Trans-Pennine Real Ale Trail
I did the famous Trans-Pennine Real Ale crawl on Friday, travelling from Manchester to Leeds. I thought that this would be the most appropriate forum to post a review. I have added comments against each individual pub I visited on Pubs Galore but I thought I’d add some practical advice.
Old Boots has already set up a version of the crawl on PG http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/crawl/vi....php?crawl=439
and there are similar versions described elsewhere on the internet:
Chester and South Clwyd CAMRA website message board http://csccamra.mesb.co.uk/phpBB3/vi...c.php?f=4&t=61
or
The official site http://www.realaletrail.net/
From Manchester Piccadilly we caught the train to Huddersfield stopping at:
Stalybridge – Station Buffet Bar
Greenfield – The Railway Inn
Cross the border between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire
Marsden – The Riverhead Brewery Tap and Dining Room
Slaithwaite (pronounced Slaw-it) – The Commercial (The Swan in Slaithwaite is the GBG entry, run by the same people but The Commercial has longer opening hours and has recently been overhauled)
Huddersfield – The Head of Steam (although Huddersfield has two pubs in the station – the other one being the King’s Head – and a good choice of other real ale pubs locally such as the Sportsman, the Grove and the Rat & Ratchet)
From Huddersfield we caught the train to Leeds, stopping at:
Mirfield – The Navigation
Dewsbury – West Riding
Batley – Cellar Bar
Leeds – to the Travelodge via the Scarborough Hotel, The Brewery Tap and Whitelocks (good back alley real ale pub)
Logistics:
In order to hop on and off the train, a Greater Manchester off-peak Rail Ranger Ticket (for use after 9.30 am) costs 4 per adult (see gmpte.com).
A West Yorkshire off-peak Day Rover costs 5.30 per adult or two adults can use a family one for 8.80, without any requirement to be accompanied by any children (see wymetro.com).
Timetable details are on the National Rail Enquiries website. Our first journey used TransPennine Express trains but from then on we used the basic but functional Northern Rail Service.
We were lucky enough to be able to purchase the Day Rovers for the second part of our journey in advance of the day of travel.
My individual pub reviews became more vague and brief the further along the crawl we went, due in part to starting at a sprint in the excellent Station Buffet Bar in Stalybridge and also to my cold sapping my energy.
If you think that the whole crawl would be too much to do, I would recommend (for time and quality) visiting at least the 3 bars on station platforms at Stalybridge, Huddersfield and Dewsbury, although none of the pubs we visited were more than a few minutes walk from the station.
Worth the trip – from wherever you start
After seeing the TV programme about the Pennine real ale trail – and then reading the reviews (including this one), which was very helpful, my wife and I, along with a couple of friends (husband and wife) who like us are life-long lovers of good beer, decided to make the pilgrimage from Plumstead/Welling, South East London (It’s much easier if you live locally and can visit each pub, as and when, at your leisure – not the case for us Southerners). We opted for the idea of lodging in Leeds, travelling on the fast train to the furthest stop we wished to visit (Stalybridge) and working our way back on the slow train, taking in each station and its recommended pub.
Because we all still work, we chose to take a half-day’s holiday, travel from London to Leeds on Friday afternoon, fit the beer run in on Saturday and back home on Sunday, ready for work Monday.
The most economic way to do this was on National Express coaches from London Victoria. By booking well in advance I got four returns, leaving at 3.00 pm on Friday and returning at 2.00 pm Sunday for £45 (the journey time is roughly four and a half hours – if you take a snack and something to read, it’s fine). This included £1 each for insurance (optional) and £1 card handling fee.
Next on the list was to find somewhere economical to stay. There are a few B&Bs within a couple of miles of the city centre (£5 cab ride) offering low cost, no frills accommodation. We chose the Crescent Hotel in Dewsbury Road. Yes, the rooms were small and basic. However, the beds were very comfortable, there was a tv and tea/coffee making facilities. The rooms were en suite with a modern and efficient shower, wash basin and toilet. In the morning we had a freshly cooked English breakfast with as much piping hot strong tea and toast as we wanted, all served by a very nice gentleman who I think was the owner.
Arriving in the evening, we didn’t want to go back into town. Luckily there is a pub – The Broadway – not too far down the road (out of the door, cross the road and turn right) which is a lively and friendly Friday night venue. Apparently they do nice food, but their kitchen was closed by the time we got there (I think it shuts at 9.00). Not too big a problem as there was a Chinese take away on the way back.
In the morning, after breakfast, we headed off to Leeds station to catch the 9.40 to Stalybridge, which takes about 40 minutes. (£12.20 return and as long as you don’t lose your tickets, you can break your journey as many times as you want).
Although they can’t serve beer until 11.00 (you can get tea/coffe/snacks), it’s worth getting there early because there are lots of things to see in the bar and you are there before the crowds arrive. We bought postcards (you need your own stamps) and took a walk down the road to post them, getting back just as Sylvia (the landlady) was pouring our first pints – lovely. Now I said that we were two couples and that our wives – very fortunately – like good ale. I’d like to point out at this stage that they are ladies from the old sense, ie they prefer to drink halves to our pints (not wishing to be ladettes and keep up with two 6’3”+ blokes). In order to sample as many ales as possible (apparently there are over 30 in the seven pubs that we managed to visit) we agreed to have a different beer each and swap around.
Apart from the fact that it would take far too long to try and describe all the beers that we tasted, it should be a personal thing. However, I must say that every one of them was served in excellent condition and there wasn’t one that we didn’t enjoy!
The stopping trains run once an hour and so after two rounds, at 11.50 we started our return journey, first stop Mossley and the Britannia, run by Phil and Alison. Another warm welcome, especially from Alison (a very interesting lady) who serves good food (lots of it local), so we passed up the next train and stayed to have lunch.
We then stuck to the one hour stop for next three stations – Greenfield, The Railway (where, although we had not long had lunch, we had to sample their famous pork pies served with proper English mustard. I bought the last one they had, much to the annoyance of the locals, and divided it into four to share. It was delicious and recommended!) – Marsden, The Riverhead – and Slaithwaite, The Commercial. When you reach Huddersfield the trains run much more frequently and as the bars both there and at Dewsbury are on the platform (and the fact that we were quite jolly by then) we had no strict schedule, but did return to Leeds around 8.30 and found a very nice Italian restaurant (Café Italia, 7-8 Mill Hill, Leeds, LS1 5DQ) then cab home. In the words of Lou Read ‘a perfect day’. The next morning, after another excellent breakfast, we took a stroll into Leeds to have a look around the shops and a lovely little market very near to the coach station.
We finished off by visiting a pub, highly rated by a local bobby (The Ship – Ship Yard, Leeds LS1 6LL) in the city centre for a lunchtime refresher before catching our 2.00 pm coach. In our words ‘a damn good weekend’.
There are more stations, pubs and route plans to take note of when doing this trip (especially if you have the time to visit for a longer period). You can find out about them by reading other reviews and checking out the Transpennine Real Ale Trail website, but we were really pleased with our version and hope that this review is of help to you.
Cheers!!
The Liquids