Real Ale, Real Music

After a gap of at least 40 years, a re-visit to a pub on the hills, which set me off thinking. Here's the results.... Last Sunday, a family lunch was convened at the Crossroads Inn at Wainstalls, high on the hills beyond Halifax. It is a sturdy, solid-looking pub and needs to be to keep out the weather that comes in from each and every direction in this lofty location. It was the first time I had been there for well over 40 years, back when a former schoolmate who had discovered real ale in his first term at Loughborough University was keen to try every pub in the Halifax and Calderdale area when he got back home, and dragged a few of us along the way. Not quite up there with those intrepid travellers* who roam the country with a military precision in their quest to visit every CAMRA pub there is, but it was a local equivalent, and did set me off on the journey of appreciating the rich heritage and incredible variety that there is out there! Back then, the Crossroads was a Webs...

A return to some local favourites and a new Champion Beer of Britain is announced.... Last weekend I was mainly in and around Brighouse which gave me the chance to visit one or two of the fine hostelries in the town that I've not been in as much recently. First up was the Beck on Bradford Road, where the pub was packed with a crowd split between watching local rockabilly band, Folsom 3, and Leeds United's first match of the season. No problem, I bought a pint of Nook Blond and wandered out into the beer garden where I enjoyed my pint and a natter with some friends in the warm sunshine. Someone recommended the Salamander they were drinking, and so when it was time for my next pint, I decided to give it a go. It was the first time I had a beer from this well-established brewery from Bradford in quite some time, and I have to say, it was most enjoyable even though I can't remember the name! Salamander have been brewing since 2000 and back in those days, when they operated out...

After a few weeks of travelling up and down the country, it's back to the local scene taking in a walk on the Pennine hills.... Last Saturday, I went on a long-planned Saturday walk with a group of my walking friends. Fortunately, after some very hot weather during the week, there had some welcome early morning rain, so that the temperature dropped to a much more comfortable level, and indeed, when our group of 12 humans and 2 dogs set off from Hebden Bridge, there was a pleasant breeze which made it ideal conditions for walking. And if you are walking in this area, unless you are going along the canal bank, you have no option other than going up one of the many steep hillside paths that leave Hebden and the narrow wooded valleys that meet at this increasingly-visited town. We set off up the side of the valley just at the edge of the town on the Todmorden side, with the beautiful and historic village of Heptonstall way above us on the hilltop. It was a steep pull - of course - u...