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Showing posts from April, 2024

The Pub Beneath The Bridge....

I recently paid a visit to a local pub which is to be found in a rather unusual location, which then set me off thinking about other pubs I have visited which are to be found in a similar setting.... The Hop Monkey Music Bar opened a few months ago in Lee Bridge, close to the Dean Clough complex, a short distance from Halifax town centre. I had been meaning to pay a visit ever since last December when this long-standing pub, which had most recently been closed, re-opened its doors, but until last weekend I had not had the opportunity. From the outside it is an unassuming-looking place in itself, but it is situated in a rather unusual location as it nestles beneath a fly-over which carries the busy A629 through this narrow part of the valley. Indeed, the pub is sandwiched in between  the road's supporting pillars and struts, with the traffic thundering by overhead.  The pub, which was re-built in 1904, was originally known as the Olde Shears Inn, and in the pre-flyover days th...

At Home In Accrington....

Despite being only about 30 miles from home, I had never been to Accrington in my life. Until last weekend that is, when the small Lancashire town was the setting for Halifax Town's home game against Barnet with the club's Shay Stadium currently being out of use. So we caught the train over and found some excellent and good value beer in some great places.... There was a bustling and eager throng of Halifax Town supporters when I arrived at the railway station just before 11.30 on a sunny Saturday morning, the air heady with the anticipation of a familiar day out but in different surroundings. The train was a few minutes late coming in, and then it took around 40 minutes from Halifax to Accrington. It was standing room only for most of the way, until Burnley Manchester Road, when some nimble footwork bagged some seats as the passenger mix changed, the Burnley supporters alighting for pre-match pints before their club entertained Brighton at Turf Moor whilst the usual noisy, Bla...

It's All Bright Over Bill's Mother....

A long away trip where the detail of the journey would make a blog in itself, this was a rare visit for me to the Midlands to check out some of the pubs and beers of the country's second city and take in a vital match for both teams involved in the football at Kidderminster.... It was an early start for a Saturday. The alarm went off at 6, then it was a quick shower, get dressed, finish packing the bag, a quick brew and a slice of toast. The taxi arrived just before 7 as, with the local trains on strike, it was a case of heading into Halifax to meet some of the lads and then catch the 7.30 bus to Rochdale. The ride over the hills and the drop down into Greater Manchester was spectacular in the bright early morning sunshine, but due to the the bus's basic suspension and the state of the surface of the roads, it was a relief when the bus pulled into Rochdale's Interchange, and the shakes and rattles stopped. Then it was across the road to the tram terminus where a few minutes...

Squawks, Wetsuits, And The Hat....

Or another Good Friday in Manchester! In which a gang of us take a whistle stop tour around some of the best pubs in the city with some good beer the common factor, including an early contender for best of the year so far, plus a couple of pints from a much-loved brewery who are closing down.... There has been a long tradition in Brighouse of a trip each Good Friday to a nearby city like Leeds, Manchester, York, or Wakefield to enable the participants to take some of the best real ale of some of that city's finest pubs. The original trips began before I moved to the West Yorkshire town, with the participants featuring a core cohort of regulars from the old Red Rooster in nearby Brookfoot, with a number from other parts of West Yorkshire. Over the years, which often incorporated visits to obscure pubs in obscure suburbs of the designated destination. Over the years, the trips became the stuff of legend, and on one occasion an incredible 43 people turned up! Over the years, the Craft...