Leeds
A Leeds Trip
08/08/24 23:37
I was off work this week and had a few days to get and about so on Wednesday I got myself on a train to Leeds. It’s only about 90 minutes from Liverpool (on the Newcastle train) and the train is every hour or so.
Went to Leeds over a year ago, but it felt like not long ago at all when I was first considering where to go. Time races faster than the fastest of things when you get older. Didn’t make any specific plan for the day—after all it felt like I’d gone there a week or two ago so there was no need to. I just got off the train and headed straight to the same ones (largely) as last time. Nothing’s changed much really though they do have the worlds longest and most messy road (and pavement) works still ongoing. Maybe they’ve become a visitor feature to visit, but they make getting around a bit messy and convoluted. It must be embarrassing to someone (surely) how awful these are straight from the train station and beyond (much worse than the Liverpool/Lime Street ones were and they were bad; and that is saying something (and there was Covid to blame or use as an excuse back then).
First up was the Head of Steam on Mill Lane, that would probably be the nearest to the station if it wasn’t for all the road works and pavement closures. Actually walked past three pubs I would soon been going to. But to be fair the order doesn’t matter much as they are so bloody close together and you’d end up doubling back past them in any case. It’s a small HoS compared to the Liverpool one, with a central bar. There were four or five ales on and I went for an Abbeydale ‘Splendour’ which was gorgeous for my first drop.
A few doors down, after negotiating the broken up pavements and workers coming in and out of the building getting refitted, is the beautiful ‘Scarborough Hotel’ all tiles and wood. It is a Nicholson’s pub, so you know what to expect.
Walking back on myself past the HoS it was up to the top of Mill Lane to go to the Pivovar pub, the Banker’s Cat. They had Jaipur on, but in rare event mode I didn’t go for it—well not exactly, I went for a DDH Jaipur. Same abv different drink (ish).
Across the road is Tapped, a boss large single room pub which serves a range of top ales, including a fair few brewed in-house. I went for a Tapped ‘Jericho’ (cask). Had a nice chat to a couple of people who worked there before heading on to the next place (which they recommended).
Next was back on to the road I first walked down out of the railway station (New Station Street (should be renamed ‘Barely Accessible Obstacle Street). It turned out that the Friends of Ham is largely a keg pub (over ten lines I think) and there was just one cask on (a Kirkstall). I went for a keg beer (!) as I get enough Kirkstall in Liverpool to be fair. That said the keg I chose was nowt to write home about—so I wont write it here either. Nice place though. Will be even nicer when the pavements are open. I will go back. And I do like ham too.
At this point all five of the pubs I’d been to were within around 300 metres or so from the station. Not a bad crawl without getting your steps in. So next up was all of another 300 metres north of the station. A crazy long walk. Not. I headed on up to the Turk’s Head and Whitelocks hidden on a strangely ancient alleyway behind the modern shopping area. If you don’t know it’s there you would never find it. It’s like a Diagon Alley for real ale drinkers.
Similar hidden alleys of the same street (Briggate) also hid my next two pubs which were the Angel(a Sam Smith’s pub) and the Ship Inn. And that was it. May afternoon in Leeds was done.
Favourite stomach lining: Shiraz Full English in Liverpool
Left and arrived on time.
The pubs I got to (in order) were:
Head of Steam (Mill Lane)
Scarborough Hotel
Bankers Cat
Tapped
Friends of Ham
Turk’s Head
Whitelocks
Angel
Ship Inn
And impressively the train was on time both going and returned me to Liverpool. Who knew that timetables were just fiction or aspirational? Happy days.
Went to Leeds over a year ago, but it felt like not long ago at all when I was first considering where to go. Time races faster than the fastest of things when you get older. Didn’t make any specific plan for the day—after all it felt like I’d gone there a week or two ago so there was no need to. I just got off the train and headed straight to the same ones (largely) as last time. Nothing’s changed much really though they do have the worlds longest and most messy road (and pavement) works still ongoing. Maybe they’ve become a visitor feature to visit, but they make getting around a bit messy and convoluted. It must be embarrassing to someone (surely) how awful these are straight from the train station and beyond (much worse than the Liverpool/Lime Street ones were and they were bad; and that is saying something (and there was Covid to blame or use as an excuse back then).
First up was the Head of Steam on Mill Lane, that would probably be the nearest to the station if it wasn’t for all the road works and pavement closures. Actually walked past three pubs I would soon been going to. But to be fair the order doesn’t matter much as they are so bloody close together and you’d end up doubling back past them in any case. It’s a small HoS compared to the Liverpool one, with a central bar. There were four or five ales on and I went for an Abbeydale ‘Splendour’ which was gorgeous for my first drop.
A few doors down, after negotiating the broken up pavements and workers coming in and out of the building getting refitted, is the beautiful ‘Scarborough Hotel’ all tiles and wood. It is a Nicholson’s pub, so you know what to expect.
Walking back on myself past the HoS it was up to the top of Mill Lane to go to the Pivovar pub, the Banker’s Cat. They had Jaipur on, but in rare event mode I didn’t go for it—well not exactly, I went for a DDH Jaipur. Same abv different drink (ish).
Across the road is Tapped, a boss large single room pub which serves a range of top ales, including a fair few brewed in-house. I went for a Tapped ‘Jericho’ (cask). Had a nice chat to a couple of people who worked there before heading on to the next place (which they recommended).
Next was back on to the road I first walked down out of the railway station (New Station Street (should be renamed ‘Barely Accessible Obstacle Street). It turned out that the Friends of Ham is largely a keg pub (over ten lines I think) and there was just one cask on (a Kirkstall). I went for a keg beer (!) as I get enough Kirkstall in Liverpool to be fair. That said the keg I chose was nowt to write home about—so I wont write it here either. Nice place though. Will be even nicer when the pavements are open. I will go back. And I do like ham too.
At this point all five of the pubs I’d been to were within around 300 metres or so from the station. Not a bad crawl without getting your steps in. So next up was all of another 300 metres north of the station. A crazy long walk. Not. I headed on up to the Turk’s Head and Whitelocks hidden on a strangely ancient alleyway behind the modern shopping area. If you don’t know it’s there you would never find it. It’s like a Diagon Alley for real ale drinkers.
Similar hidden alleys of the same street (Briggate) also hid my next two pubs which were the Angel(a Sam Smith’s pub) and the Ship Inn. And that was it. May afternoon in Leeds was done.
Favourite stomach lining: Shiraz Full English in Liverpool
Left and arrived on time.
The pubs I got to (in order) were:
Head of Steam (Mill Lane)
Scarborough Hotel
Bankers Cat
Tapped
Friends of Ham
Turk’s Head
Whitelocks
Angel
Ship Inn
And impressively the train was on time both going and returned me to Liverpool. Who knew that timetables were just fiction or aspirational? Happy days.
A Couple of Decent Trips
30/05/23 11:53
Taking a few days off work. Been very lucky with the weather for it too. Not got any particular plans for the week. It'll no doubt involve reading and writing. Some guitar strumming (maybe even write a song - we'll see) Maybe some garden stuff. Oh, and some beer goodness. To that end I've had two lovely day trips this weekend letting the train take the strain: on Saturday I went to - the always excellent - Shrewsbury, and on Monday I went to an under visited (for me) Leeds. Sat in the sun a couple of times but mostly took to the shade or the indoors. A suntan will come without me working on it.
Shrewsbury
It's a small and beautiful city with lots of old building charm. And being Shropshire there is plenty of decent local beers about too. Ended up visiting:
Yeah, I had a very good day out, didn't I!?
Leeds
On Monday I decided from the many options I was considering to go to Leeds. It's not a place I've been to for beers for many years. It was good to get out there again. And the time on the train (for those without changes) is pretty good from Liverpool. That is, if Bank Holiday cancellations don't hit. And yup, they did. My original train got cancelled. The second too. So I didn't get into Leeds until about 12:30. My return train was the 7pm as the later trains got me back quite late - and there was the fear of later cancellations too. In all then there was just about 6 hours or so to get around some decent (or not) hostelries. It was plenty of time to be fir though. The area I was covering was all very central and close to the train station.
First up was the Head of Steam, which is right next to the station. Started with an Ilkley Pale. I mean a light abv is crucial if you are out for a few hours, innit? Of course this became scuppered with my second pub: the Bankers Cat, just a hundred yards or so up Mill Hill. It's a Thornbridge pub, so Jaipur arrived next then. Predictable,
Just across the road from the Bankers is Tapped. Had a lovely pint of Full Circle 'repeater' there, whilst sat out in the sun. Found out from the barman that the next stout due on ask was to be Neptune Abyss. Nice to hear.
Next up I was sat outside again, but very much in the shade of the alley which hides the Turk's Head/Whitelocks. Sat outside both places (hey it's one and two pubs at the same time). Felt like I was in a Borgen reboot as I sat in-between two tables of Norwegians. Then it was time for another alley hidden pub, the Sam Smiths 'Angel.' Again it was a really short walk to it. Got chatted to a nice local and we went for another pint in the next alley along where the Ship was hiding.
It seems I wouldn't be getting 10,000 steps in. The next place a lot more modern; and less hidden. It was the North Bar, just up the road. Then it was time to head towards the station so I headed for the Brewery Tap just around the corner from the Head of Steam.
Of course it was bound to be painful getting back. It was a Bank Holiday after all. Needless to say illness amongst the rail company staff was very high so more than half the trains were cancelled. Still, I made it home eventually after having had a very good day in Leeds. Won't be as long until I get theee again.
In the end the pubs were:
A little less extensive than the Shrewsbury trip then.
Shrewsbury
It's a small and beautiful city with lots of old building charm. And being Shropshire there is plenty of decent local beers about too. Ended up visiting:
- Yorkshire House
- Loggerheads
- Cromwells
- Henry Tudor House
- Nags Head
- House of Grain
- Hop & Friar
- Admiral Benbow
- Coach & Horses
- Wheatsheaf
- Three Fishes
- Tap & Can
Yeah, I had a very good day out, didn't I!?
Leeds
On Monday I decided from the many options I was considering to go to Leeds. It's not a place I've been to for beers for many years. It was good to get out there again. And the time on the train (for those without changes) is pretty good from Liverpool. That is, if Bank Holiday cancellations don't hit. And yup, they did. My original train got cancelled. The second too. So I didn't get into Leeds until about 12:30. My return train was the 7pm as the later trains got me back quite late - and there was the fear of later cancellations too. In all then there was just about 6 hours or so to get around some decent (or not) hostelries. It was plenty of time to be fir though. The area I was covering was all very central and close to the train station.
First up was the Head of Steam, which is right next to the station. Started with an Ilkley Pale. I mean a light abv is crucial if you are out for a few hours, innit? Of course this became scuppered with my second pub: the Bankers Cat, just a hundred yards or so up Mill Hill. It's a Thornbridge pub, so Jaipur arrived next then. Predictable,
Just across the road from the Bankers is Tapped. Had a lovely pint of Full Circle 'repeater' there, whilst sat out in the sun. Found out from the barman that the next stout due on ask was to be Neptune Abyss. Nice to hear.
Next up I was sat outside again, but very much in the shade of the alley which hides the Turk's Head/Whitelocks. Sat outside both places (hey it's one and two pubs at the same time). Felt like I was in a Borgen reboot as I sat in-between two tables of Norwegians. Then it was time for another alley hidden pub, the Sam Smiths 'Angel.' Again it was a really short walk to it. Got chatted to a nice local and we went for another pint in the next alley along where the Ship was hiding.
It seems I wouldn't be getting 10,000 steps in. The next place a lot more modern; and less hidden. It was the North Bar, just up the road. Then it was time to head towards the station so I headed for the Brewery Tap just around the corner from the Head of Steam.
Of course it was bound to be painful getting back. It was a Bank Holiday after all. Needless to say illness amongst the rail company staff was very high so more than half the trains were cancelled. Still, I made it home eventually after having had a very good day in Leeds. Won't be as long until I get theee again.
In the end the pubs were:
- Head of Steam (Mill Hill)
- Banksers Cat
- Tapped
- Turk's Head/Whitelocks
- Angel
- Swan
- North Bar
- Brewery Tap
A little less extensive than the Shrewsbury trip then.