THE CASK CAMINO DAY 2 – ABBEY TO ABBEY

June 2026. Leeds to Newlay (er, Leeds).

I bet you thought the Cask Camino had stalled at the first hurdle lock, didn’t you ?

Never underestimate Mrs RM’s tenacity and desire for blog views; Saturday saw us parked up at Apperley Bridge station (free !), 3 minutes before the train to Kirkstall Forge from which we’d walk the canal. I nearly bought the ticket the wrong way round, running to the platform (in inappropriate footwear).

We should have had a coffee at shiny Kirkstall Forge’s cafe,

as something about the canal had us dreaming of a loo stop 10 minutes later.

And a can of cider enjoyed on a swing bridge appealed greatly.

At the risk of writing like I care, you really do see life differently along the canal, mainly the rear of joggers flying past you, out of breath.

There’s a lot of words on the signs;

my only adventure in a canal boat in 1987 ended in near disaster in Stretham, as all things must.

The copious signs are so old they predate the rail station, but they do at least mark the pubs,

and although it’s barely 20 minutes into our trek I judge a stop at the Abbey at Newlay a necessity.

My best readers will remember this as the unsung GBG perennial that provided my coveted Pint of the Year late in 2025, and a Theakston/Roosters mash-up (where’s it actually brewed ? Half-way ?) sounds ideal.

Sadly, I’m driving so I get the lovely Americano with a biscuit; (“with a biscuit !” says the young lady), and Mrs RM gets the pics of a quality canalside pub that you might very well stay in all afternoon.

Particularly with a Voice of the Beehive soundtrack.

Steady trade, mainly actual, rather than pretend, walkers.

A great pub.

But a camino is a camino, not a pub crawl.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

18 thoughts on “THE CASK CAMINO DAY 2 – ABBEY TO ABBEY”

      1. Mrs B has a theory that Hadrian’s Wall isn’t actually there. We’ve had a few trips to the general area and never seen hide nor hair of the thing. Not even signs indicating its existence.

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      4. If I’m in the Twice Brewed Inn tomorrow I shall have a look if there’s on old wall nearby.
        There’s only a bit of a wall at Wall near Lichfield.

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      5. No, what the Yanks actually bought was Adrian’s Wall, a short stretch of brickwork formerly owned by Adrian Dunbar out of Line of Duty.

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  2. Theakstons have previous when it comes to mash ups, as their own XB is a blend of Old Peculier with the ironically named Best Bitter (in a ratio of approximately 1:2). Blending it with Roosters Assassin would make it more like a black IPA?

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    2. Will, That Peculiar Assassin was on in Whitby’s Black Horse last weekend. I thought a beer brewed on the East Coast to be more appropriate and so had the Adnams Southwold Bitter.
      The Whitby Brewery Tap’s “Card Payments Only” sign was the first one I’d seen this year. It’s “Cash is king” that seems commonplace nowadays.

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      1. Many of those “Cash is King” merchants treat the obtaining and replenishing of a cash float as though it is free of charge. It is not.

        Keeping large amounts of cash on the premises also carries risks of robbery and staff dishonesty that are absent when accepting card payments.

        My experience is that the vast majority of pub operators accept both cash and card payments, with those that insist on cash only, or insist on cards only, amounting to around 1 or 2% of the pubs I drink in.

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      2. Will,
        Yes and “1 or 2%” surely indicates that the vast majority of pub operators not only know customers deserve a choice but also can ill afford to lose potential customers who, for whatever reason, will only pay with proper money or, for whatever reason, will only use a card.
        The “Cash is King” signs I so very often see nowadays suggest not only that the cost of replenishing a cash float is significantly less than giving up 3% of takings to a card company but also, and especially in smaller establishments, that the risks of robbery and staff dishonesty might be insignificant.
        My evidence is that “Card (Payment) Only” pubs have reduced by four fifths over the past two years. That’s with them being six of the 341 pubs I went to during 2024 ( 1¾% ) and one each of the 285 pubs I used during 2025 and 345 I have used during the first 25 weeks of this year ( ⅓% ).
        Furthermore, I have learnt that eight out of ten times “Card (Payment) Only” actually means “Card (Payment) Preferred”, the sign often disingenuously persuading customers to buy a pint other than by their preferred means of payment.
        I’m not aware of any regional variation and have encountered “Card (Payment) Only” signs in Keswick, Whitby, Liverpool, Ashbourne, Nottingham, Norwich, Cambridge, Somerstown, Bristol and Wareham. Only on Merseyside and in Dorset was it actually “Card Only means Card Only”.

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  3. “you really do see life differently along the canal” and especially the people.
    Yes, “joggers flying past you” as if closing time’s in a quarter hour and a mile to the pub, cyclists in a similar hurry, anglers always as if they got out of the wrong side of bed and dog owners the cheeriest of people.
    Anyway, that’s how it is nowadays on the Staffordshire and Worcester and Trent and Mersey canals.

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    1. Yes, it’s amazing how anyone’s observations always seem to reflect their prejudices. I objected to a dog jumping at me in a pub yesterday, and this was my fault for being “different”. When I’m walking, cyclists seem to be going too fast; when I’m cycling I’m always aware of walkers, but if I ring my bell it’s “ooh, you startled me!”, and if they don’t hear my bell it’s “why didn’t you ring your bell?”.

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