An attempt to do the Yorkshire 3 peaks over a weekend saw me use Settle as my first nights base.
A pretty little Market Town, set in some glorious countryside. 2 Good Beer Guide ticks available but that's not quite enough for a man with a thirst. Fortunately, others are available to make up a pub crawl (minimum of three required, them's the crawl rules).
I start the evening at a Micro Pub - Bar 13.
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| Starting in day-light |
The more I travel around the country, the more I am spotting the differences in the MO of micro pubs. In the Midlands, they distinguish themselves in the market by offering drinks that you cannot get in the mainstream pubs. Kidderminster has 3 micros and on my last crawl I went from a Deya Steady Rolling Man to a keg Schlenkerla Rauchbier to a bottle of St Bernardus 12 ABT.
In Yorkshire, the Micros stock nothing unusual and really are just small pubs. A full review of cask and keg and then the fridges (where a nod to Belgium is in the shape of Leffe) before settling on cask Moorhouses Witches Cauldren. Perfect condition, but I could have killed for a juice bomb West Coast IPA.
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| View from the far end of a Micro |
Next door is the Golden Lion, the first of the Good Beer Guide Ticks.
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| The Golden Lion, by Night |
This is my second visit to this 1670 Coaching Inn and with an identical order placed, I have probably identified my death row meal.
Thwaites Original in superlative condition, washing down a suet pudding, filled with steak, vegetables and more Thwaites Original. Accompanied by thick cut chips and an individual jug of gravy.
I need to keep my strength up for tomorrow's mountain assault.
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| Taking my coat for dinner. 2 minutes later, I could have brought you the Suet Pudding |
A smart brightly lit hotel bar, setup for dining may not be everyone's cup of tea but there's no doubting the quality of their fayre.
For a drinking den, I'd have to recommend the next Good Beer Guide recommendation - The Talbot Arms. A free house claiming to be the oldest pub in Settle. Packed solid, with a queue of potential diners hovering for a table, I had to make my home at the bar, of sufficient length to avoid bar-blocker accusations.
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| Talbot Arms |
Bar blockers may be a pain in the arse but its the best place for blogging material. A first time granddad, toasting his new family member by ordering two pints, drinking them both in more or less one gulp and then leaving to pick up a curry. Then, I was treated to a running commentary by the staff who were watching a drunk in the beer garden on the CCTV monitor overhead. "He's going, he's going, he's gone" laugh the workers, as the star of the small screen eventually fell over.
You don't get this entertainment sat at the back of Micro pubs.
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| Started with a Settle, moved on to a Pennine Brewery Pacific. Both excellent |
Third high quality beer location and a tempting list of "coming on soon" clips, that would definitely make this place my local.
Finally, before heading back to my Gigglewick digs, I popped into the Royal Oak - the party place in town.
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| Loud Music, Disco Lights, I'm going in |
Only one person could save me from the twin evils of karaoke and halloween decorations.
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| The Landlord |
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