I was away last week, visiting one of my favourite parts of the country. And whilst there, I had a day out exploring a couple of attractive small towns and discovered a number of excellent pubs in both.... "Edrychwch arno. Dwed e. Didoli." * I was travelling on a Transport for Wales train between Shrewsbury and Leominster and yet another dual-language train announcement was playing over the tannoy. I'd become somewhat acclimatised to these having travelled down from Manchester to Shrewsbury the previous day, also on a TfW train. And so there would be a lilting gentleman's accent announcing in Welsh that this train was bound for Caerdydd Canolog and would be calling at such stations as Llwydlo and Y Fenny , which would be then be repeated in English by a voice that sounded very much like Nessa from Gavin & Stacey , and although I have been unable to confirm that this was definitely the case, I am sure my ears were hearing correctly! We were passing through ...
With a football-free Saturday and no time for a longer trip, I took the opportunity to re-visit a couple of nearby railway station bars along with a classic town centre pub.... The West Riding Refreshment Rooms at Dewsbury railway station are something of an institution. Since 1994 this Grade II-listed part ivy-clad former railway building has been delighting travellers and locals alike with its real ale, food, and welcoming atmosphere. It was opened by Mike Field, one of the original 'Gang of Four' behind the former West Riding Brewery, and who subsequently set up the Anglo Dutch Brewery based in Dewsbury with Dutchman Paul Klos in 2000. The West Riding aimed to restore the former station buffet bar to its former glory, with some of the inspiration coming from one of the country's few remaining examples based further down the trans-Pennine line at Stalybridge. The building was sympathetically restored, with real ale front and centre in the offering, and the place still re...