Transpennine Real Ale Trail

On 17 January 2023, the second day of the Leeds based trip, our group of 12 CAMRA members planned a day out visiting some of the refreshment room bars and pubs on the Transpennine railway line between Leeds and Manchester. An off peak day return to Stalybridge costs £12.50 with a railcard discount. 

We caught the Transpennine Express train from Leeds at 10.45, arriving Huddersfield 11.05 soon after the 11.00 opening of the Head of Steam which has an entrance near the south end of Platform 1.

We walked through the first room into a front bar and then left into another front bar where the cask ale handpumps are located. When everyone orders individually it takes a while to get served! Recognising that he was dealing with a group of soft Southerners, the barman kindly offered to take sparklers off when pulling beers but I don't think anyone wanted this done.

The Price is Right was showing on the TV. Music included 'House of the Rising Sun'. Tim's beer choice: Magic Rock Brewing - Hat-Trick 'Modern Blonde Bitter' £1.90 half pint.

At the north end of platform 1, accessed from the impressive station forecourt, the King's Head opened at 11.30am and features a large room with a log burning stove and a second room with a fireplace.

Tim's beer choices: Cloudwater - Fuzzy 'Hazy Pale' £2 half pint (photo above) & Bradfield Brewery - Farmers Belgian Blue £1.65 half pint.

We found out too late that both Huddersfield station bars offer a CAMRA discount.

Although many Transpennine Express trains were cancelled this week, our preferred train to take us across the Pennines to Stalybridge was running but busy and we ended up in different coaches in order to find a seat. After the bright sunshine of Leeds and Huddersfield the weather soon changed to cloudy skies and snow covered hillsides. Two of our group failed to alight at Stalybridge and would rejoin us later after returning from Manchester (8 miles to the west)!

Stalybridge Station Buffet Bar was busy so our group was split across several rooms, one of which featured live folk music. There was an open coal fire in the main bar to provide necessary warmth.

The lunch menu was limited but Tim secured one of the few pork pies remaining (£3) to go with his choice of a pint of Rat Brewery - The Snow Rat (£4.10). Others enjoyed mustard with their pies. Music included Status Quo - Pictures of Matchstick Men.

Heading back towards Leeds, our first stop was at Greenfield to visit the Railway Inn, after crossing the platforms by footbridge.

Here we met up again with Mike and Lesley Andrew who had left Stalybridge earlier and reached the pub by bus with less steps to negotiate.

The traditional pub has several rooms and we enjoyed friendly service. There are interesting vintage black and white photos of the local area and games available include table football.

Tim's beer choice: Millstone Brewery - Tiger Rut (£3.60 pint). Music included early Fairport Convention and Shirley Collins.

A delayed Transpennine Express train to Huddersfield made us anxious that we might miss the Northern Rail connection to Dewsbury but there was time and no need to use the subway to reach the bay platform.

However, we needed to use the footbridge at Dewsbury to reach the West Riding Refreshment Rooms on Platform 2.

It was busy inside but we were able to find seats and enjoy the warmth of the coal fire. Tim added a copy of Ullage magazine to the rack for CAMRA magazines. Tim's beer choice: Thornbridge Brewery - Astryd + North Riding Brewery - Citra Pale (£4 for 2 x half pints) with Citra Pale standing out as his favourite beer of the day.

Thanks to Mark Geeson for organising this great day out on the Transpennine Real Ale Trail.

On Thursday, Tim was able to visit another pub on the trail -  The Commercial, Slaithwaite - as part of a group of five who returned to Huddersfield by train. Also accessible by train, we travelled to Slaithwaite by 181 bus which passes Linthwaite and stops near the pub just after crossing the river Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. 

As we arrived, efforts were being made to get the log burner to catch fire and generate some heat in the light main room. The pub was quite busy with local people.

Tim's beer choices: Empire Brewing - Commerci' Ale (£1.40 half pint) & Empire Brewing - Raspberry Blower (£1.65 half pint). Music included Richard Thompson.

Although popular with CAMRA members for years before, the Transpennine Real Ale Trail gained publicity and popularity when Oz Clarke and James May featured some West Yorkshire railway bars they visited on an episode of BBC's Oz and James Drink to Britain in 2009.

Other pubs on the Transpennine Real Ale Trail (west to east) include:

Marsden - Riverhead Brewery Tap

Mirfield - Navigation Tavern

Batley -  Cellar Bar

A Wednesday Walsall wander

On Wednesday 28 November, after crossing northwards under the M6 and passing the derelict Brown Lion pub with the green glazed tiles typical of the former Highgate Brewery, Walsall, our bus from Dudley disgorged us near the war memorial in Bradford Place, Walsall.

The late Victorian, Gothic style building in the background is the Institute of Science and Art, dated 1888, which conceals the Saddlers centre car park behind and now known as Globe House.

St Matthew's Hall

A short walk north east from here, to Lichfield Street, brought the 'Farnham Trubbellers' to St Matthew's Hall, another impressive building that is now a Wetherspoon pub. It was built in 1830-31 as a library, subsequently converted to serve as a county court and more recently has been a pub in different guises since 1998, finally refurbished by JD Wetherspoon in 2011.

My first beer of the day was Sadler's Peaky Blinder pale ale, currently brewed in Stourbridge but due to be brewed at Hawkshead Brewery, Kendal, when Sadler's Brewery closes in 2020.

St Matthew's Hall - Tony Lea with Ullage

Today's expanded group included Tony Lea who orginally hails from this part of the country but now lives in Hampshire.With an interest in historic buildings, Tony had prepared a tour of Walsall pubs including some with interiors noted in CAMRA's national inventory. Disconcertingly, St Matthew's Hall seems smaller on the inside than suggested by its exterior but we were still able to find tables in a side room.

Market Tavern, High Street, Walsall

The Black Country Arms

A walk via Goodall Street, brought us to the Black Country Arms on the sloping paved street that leads up to St Matthew's church and diagonally opposite the derelict Market Tavern and Highgate Brewery Stores.

The Black Country Arms has an interesting history dating back to 1627 and revived after Black Country Ales took over in 2008. With an entrance at the lower level, there are further steps inside up to the bar level in the top section which has a bay front.

Black Country Arms [Photo: Mark Geeson]

A long line of handpumps stretches the length of the bar.

Details of the beers and ciders available (1-10 and 11-20) are conveniently displayed on a central screen behind the bar. I ordered Black Country Ales BFG (Bradley's Finest Golden! £3.25) and a pork pie (£1.50).

Our group split up to find free tables at different levels of the large pub. It was a pleasure for me to sit with (left to right in photo above) Mark Geeson, Tony Lea, David 'Tankard' Bunyan and Gerald Daniels (Crookham Travel). These people all know how to organise tours for beer lovers!

It seems that no expense has been spared on the refurbishment of the pub and quality materials are evident as in the nearby fireplace with a real coal fire burning.

Lyndon House Hotel

A short walk up the hill and left into Upper Rushall Street led us to the creeper covered Lyndon House Hotel at 2.35pm.

Seven cask ales were available including beers from Batham's, Holden's and Burton Bridge breweries. I enjoyed  a half pint of Holden's Golden Glow (£1.55).

Decorative features in the cosy interior included a display of copper vessels.

We had now visited three of the pubs on Tony's list and we would visit three more before heading north to Bloxwich later.

The Victoria

Continuing, northwards from the Lyndon House Hotel, we reached the Victoria on Lower Rushall Street at 3.30pm. The side entrance is from Intown Row.

The central bar has separate counters for the front and back bars. While waiting to be served there was time to look at the bottle collection on a high shelf behind the bar and to check details of the beers on a blackboard to the left of the bar, on the chimney breast, above a real log fire.

The beer that caught my eye was AJ's Ales Hop Pot not least because this local Walsall beer was only £2 pint!

Unsurprisingly, this was a popular choice and well liked by all including me! Tony Lea commented on Untappd 'An amazing long bitter finish'.

The Fountain Inn

It was dark by the time we reached the Fountain Inn on Lower Forster Street.

The Fountain Inn acts as the tap house for the nearby Backyard Brewhouse. The central bar serves counters on both sides.

My choice here was a half pint of Backyard's The Hoard, CAMRA's West Midlands Champion Bitter of the Year 2017.

Our group had made themselves at home in the bar to the left of the entrance. Some of the artwork on display is for sale.

There is also space for a display of items for sale and I was tempted to purchase a pair of kitsch pottery figures holding musical instruments.

Dear reader, ukulele boy and lyre harp girl would reach my Newbury home safely after this trip!

I liked this pub a lot and was impressed by the range of events they host and publicise with posters.

The Pretty Bricks

From here it was a 15 minute walk, north west, past Walsall College to reach the New Inn, better known as the Pretty Bricks.

The Black Country Ales pub has a traditional interior.The CAMRA Historic pub interiors mentions 'The entrance on the left leads to a passage; front bar on the right; the passage opens out into a small rear lobby, then a rear lounge with a new fireplace.'

Our group sat in the front bar which has a fireplace and a blackboard listing the draught ales and ciders.

I enjoyed a half pint of Sadler's Hop Bomb, a 4.6% ABV West Coast pale ale.

There are some historic photos on the wall and a framed notice explains that Peter Linley launched the North Midland branch of CAMRA at the Pretty Bricks in 1972. As other local branches were formed, it would become the smaller Walsall branch. The two photographs are from 1973 when Peter Linley got protest posters made by students at Walsall Technical College where he was Vice Principal.

A separate blog post describes my subsequent visit to The Bloxwich Showman and rejoining the group at the Turf Tavern, Bloxwich later on this evening.