The Never Ending Pub Crawl: Pontefract,Castleford plus a few in Leeds Crawl 29th July 2015

This was a midweek crawl as it was during my factories shut down week.
It was a decent Wednesday when i set out for Pontefract.
It was a National express up to Leeds and then a train to Pontefract,but i had time for a drink in Leeds before my train.

1: Becketts Bank

A Weterspoons house that is a short walk from the train station,an obvious bank conversion and quite nice inside,there was a decent choice of guest beers on,i opted for a drink of Kirkstall Pale Ale which went down well on my mid Wednesday morning visit.

Pontefract

One of those Yorkshire towns i have always wanted to do.
The station is not quite in the middle of town,but luckily i found my first pub in the town while walking to the centre.

2: The Olde Tavern

A decent roadside pub with a couple rooms inside,there was one real ale on here which was Theakston Black Bull bitter which was a decent drink.
This was a very pleasant and comfortable pub to have a drink in.

After a short walk uphill i was in the town centre and found my next few pubs to do.

3: Golden Ball

A decent looking pub that is opposite the bus station.
There were two rooms inside and decent enough,no real ales on the bar which was a dissapointment , so i had to have a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap which it was.

4: Horse Vaults

A decent looking town pub that is just up from the Golden Ball and opposite the broken Bridge Wetherspoons.
The pub was quite smart inside and despite the outside signage stating cask ales,none were on the bar,i had a drink of Mansfield Smooth which was drinkable.

5: Broken Bridge

A typical looking Weterspoons and larger inside than it looks from outside,i had a drink of Exmoor Gold which was a very nice drink after the last two keg bitters.

It was a short walk to my next pub which is situated in the main shopping area of Pontefract.

6: Windmill Inn

This is a Samuel Smiths tied house with a few separate rooms,there were no real ales on the bar,i had a drink of keg Samuel Smiths Old Brewery bitter which was a decent drink and very cheap at 90p for a half.
The pub was very busy which is no surprise at those prices.

7: Liquorice Bush

This pub is situated on one of Pontefracts two market places.
This pub looked quite smart from the outside and was equally smart inside.
There were a couple of real ales on,i had a drink of Black Sheep bitter which was a decent drink.
This pub seemed quite to be a lot more classy than other pubs in Pontefract.

8: The Elephant

Situated across the market place from the Liquorice Bush,this has a narrow frontage and on a Wednesday market stalls outside.
Once inside the pub is fairly large,but no real ales on here,i had a drink of Tetley Smooth which was a pretty poor drink.
The pub was very busy on my Wednesday dinner visit.

9: Ancient Borough Arms

This pub is just up from the Elephant and also has market stalls outside it.
This pub looked pretty dire from the outside which gives me the urge to go in it.
Four pumps on the bar and all unclipped,so it was a drink of John Smiths Extra Cold crap which was crap.
Another busy pub that also served food.

I took a short walk through Pontefracts second market place and passing other pubs to get to my next pub.

10: Tap & Barrel

This pub has been given the modern battleship grey colour which is not a good thing.
There is a single room inside and a coupe of real ales on the bar,i think the pub is a Greene King tied house,i had a drink of Greene King IPA which was not served in an half as they dont do them here so it was a third of a pint,this was a crap drink and very expensive at £2.11.
The pub was empty while all other pubs in the town were very busy due to it being a market day.

A walk back down the market place to hopefully a better pub.

11: Malt Shovel Hotel

A decent looking pub with a couple of rooms inside,the rear one being quite large and too modern looking for the pub.
No real ales on here so it was a drink of John Smiths Smooth crap.

Just down the market place are two pubs next to each other.

12: Green Dragon

A decent enough looking pub that is joined onto the Ponty Tavern.
This is a decent sized pub and had two real ales on,i had a drink of Hobgoblin which was a decent drink.
The pub was busy on my Wednesday afternoon visit.

13: Ponty Tavern

The pub has a single dog legged shaped room and i was surprised to see one real ale on the bar which was Hobgoblin,this was a decent drink.
Another Pontefract pub that was very busy.

A short walk down from the Ponty Tavern and i was in my next pub.

14: Beastfair Vaults

This is a decent pub inside but sadly no real ales on the bar,so it was a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap which was crap.

I now took a decent walk to my next pub which was on the East side of the town.

15: The Cobbler

This looks like a decent modern built pub.
Once inside the pub was much larger than i thought it would be,with lots of different rooms on different levels.
To my surprise there were no real ales on here,so i had a drink of keg Black Sheep bitter which was a new one on me.

A bit of a walk back towards the train station and i found my next pub.

16: Hope and Anchor

A large Victorian looking pub that was very comfortable inside,there was one real ale on the bar which was Black Sheep bitter,this was a decent drink.
I quite liked this pub.

It was now a walk back to the train station and my last pub in Pontefract.

17: Railway Inn

An estate type looking pub that is not on an estate but close to Pontefract Monkhill station.
The pub has a single room which is fairly smart,no real ales on the bar,i had a drink of John Smiths Extra Cold crap which was a very crap drink.

I decided to do a quick crawl round Castleford before heading back to Leeds for my bus back to Nottingham.
This would be a smash and grab raid of the town doing whatever i found within a shortish walk of the train station.

Castleford

18: The Lamplighters

A typical looking town pub that most people avoid,it is situated on Castlefords main shopping street which looks pretty run down.
The pub has a single room and no real ales,so it was a drink of John Smiths smooth crap which was crap.

I was rushing now in trying to find other pubs to do,i knew i had the pub by the station to end up in.

19: The Glassblower

A Wetherspoons set in an old austere looking building.
To my surprise this was quite a nice Wetherspoons that was smart and had a decent laid back atmosphere.
There was a decent choice of guest beers on,i had a drink of Saltaire South Sea Pale which went down well.
I quite like this Wetherspoons.

20: Picture House

This pub is no picture,it looks very run down from the outside and is pretty much the same inside.
There is a very large room which has seen better days.
No real ales on the bar,i had a drink of John Smiths smooth crap which lived up to its name.
I thought this was a pretty sad pub.

A short walk back up the high street and i found my next pub.

21: The Junction

This pub looked pretty run down from the outside but it did have some nice blue tiling,i was not excepting and real ales here,so it was a surprise to find a decent pub with three real ales on,i had a drink of Stancill Blonde which was a very nice drink.

It was now time to walk back to the train station and do my last pub in Castleford which is right outside it.

22: The Station

This was a very comfortable pub with a couple of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Clarks Traditional which was a very nice drink,this is the sort of pub i could settle in for a few drinks.

I then got on a train to Leeds where i would do a couple more pubs before getting the National Express bus back to Nottingham.
After a short walk i found my next pub.

23: Brooklyn Bar

Probably not a place most drinkers would head for,but it was open so i had to do it.
A single narrow room and no real ales which was no surprise,i had my first ever drink of Budweiser which was tastless,but this was another Leeds pub/bar ticked off.

Just up the road i found my next pub.

24: Black Swan

I think this is a pretty new pub that is housed in an old building,there were three real ales on here,i had a drink of Kirkstall Three Swords which was a decent drink to end my pub crawl on.

This was a great day out visiting two West Yorkshire town i never been to before.
There was not as much real ale as i had hoped for,but when you go in any pub like i do you never know what you will find.

Next crawl will be an old one then Nottinghams closed city centre pubs.

3 comments:

Anonymous19 April 2016 at 13:57
Thanks for posting Alan. Good to read someone who enjoys pubs rather than just fussing about new beers.

I thought you'd have found more real ale than that; I bet 10 years ago when John Smiths was brewed in Tadcaster there would have been their cask on the bar.

How busy were the pubs ?
Alan Winfield20 April 2016 at 09:02
Hi Martin,

Most pubs were very busy in the middle of Pontefract,probably because i chose a mid week market day to do the town,the only one that was empty was the Tap & Barrel and they refused to serve me an half,it had to be a two thirds of a pint,i did argue with them and also said how empty the pub was compared to others in the town.

Your first comment is very true,i love visiting pubs and i do make a list of pubs to do,but i never try and find if it is a real ale pub or not,that is why the Junction in Castleford was a surprise as i was expecting it to be a keg only pub.
I think it is much better not knowing what you are going to get when going into a pub you have never been in before.
I know most Camra members and regulars on Pubs Galore which i contribute to would not agree with me on this,but that is how i have done it for the last 30 odd years.
Anonymous25 April 2016 at 09:10
I've just remembered the Junction, tired is the right word, but it's actually quite a well known real ale pub in the area (beers served from wooden casks I think).

There's a lot to be said for your approach Alan, and I particularly agree that half the appeal is not knowing what or who you're going to get in a pub.

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Pontefract,Castleford plus a few in Leeds Crawl 29th July 2015

3 comments: