retiredmartin

April 2026. Bingley. West Yorkshire.

A very quick in Steeton in the drizzle, then a hop back on the train to Leeds and home. Very unsatisfactory, there must be a worthwhile stop that isn’t Leeds or Wakefield.

Where to break the trip back ? Keighley deserves a full day out (it probably doesn’t these days), Crossflats has nowt, how about Bingley ?

The Brierley Hill of the North ?

It’s got a pleasing mix of industry and tranquility,

and a teeny bit of art,

but really Bingley is all about micropubs these days.

Nothing new here since COVID, but it’s hard keeping up with Bingley’s constant rebrandings. Off the Tap becomes Platform 1 _^3/4 and then 66 Bar then closes.

Closest GBG entry to the station, Foundry Hill becomes the Peacock,

I don’t rememer it at all, but it’s got 3 of those red pint pots so let’s give it a revisit.

A proper desi pub, run by the folk from the Peacock in Bradford, it has one of the most enticing cask ranges I’ll see all year.

“Choose me one” I say.

“They’re all good“. They are.

“Oh, go on, you pick me one“.

Bless him, he doesn’t ask what style (ugh) of beer I like, he just tells me the ABV of each. My sort of barman.

The Goose Eye Stout from down the road wins by 0.2 ABV, and it’s a chewy 3.5. Mmm.

The downside, it’s high tables.

The upside, it’s jolly and the chat is of one-eyed parking permits and the soundtrack is the Cocteau Twins “Lorelei and “Mirror in the Bathroom” by The Beat. The English Beat.