exact, Loxley, North Sheffield, Mexborough and potential Conisbrough. 

Next midweek is a no go for West Yorkshire BRAPA as Dad is hijacking me for Hull City purposes.

The following Saturday sees a return to Bedfordshire (part VIII).  This is a key day which will require some serious planning. I have my first new Bedford tick since BRAPA began and this will be my 'base'.  I then want to get out on the bus route which covers Felmersham, Souldrop and Sharnbrook.  And hopefully, with time permitting, another bus to Renhold or Riseley (or both).  

The following midweek again sees Dad hijacking me, but as I'm off work Thursday and Friday, I think switching midweek WY BRAPA to Wednesday is do-able, Knottingley will get it's BRAPA debut and it even has a railway station - hurrah!  

The next day, I have my mystery BRAPA Hallowe'en Special (4 pubs likely).  

And the month ends in just as spooky fashion at town planners wet dream, Milton Keynes, with three pubs on my agenda as I've decided to try and keep it fairly simple (Dad was happy for me to stop anywhere on the Euston-MK line but this season at least, we'll do what's nearest MK).

So, plenty to keep us going, am looking to get past 720 before month end which judging by the above, should be a cake walk, but with 750 needed by 31st December, am not resting on my laurels yet because I know how the Christmas season can limit BRAPA from past experience.

See you soon, Si

BRAPA : the archives (321-330)

Monday night is now officially archive night, and we're going to finish our tour of "lovely" Leeds, my place of work, before delving a little bit deeper into West Yorkshire, ending up in "wonderful" Wakefield.

321.  Tapped, Leeds

Imagine if aliens took over and opened their own real ale bar.  It would probably look like this.  Cold, metallic, uncharacterful, robotic.  I'd already heard a few negative murmurings from work friend Carol P and her chap Steven, before I decided to try it out for myself.  It was 20th April 2014 and me and sister Lu had 'landed' in Leeds ready for a drink before a Rezillos gig at Brudenell.  What is weird now is that BRAPA was officially 15 days old but I never considered this a pre-emptive tick at any stage.  Maybe I was fooled by the fact that keg seemed to be king, with the cask ales hidden behind and due to the sterile dispense display, it was hard to tell which was which.  Luckily, a friendly barman assisted and I was drinking a beautiful Marble Spring from the great Manchester brewery,  Lu may have had the same.  We may have chosen this because the brewery is vegan.  Anyway, we rested on a cold metal bench and had a deep conversation about being "still" whilst life buzzed around us.  I almost came back here once with Emily on the way from Crowd of Favours to Friends of Ham, but it was about 4 deep at the bar.  Did I care?  No.  Not a patch on the York, Sheffield or Euston versions of the same chain.

322.  Templar, Leeds

Friday 10th October 2008 was a memorable night out for the all wrong reasons, but before Jig got wiped out by a Nissan Micra, I did what I do best and got the whole birthday group on an ambitious pub crawl of Leeds.  This was our second pub though I was a bit drunk, having spent about 3 hours waiting for them all in North Bar.  The reason for the sudden visit of this famous, old Leeds pub was that I had, for the first time, seen it in the GBG and despite the birthday group containing people I#d never met before(!), I still marched them here.  It was a bit poor, I drank Tetley's which was about the only ale on, it was corridor standing room only and the highlight was me picking up a free pissy Argos pen from the toilets and carrying it around with me all night - urrgghh!  Due to it's association to "10/11", it took me a few years to return but have done 3 or 4 times since and have been incredibly impressed.  Beautiful building, great ales, the only problem being the clientele.  Very rough men!  Having said that, the only time I've been brave enough to listen in to a conversation of these tattooed rugged old toothless scummers, it was about Uncle Phil's role in Fresh Prince of Bel Air and I smiled kindly at them.  My most recent visit was 10th Oct 2014 (my 6th anniversary) as I waited for Bob's surprise birthday to start, the locals were livelier than ever but I was safe in the snug to enjoy a delightful Kirkstall Three Swords.  This pub is constantly under development threat, may not be here much longer, enjoy it while you can, I certainly will!

A classic Three Swords in the Templar, 10th Oct 2014

323.  Veritas Ale & Wine Bar, Leeds

I did my usual "wait for ages to see how this peculiar new bar settles in" before I came here on a rare Monday lunchtime with Emily 27th Feb 2012 and was a bit disconcerted to see cake displays and coffee machines on the bar entrance.  You have to walk a bit round the corner to find the ales.  Now surely that isn't right?  Staff were good, the ale was good, but I can't help feeling that awful term "female friendly" is designed for bars like this.  In fact, every time I've been it's with females, whether it is Emily, Rebecca or a girl called Jo's leaving do.  It's true my workplace's ale aficionado Bryan brings "his girls" here as well if that doesn't sound too dodgy.  My most recent visit was as long ago as Hull City's promotion day 2-2 with Cardiff where we went out for a join (i.e. my sister's) birthday do on the evening.  Despite being a Saturday 8pm, it was as dead and chilled as ever.  After the trauma of that day, I was happy to stay, but she swiftly moved us on to the now defunct Fab Cafe.  Oh, but it's a Market Town Taverns so another one off the list! 

324.  Victoria Family & Commercial Hotel, Leeds

Wow, don't ask me when I first came here but judging by it's "Inn Brief" entry in the 2002 GBG, I'm going to put the conservative October 2003 estimate on it as I did with Duck & Drake and Palace.  Up until about 2009, it was easily my most visited pub in Leeds.  Dad would meet me lunches here if he had a pensions meeting.  I had countless LLAC sessions with the likes of Mark Dobson and Dan Midwood here.  Even Bob, not really a pub or beer fan, loved it when I took him here after years of Stick & Twisting!  We even had a work Christmas do here once in a side room but my roast dinner was AWFUL, but the ale made up for it.  We were here on Jig's fateful birthday night where I tried chatting up a Canadian girl, and sister Lu told two lads how to carry three pints at once which was highly amusing.  I have met John Watson II on several of our nights out here, cos trying to save one of those big booths is a challenge on a Friday evening, let me tell you!  But what a wonderful pub, let me tell you - Nicholson's are very lucky to have it in their portfolio and well done to them, though I personally think that like the Scarbrough, the ale has suffered since it changed to their hands.  In fact, it went through a terrible spell of vinegary pints probably around 2008/9 and it is one of only two pubs I've had to report to CAMRA for consistent shite quality.  Same staff for years so god knows what happened.  My favourite time was during a chaotic December weekend evening, we were off to watch the Saw Doctors and I turned up in my welly boots terrified of ice!  I ended up drinking a woman's white wine and pretending my boots were some statement of my love for the Saw Doctors song "Hay Wrap".  A pub with loads of memories for me.  

325.  Whitelock's Ale House, Leeds

Another old classic, cor even my Mum used to drink in here when she was a teenager so probably about 1715 hahaha but seriously, it is little changed since  and it truly is the heart of Leeds, as some famous person said.  I will again put my conservative estimate of Oct 2003 on it but it's always seemed to be in the GBG and was certainly mine and John Watson's fave on our early Leeds pub crawls.  Great entrance, down a little narrow ginnel between two main shopping thoroughfares, and easily the best of the four pubs that have this set up.  I've been a fair few times but not as often as I should have done, and certainly not at all often in the last 5 years.  Highlights include when me and Piper got ID'd and then exclaimed to the pub that our combined age was actually 63!  Once, I sat outside and a water spout suddenly shot out of the side wall and drenched me.  On another occasion, JW2 had an internet date here with a Norwich girl  and I was the perfect, but invited, gooseberry,  My fave indoor times were once when I had a hot roast beef sandwich and then made a gothic couple jealous because I was going to a Misfits gig they weren't aware of!  And once when me, JW2 and Lu sat inside on another reasonable quiet afternoon birthday Leeds crawl - such a wonderful atmosphere.  You know this makes me want to go tomorrow.  24/1/14 my last visit at time of writing.

326.  Old Cock, Otley

The most valuable thing my Team Leader at work has ever said to me was the story of how this, one of her favourite Otley pubs, got it's name.  A local couple loved visiting Fanny's in Saltaire (see pub 327) so much that they opened their own in Otley with the same design and gave it this cheeky equivalent name!  On a perfectly sunny day, 6th May 2013, my birthday crawl of Otley eventually brought us here and I have to say it was, as predicted by my boss, pub of the day.  I hadn't been to Fanny's Ale House yet so it actually reminded me of Blind Jack's in Knaresborough, with proper old boards and the feeling that you had to breathe in and apologise to everyone as you walked forward to the bar.  The difference was that we did find a side room to sit in, but Jig was having a crisis of confidence because he thought the guy who served us used to work with him at the railway station Wetherspoons in Leeds. He eventually plucked up courage to confirm it with him, and that's the only concrete memory I have if this cracking little pub, which I'm shocked to learn, didn't open til 2010.  I'd have guessed 1756 if you'd forced me to.  

327.  Fanny's Ale & Cider House, Saltaire

Having recovered from the most traumatic work night out ever on Friday 6th December 2013, I was ready to do my "S is for Saltaire" A-Z day on the Sunday, 8th December and arrived into a grey Saltaire and hung around outside til 12 noon trying not to look like an alcoholic on the main road.  Multi roomed, real fires, different levels, wooden, just beer, beer and more beer, wow this was the perfect tonic to a miserable last two days!  I got chatting to the friendly barman, all big hair, bearded, tattooed, he must have been in a metal band surely.  We chatted on Fernandes brewery and York pubs and he told me a few facts about this place, which I can't remember.  I drank a "Blue Lady" by Fernandes which he recommended, then an Ossett Treacle Stout cos let's face it, pubs like this don't come around every day and I was recovering from a David Hockney art exhibtion, a man who I'm sure doesn't like Fanny's!  (sorry). 

The sign didn't lie at Fanny's in Saltaire

328.  Staff of Life, Todmorden

With the BRAPA seedling having started forming in my mind a couple of weeks earlier, I suddenly was impatient about finishing the A-Z so squeezed in Todmorden on Sunday 26th January 2014. A silly idea as replacement bus services made the day twice as difficult and I arrived in near darkness after 4pm.  The people in Tod are so friendly, I just have to squeeze that in, but I was still scared walking the 2 mile trek towards Burnley as Eagle's Crag loomed large and water flooded down from the gorge, crashing on either side of me.  But the real reason I was scared cos I'd just read a man was abducted by aliens here in 1980 and I could feel those little green men, getting ideas for opening the Tapped in Leeds (see pub 321) hovering above me.  It was with some relief that I arrived at this cosy narrow pub, not the best time as people were looking very bloated following 5 course Sunday lunches.  My presence, a stranger wanting beer, confused most, but I got the friendly "poor lad, we've stopped doing food and he has to make do with beer" look which is sadly common on my BRAPA trips.  I sat near a load of pub games on a multi cushioned seat and decided my pint of Salamander was actually quite poor!  I blamed brewery at the time, not pub.  I scowled at a few families who were overstaying their welcome, but didn't pluck up courage to ask staff about the legendary "White Doe" tale as instructed by the GBG.

Remote Crag side walk to the Staff of Life. Todmorden

329.  Black Rock, Wakefield

And speaking of the A-Z, I was soon with Jig on a freezing Thursday morning 30th Jan 2014 to be precise, having done U and V before T - I think I was losing A-Z discipline by this stage!  We'd done the "culture" of Wakey, and it was time to get out of the cold and hit the pubs.  This was one of the few to open before 4pm midweek so we started here (1:48pm) and were surprised by the sheer volume of scroungers (sorry, I mean retired people definitely pensioned and NOT claiming benefits).  But it was a happy atmosphere in a proper dark old pub.  Lovely exterior too, and almost everything else in the centre of town has become a crummy bar.  The 4 ales were all quite standard considering I'd read the locals are supposed to help choose what they want!  Having said that, I loved my Morland Golden Hen, and everytime I've had it since, it has been nowhere near this quality.  Of all the pubs I mentioned to my Wakefield friend Rebecca, this was the one she most despised but then, it isn't designed for young women, and surely that is a good thing in pubs, right?!  

Arched tiled facade, proper great old man pub - yes! 

330.  Bull & Fairhouse, Wakefield

And later on in our "W is for Wakefield" day, the worse for wear duo of me and Jig entered this former cattle market and fairground, approx 5:15pm.  This was probably my haziest pub memory of the day, and it always feels like I'm at my drunkest when Jig is my fellow BRAPster, though to claim being 'easily led' by Jig would be a very lame excuse, I'm sure he'd agree.  But very much like our Cambridge day, I had a bit of a mid-session wobble.  So much so that I it's only now that I read that it is the brewery tap for the wonderful Great Heck brewery, so our decision to both have Ossett Silver King (nice but quite common) says a lot for our mental state at the time!  We sat on a raised seating area and Sky Sports News was in, it was quite a traditional pub and I felt like I spent most of the time on my own - so either Jig had a long loo session or just zoned out completely.  Should probably re-visit!

So there we go,  we'll finish off in Wakey next time and then get started on the pubs which I had visited pre-BRAPA and are in the new 2016 GBG but weren't in the 2015 GBG, or I'd forgotten that I'd been to them!

See you soon, Si

  

BRAPA - Pollington & Asselby

Back on the East Yorkshire BRAPA trail with chauffeur and GBG pub lucky charm Bernard Ev on Saturday lunchtime.

I thought I'd 'finished' this county back in August after a celebratory trip to Hull's New Adelphi Club, but Mark Bainton and his EY CAMRA cronies stuck 5 new pubs in the 2016 GBG just to remind me how frustrating this 'cross-ticking' challenge can be.

As we drove out to Pollington, we passed places like Burn and Great Heck and hope my 'south of York' expert Krzb Britain wasn't too upset I was not consulting him on such a place.

707.  King's Head, Pollington

We parked up at 11:59am, pleased to see the pub already open and a jolly smoker with five smoking friends waved at me from a covered smoking area out the back - it looked like the piss-up had started admirably early!  We entered through the front to be greeted by one of those ultimate BRAPA turn offs, tables laid out with knives, forks and place mats.  4 ales were on, two from the very Locale Great Heck brewery and their 'blonde' ale was brilliant and easily the highlight of my experience here.  A woman (presumably from the smoking area) came in, and strewth, if there was a BRAPA award for "unnecessarily loud speaking person of the year", she'd have won by a country mile!!  This was felt even greater when two men joined her (including jolly smoker) and she screamed 2cm from their faces "HOW ARE YOU BOTH TODAY?!"  The gang soon returned to where they had come and Dad debated whether food was on, or was it all just laid out for the evening?  The barmaid who was a bit of a non-entity wasn't going to help us out, so it was left for old man with his Filipino mail-order bride (who spoke no English) to be presented with two menus.  It was too late for us anyway, my second Great Heck ale, the Navigator, wasn't well kept and it was time to move on.  I still had time to spy a strange pantry set-up selling everything from Bisto gravy to Gilette razors, but the jury is still out on this particular pub.

A bit of a mixed bag in Pollington.

We felt like we'd both heard of Asselby, and were imagining it to be out the back of Howden, somewhere Spaldington or Barnes Wallis type area.  So we were surprised when the turning was just along the road we always take towards Hull for home games, and have done for so many years!

708.  Whelans, Asselby

Sometimes you walk into a pub and you just know it is going to do well for you.  Ignoring their pretensions of being an "Irish Pub" would be a good place to start, to me, this is a synonym for 'shit hole' and does a pub as great as this no favours at all.  The landlord was a friendly chap with an air of the "reformed Gooligan" about him, he presided over great ales from 'Bird Brain' in Howden, 'Chantry' from Rotherham, 'Atom' Hull and most brilliantly, 'Half Moon' Ellerton's 100th brew which was citrus heaven and Dad declared (as he often does on a BRAPA day), his definitive beer of the year!  The pub had a great old wooden country pub feel, and we settled behind a pillar to some magnificent food (we made sure we asked outright if food was on this time!) and my chilli con carne was the best I've ever had in a pub, even better than the Greyhound in Riccall and that does good food.  I wasn't even that hungry and ate the whole thing!  As Dad paid the tab, we got talking to Mrs Whelan's too so I made sure got a customary BRAPA mention in, and gave them a Twitter shout out.

Another "Dad + Rural East Yorks pub = Success" equation

THE 2016 EAST YORKSHIRE GBG CONUNDRUM

When cross-ticking every other county in the GBG, the decision making re what had been taken out and what had been left in made total sense.  But what 'Beefy' and co were playing at in EY, I just cannot comprehend.  

Dad's theory is that all CAMRA inspections took place in a drunken state and no-one had a hope of making a well judged informed decision.  This certainly supports the anecdote where they invaded and claimed the Goodmanham Arms as their own, and then wondered why the locals were peed off! 

How can you account for Ellerton's "Boot & Shoe" being taken out, certainly a strong candidate for my BRAPA pub of the year?

How can Beverley's Tiger Inn still be in?  I've never known such a tired beer effort, even if it was friendly & ancient, when they are de-guiding the Cornerhouse which seemed to me, impressive and buzzing with life.

Brid's Telegraph AND Marine Bar still going strong?  What's next, Seabirds?  Especially as nearby Skipsea's Board Inn has been ejected, despite being superior to both in every category from what I could tell from my visit.

Let's look at Cottingham.  Ok, maybe the Blue Bell is a bit namby pamby but beer was quality both times for a Marston's, it's clean and comfy,  and the Railway?  Well maybe we didn't catch at the right time, but it didn't scream GBG shoe-in at any point, though the staff were superbly fast workers.

And don't get me started on the de-listing of poor Great Kelk.  If any pub needs the encouragement that their hard work of establishing themselves deserves, it is here.  A real kick in the beer gut.  All the more galling when Hedon's Haven Arms with it's terrible pear flavoured vinegar remains in.

And Hull, oh dear?!  Admiral of the Humber?  Hop & Vine?  Larkins?  St John's Hotel?  Sailmakers?  Really?!  I think someone has quotas to fill.  You may as will give the Burlington's it's debut.  At least it's great to see all 3 Scale Laners in together.

And what about Driffield's cracking little micro pub, Butcher's Dog,  don't tell me it hasn't been opened long enough cos I know it has.  

Come on EY CAMRA, shape up! 

Si

     

BRAPA - Middlestown & Horbury Bridge (Wet West of Wakefield!)

Brian the dog and a real fire - see pub 705

If it hadn't been for the local knowledge of Bryan from work, Tuesday night may have taken a long time to get off the ground.  The 16:40 from Leeds was delayed but a 16:45 to London Kings Cross had me in Wakefield at 16:57, and I didn't have to walk to the bus station as the bus stopped on Westgate.  Cheers Bry.

It was a leaden grey and drizzly day, perfick Wakefield conditions, but bus 232 soon had me at Middlestown a few miles to the west for 17:36 precisely.

705.  Little Bull, Middlestown

This was a very local pub, with three men and a young barmaid all looking nervously at me as I ordered a Scrummy Blonde from the usually disappointing (but not on this occasion) Wentworth brewery.  There was more friendliness on display from a Dad who waited patiently with a pint whilst his teenage son finished off some homework on a 'tablet'.  The youth of today eh?!  The other barmaid with stars on her neck and a cheery smile also seemed more of a people person than the squat Nick Barmby-esque girl who served me.  The ceiling was low but the lack of phone signal seemed to not be an issue as there was a blackboard giving the free wi-fi password, but could I get it working?  Not a chance!  The fact that the first letter was either "G" or "C" and the "J" might have been a "T" meant I soon gave up.  The locals at the bar started moaning about politics, radio stations and typical West Yorks barfly topics.  A smell of home cooking and a lot of floorboard creaking from above was soon taking over but I'm not sure if it was a ghost making tea or not.  In summary, lovely old pub, routine experience, lacked a bit of 'wow' factor.

About to cross the road to the impressive Little Bull, Middlestown.

The rain was still spitting so the 20 minute walk to Horbury Bridge made sense as there wasn't another bus due for a while.  10 minutes later, it made less sense as the sky had gone black, the rain was torrential, and I was "enjoying" the best thunder & lightning on a BRAPA day since Doncaster in July 2014.  

The fact the pub was across the road on a bridge over the River Calder only added to the precarious feel, but the traffic eventually took pity on my soaked state and let me cross ......

705.  Bingley Arms, Horbury Bridge

It was one of those "choose which of the two rooms to enter" and despite choosing 'left' this time, my uncanny knack for choosing the room with "nothing going on" prevailed.  So this time, I moved on in with the locals!  And I'm glad I did as I entered a bustling little bar with good ales and the first roaring fire of the autumn.  A crazy old chap started chatting to me but he was a bit edgy and told me everyone else in the pub was a "nob 'ead" so I sidestepped away with my gorgeous pint of Abbeydale Moonshine as another lightning strike crashed down and Keeley Donovan issued a warning from the TV at the end of the room.  I dried myself in front of the fire but was swiftly joined by Brian the dog who had the same idea as me.  He was attached to "Ossett Lizzie", so called because she worked for Ossett brewery and was called Lizzie.  I think.  Brian was a great dog and went to sleep on my foot in front of the fire for the duration of my stay, a blatant attempt to win "Pub Pet of the Year",  Ossett Lizzie loved BRAPA and we spoke on Ossett pubs at length and acknowledged each other on social media, though the locals at the bar seemed less enthralled!  Mr Ossett was a bit quieter but perked up when we spoke to Rat brewery and his great pump clip illustrations/t-shirts.   Still, it was great networking and that fire was roasting me alive (thanks a lot Brian!)  By the time I left (only JUST in time for the bus to Wakey as it turned out - I was lucky), I said a cheery bye and have to say, it was one of the top positive BRAPA experiences of the year, particularly on a midweek.  Wonderful pub.

Torrential rain as I cross the road to the magnificent Bingley Arms

The rain was still ridiculous so I popped into Harry's Bar in Wakefield for a return visit (I was quite drunk the first time) and I will be reviewing it my archives soon so keep an eye out for that.

Finally back in York, I got a Burger King on the way home but with the rain worse than ever, my chips disappeared through a hole in the soaked bag.  Ooops.  I saw them on the way to work this morning and considered retrieving them for breakfast (I'm joking).  

Coming Soon in BRAPA  

Things settle down a bit over the next week, a sedate return to East Yorkshire ticking on Saturday with Dad as I do two of my remaining five.  Next Tuesday, we are back in Ilkley for a pub I always knew I should've made pre-emptive.  And then Sheffield on the following Saturday which I'll be fine-tuning.  I've nearly finished the next lot of archived pubs too.

See you soon, Si

     

BRAPA - Nottingham Central (to a finish)

Fabulous Flemish building in Nottingham

Nottingham rocketed up to 13th in the BRAPA league table as I visited the five pubs required to complete the central area of the city.

There are 3 BRAPA pubs hiding in this photo - can you name/spot them?

My BRAPster 'band of merry men' were Dad & Tom, with Ben deciding to do his own VAT & Fiddle inspired day (which apparently wasn't a success, a BRAPA lesson there), and Chrissy's A & D making an interesting train decision that got them too late into Notts for any quality pub time.

We had a bit of waiting around in the Sneinton area of town before our 11am opener unbolted it's doors, but we tried to make the cultural best of it with a look at old tram sheds, old banks and modern arenas.  Who says BRAPA isn't a whitewater ride?

700.  King William IV, Sneinton, Nottingham

The King Billy (with crowned goat on pub sign) was a fitting way to bring up the (2nd) 700 pub landmark.  It was the young landlord/bar chap who made it, combining fine hospitality with pub and real ale knowledge to make him a 'staff of the year' contender despite not being a young brunette!  After talking us through the amazing range of LocAles, Dad and me got Shiny ones from this magnificent Derby brewery, he gave Tom his blackcurrant for free (a BRAPA first from memory) and then showed us to a superb little roof garden.  A very enterprising way to create extra space, it had astroturf and nice views over the city, plus it was a sunny warm morning.  What a great place to debate which five 'public figures' will be the next to die!  No wonder Dad did his classic line "oh, that's me settled, I can stay here all day" No chance of that, BRAPA waits for no man and it was time for the walk back towards town, with the landlord characteristically pre-empting my pre-emptive tick!

Dad & Tom in roof garden bliss at the King Billy

Barrel Drop, Nottingham

Single unisex toilet?  Check.  No blackcurrant cordial?  Check.  Straining your eyes and brain to try and work out which real ales are on and where they are hiding?  Check.  Basic room with nothing electronic?  Check!  We must be in a micro pub!!  Following on from my BRAPA report on this new phenomena, it made sense to give this one a pre-emptive try.  Tom's opening line "it's like the Hop & Vine" was harsh, but the place did have something approaching a cafe bar feel.  As instructed by King Billy chap, I said "hi" to the owner on his behalf, but he lacked the earlier chap's charm despite helping Dad to choose a rather delicious 'black' IPA and giving him a taster.  Indeed, I wondered if he was actually going to charge me for the drinks or he was testing my honesty!  Now to solve the conundrum, is this building part of the Nottingham caves system.  "No" was our resounding conclusion.  There was a nice ambiance created by some soft background music, but comfort was lacking, even my Micro pub standards.  Some Hull City fans arrived just to ask us "how the 'ell have YOU found this place?" which was quite unanswerable.  Time to leave.

I'm off caving down an alleyway in Nottingham.  Barrel Drop!

701.  Sir John Borlase Warren, Canning Circus, Nottingham

Just to underline the fact that Micro's lack something a refurbished old fashioned pub can offer, this place was an absolute gem combining comfort with a sense of the olde worlde.  It in fact only reopened in 2014 and also has a roof garden, facts I was unaware of at the time.  I had to do a double-take when we arrived, thinking "I've been here before" but I was thinking of the Lass O'Gowrie near Manchester Oxford Road, an uncannily similar curved bar at the entrance.  I'd been pronouncing the pub 'Borlasie' after the Crystal Palace midfielder, and this should have been a clue for my fantasy football team as he scored a goal.  The staff were again helpful, and most of the ales were from Lincoln Green with Dad getting a special charity one.  I like the whole Robin Hood / Maid Marian thing, but was sad I couldn't get a pint of Rabies!  We sat in a back room so we could smuggle some incredibly unsly cheese n onion rolls from my BRAPA bag of tricks, whilst Dad kept the cultural element in tact by spotting a wonderful Flemish building through the fine etched windows, so we had a bit of a photo session.  Another great Nottingham tick.

Royal Navy officer, politician, diplomat, great pub!  Sir JBW.

702.  Falcon Inn, Canning Circus, Nottingham

With Tom off on his merry way, Dad and me walked the 15 steps or so to the left which found us in the Falcon, another brilliant recent refurb of a proper grand old pub.  Again, we found a friendly and helpful barmaid at the helm - this kind of staff behaviour is unheard of in the East Midlands - and Dad thought it was fitting that we ordered an "Endless Summer" from the Black Iris brewery which she told me was only a three minute walk from the pub.  It was the pint of the day, absolute nectar of the gods we just couldn't get over how tasty it was and as you can guess, the standard today was very high anyway.  A feverish young man then rushed into the bar to tell barmaid that Titanic Plum Porter (her favourite and one of mine too) was on at the Organ Grinder, our next pub anyway!  What drama.  We sat in a nice dark cubby hole and noticed that the original Falcon pub sign had been brought inside the pub and was now hanging on the wall.  Now call me a pub geek, but I'd like to see this kind of thing more often.

Me about to steal a shopmobility scooter outside the Falcon

703.  Organ Grinder, Canning Circus, Nottingham

Rich pickings in the Canning Circus area of town, this again was probably less than a minute walk from the last two pubs aswell.  I'd been in a "Blue Monkey" pub once before, in Loughborough, and you can certainly see the similarities, lots of dark wood, low lights, youngish discerning ale drinkers, though I was glad this time that there was no huge intimidating monkey mural on the wall, which totally freaked me out in Loughborough.  Sure enough, the Plum Porter was present, but we were overwhelmed by the impressive range of Blue Monkey ales, with standards like BG Sips and Inifinty complimented by guests like Marmal-ape, which Dad was soon sampling.  I was sad to see it was marmalade based rather than marmite, and it took about two thirds of a pint before the burnt orangey taste came through.  As we sat away from the bar and observed monkey memorabilia, we wondered why they'd even bother putting Sharp's Doom Bar on as a staple beer in their pubs, before an old man came along and ordered two pints of the stuff!  The pub also gets bonus points for having proper pub snacks like pork pies and scotch eggs instead of main meals.  In fact, an excitable man confidentially  whispered in my ear that spending 60p on a Pickled Egg would line your stomach to such an extent that you can drink exactly as much beer as you possibly want without feeling drunk.  Hmmmm.

Time for a bit of monkey business at the Organ Grinder

704.  Newshouse, Nottingham

With the rather remarkable 'news' that Hull City had won at Nottingham Forest, it was celebration time, and no more fitting place to do it than a building, which in years gone by, used to be where the illiterate would go to have newspaper reports read out to them!  Now, our great host in King Billy had said this pub, close to the station, was improving because half of it was now selling beers from an exciting local brewery.  He wasn't enamoured by Castle Rock ales (I guess it's what Black Sheep is to us in Yorkshire) but Castle Rock was all I could see and it holds enough of a novelty for me to enjoy a pint of Elsie Mo, whilst Dad had a guest.  Speaking of Dad, I hadn't seen him for 15 minutes and it turned out he was having a rare but momentous pub poo, a fact I'm sure he won't mind me sharing in the public domain to add colour and life to my blog.  It gave me chance to observe what a cosy, lounge-like no frills pub this was, splendid in it's own way and very different from most Nottingham pubs, you'd never have guessed you were in the city centre from the calming atmosphere.  

Dad gets ready to celebrate at the Newshouse! 

The journey home went well, despite two train changes and I got 90 mins of shut eye before a friend's birthday reggae night, phew, all in a days work.  Detox time!  Well, until Tuesday night anyway.

Si

Original pub sign from the Falcon Inn

BRAPA - Battle of the Bridge (Hebden v Sowerby)

The West Yorkshire Midweek BRAPA trail is showing no signs of slowing anytime soon as we cracked on with three more valuable ticks on Tuesday night, and as if to signify Autumn is now officially upon us, I was ticking "after dark" for the first time in the 2016 GBG season.

I'd been to Hebden Bridge in June for a third time, but I was off to deepest West Yorks once more as it had a new tick, a pub described someone at work as "real" and one of my top BRAPsters as "cute".  It was time to investigate the truth ......

697.  Fox & Goose, Hebden Bridge

At the bottom of the steep climb to Heptonstall, it was a fair 10-15 mins from the station but worth the trek, and mercifully not too uphill as my legs still hadn't recovered from Saturday's "jaunt".  Now run by the community, a big CAMRA success story, this pub actually featured in the 2015 GBG errrm features so maybe I was a bit silly to ignore the obvious pre-emptive signs.  It was lovely and old, very much the traditional blueprint of what I've come to expect on my midweek travels, with a few little rooms off to the side but a focal bar with a few jolly locals seamlessly chatting with staff, they probably swap roles on a daily basis.  I was immediately engaged in conversation with a grey bearded old man - he smelt a bit funny so we sat across the room from each other and he disapproved of my decision to drink the new red Ossett Ale "Victoria" as he lied to me and claimed he brewed one of the other beers in his own bathtub!  We were soon onto subjects like banks, PPI, scams and this organically evolved into conversations about fish, steampunk and (at my insistence) the weather!  But the pub really did feel like the place where strangers would chat to each other, and other locals came in and out saying "hi" and "bye" as though I was a regular.  The man was more interesting than your average old man drinker, though he didn't bat an eyelid about my BRAPA challenge and had very short term memory loss.  Still, I'd had enough of 'chat' after a long day at work and left hastily!

Arriving at community run favourite, the Fox & Goose

I had time before my train for a swift half in the Old Gate.  On 30th June, I commented I'd like to see this as an indoor venue and it was more to my liking.  The barman was very friendly, perhaps a bit too OTT with the "what style beers do you like", and there was a bit of a dog and baby love in, and a mad moment where a tiny dog tried to attack a huge lumbering one, but this is a good place.

A few minutes on the train back towards Leeds found me in Sowerby Bridge for a third BRAPA trip.  The original plan had been to go to Hebden Bridge's new micro pub Calan's but I made the school boy error of not realising it was closed Mon and Tue so a trip to SB seemed to suddenly make more sense than the remaining Mirfield tick......

698.  Works, Sowerby Bridge

I'm a positive person, and my previous trips to Sowerby have both been first class.  The people, the pub staff, the locals, a very friendly and pretty town.  But I'm not stupid, I knew something less perfect was bound to lie below the surface.  Somewhere where the wankers hang out.  And by jove I think I found it here!  I really despised it, and it sounds harsh now in the cold light of day, I can't quite put my finger on why.  Maybe it was entering the building, cackling women outside or the middle aged woman who turned 180 degrees exorcist-esque to see who I was, and then span her skull back towards the bar.  Or maybe it was the barmaid, who looked at me with twisted contempt and reminded me of an awful woman I used to work with, we'll call her Vicky Bastard just for poetic effect.  Or was it the fact that this was a huge barn of a building, previously a joinery, where the locals (inbred Tim Taylor drinkers) insisted on huddling together blocking the bar, when the amount of empty space on offer was ridiculous.  And if this wasn't enough, a huge sweeping staircase leads to glass door which acts as a "function room" with the claim "a great place to do business over a drink".  And then two dogs were unleashed and the simpletons all gawped as these two out of control hounds ran amok.  At least a young Patrick Kielty thanked me as I put my glass back on the bar (Miss Bastard was chatting to friends), never to return.  What a load of old rubbish!  Yet, I can see why it's in the Guide.  BUT Puzzle Hall every single time for me.

Locals and idiot dog cram the bar at the Works.

Dusk had fallen now over Sowerby Bridge and I was back at the railway station, at another pub I'd seen twice and thought "hmmm, pre-emptive?" but then ignored my instincts.  Now it's GBG listed.

699.  Jubilee Refreshment Rooms, Sowerby Bridge

Ahhh, this was more like it, no inclusivity here.  Simply a bored young bar man desperate for customers to make his evening go quicker.  4 old locals on a circular table in one corner, and one nervous looking couple nearer the bar.  A very basic but pleasing place, not just a pub, a bit like Carnforth station and the Sheffield Tap mixed together.  I saw sweets, cake, and even a quite amazing range of teas that would put my window display at work to shame!  Oh, and they had 3 or 4 beers on so I had the gorgeous fruity Rainbow one from Elland which I enjoyed at Castleford last year.  A big banner proclaimed they were celebrating the building's 175th anniversary.  Take that Fox in Shipley!   Apparently, it took 12 years to get permission to make this a pub - and worth the wait it is if you are ever passing this way.  There was some cooked food but unpretentious looking, a "Turkey Lurker" whatever the 'eck that is - sandwich perhaps?  The place had a great musty pub old building smell too, and after the traumas of the Works, it was nice to see Sowerby Bridge has still got it! 

The basic almost tea room / post office / tourist info style entrance to Jubilee.

So then, almost back to the 700 mark which will happen in Nottingham on Saturday and this time, it won't be a Wetherspoons that used to be a Clydesdale Bank Headquarters, I can almost guarantee you of that!  But the plans for that day keep evolving, so keep your ear to the ground and I'll look forward to giving you a Nottingham report on Sunday. 

As for West Yorkshire, Horbury Bridge is up next - a midweek Heavy Woolen trip next Tuesday?  I think I can combine it with Middlestown and feel I should probably invite Richard and Jason from work as they've been integral to the previous two BRAPA trips out here.  

See you soon, Si