23rd January 2020
Getting dark now. You have to be careful of Duncan when it gets dark.
I dropped him off at Hullaballoo in Shipley and drove round the block while he asked if they had any Dire Straits themed beers, then set off for The Tricky One.
Wadsworth’s Hare & Hounds didn’t open till 6, and was frankly in the middle of nowhere. To make matters worse, Duncan stopped in Hebden Bridge and nipped in the Vocation Brewery Tap.
And came out with Quosh and Jim, who at least had the courtesy to be a City fan.
I was delighted with the company, it gave Duncan some backing vocals on “Why Worry“, but my little 1.0 litre Aygo looked rather worried as it saw the contour and 1 in 5 roads leading out of Hebden.
Incidentally, where is Wadsworth (don’t say Devizes)? I see only Chiserley.
Same bit of map, aerial view;
Oooh, there it is, a mile below the Hare & Hounds.
Reader, I haven’t been so nervous since the Mugabe incident, I didn’t think we’d make it. I’d have walked from Hebden, even with the aggressive sheep and the dark.
But it made it. Whether it makes me home from Wolves tomorrow is an interesting question.
Hilariously, the pub then appeared to be shut. No signs of life, no light at 6pm. Duncan would have got in through the kitchen window and poured himself a half if the patio hadn’t burst into light at that moment.
It’s a corker.
From the local charity boxes to the simple seating to the world-beating crisps display to the shining Tim Taylors handpumps.
We bombarded the amiable barman with questions,he joined us in a rendition of Telegraph Road, and we wondered how the Hare & Hounds had avoided the GBG for so long.
Anaesthetised with Golden Best and Landlord Dark, they strapped themselves in for the descent into Sowerby…
FOOTNOTE : In the lovely Queen’s Head in Stourbridge tonight a chap from Walthamstow started reminiscing about this very pub, after a question about Vocation Brewery led inevitably to Hebden. He was thrilled to hear the pub was in such great shape, better than the Flower Pot in his own town, anyway.
retiredmartin 
I wonder if the next step is to rebrand Mild as Golden Dark?
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Or Golden Dwak and get the Belgians to brew it.
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No, Golden Dark would be misleading.
It would have to be Dark Dark.
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Dark Dark Dark to signify the satanic features.
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Has anyone named a beer ‘Satanic Mill’ yet ?
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A full rack of Tim Taylor’s. Only in the north. Fantastic.
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It is a lovely sight.
Shame there’s not a flagship TT house in Keighley itself.
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The (nee) Ram Tam was absolutely superb. The faith you have in that Aygo is touching if misplaced. We would have pushed it there if necessary – there was no way we were going to miss that pub.
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The Hare & Hounds doesn’t seem much changed, since my last visit 43 years ago! Borrowing the Student Union mini-bus, and bribing the driver not to drink, resulted in two excellent evenings at the pub.
At the time, the Hare & Hounds was one of the few TT’s pubs to stock Landlord on draught. How things have changed!
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Hard to avoid Landlord these days in a certain sort of pub. Not always a good thing.
Duncan said he hadn’t since he started visiting Beer Guide pubs in the 80s, so I can only think it was a famous pub at one stage in the 70s that got a bit overlooked.
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T’other Paul,
My recollection of 43 years is that there was no requirement for the driver not to drink.
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Probably not Stafford Paul, but as passengers we still wanted to get back safely.
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Yes, but some people’s ideas of safety back then were…cultural, maybe?
Incidentally, here’s one for you Paul:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/brexit-party-pub-eu-university-3796991
Could get lively here and there at closing time maybe? 😂
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Why do I get so upset when folk write “Weatherspoons”?
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Look at who wrote it 😉
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PS Do they spell it “Wutherspoons” in Haworth?
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