Transpennine Real Ale Trail

[WakefieldCAMRA]

Hi everyone, new member here.
I'm not sure if this post will go down well on here, but I will ask and hope there are some kind souls out there.
I am about to do the transpennine real ale trail this Saturday, and as an avid real ale man, I don't want to get caught in the whole "circus" of drunken idiots.
I'm wanting to go as early as possible and be able to enjoy my pints and write about them on my blog, but don't really want it to be full of idiots when I do!
Any advise on times and tickets/price needed. I will be travelling from dewsbury.
Thank you in advance

 

[yorksrob]

Someone else will advise on tickets, but I can confirm that I've found the trail to be a lot calmer and more relaxed on a Sunday, so you should be able to enjoy your pints in relative peace

 

[IanD]

My advice is to give it a miss or do it during the week.

 

[yorksrob]

Apologies - I misread Saturday for Sunday for some reason

As IanD says, you may enjoy it more if you do another day

 

[WakefieldCAMRA]

Unfortunately Saturday is my only day off. I see the station bar at staylebridge opens at 11am, would I miss the crowds if I started there at 11am?

 

[Asian Demon]

Unfortunately Saturday is my only day off. I see the station bar at staylebridge opens at 11am, would I miss the crowds if I started there at 11am?

My advice as a guard who has to work over this route.... Avoid Saturday like the plague. It's a mess from beginning to end. My advice is Monday to Thursday or a Sunday.

 

[Bullfield WEst]

At £3 a pint these days you could miss out Staleybridge.

 

[IanD]

At £3 a pint these days you could miss out Staleybridge.

Why? Is it too cheap? I remember the days of yore when I used to pay £3 a pint (Wetherspoons excepted, thank goodness, and thank goodness for CAMRA/Wethies beer tokens!)

 

[bb21]

Why? Is it too cheap? I remember the days of yore when I used to pay £3 a pint (Wetherspoons excepted, thank goodness, and thank goodness for CAMRA/Wethies beer tokens!)

Considering where you live, I am not surprised.

Yes, in some parts of the north, real ale at £3 is considered quite pricey.

 

[sheff1]

At £3 a pint these days you could miss out Staleybridge.

Indeed. I have been told the buffet there is now owned by the West Riding Refreshment Rooms people (??) . I was in the latter on Thursday and was sure the barmaid asked for £2.45 for a pint of 3.5% mild. As this is about what I would expect to pay in Sheffield I gave her £2.50 and awaited my change. She gave me a filthy look and it turned out she was asking for £2.75

I can only echo what others have said - avoid Saturdays if at all possible. If you must go on a Saturday then idiots are almost guaranteed :cry:

Regarding fares, unfortunately the West Yorkshire/Greater Manchester PTE boundary does not have the common station situation that West/South Yorks one has, which makes the fares relatively expensive. I am not aware of anything which would beat the normal Off Peak Day Return ticket. As you probably won't enjoy it anyway from what you say, I suggest you give Greenfield & Staly a miss and just go with one of the West Yorkshire Dayrover tickets http://www.wymetro.com/TicketsAndPasses/moresavings/WestYorkshireDayRover/

 

[Chapeltom]

Hi everyone, new member here.
I'm not sure if this post will go down well on here, but I will ask and hope there are some kind souls out there.
I am about to do the transpennine real ale trail this Saturday, and as an avid real ale man, I don't want to get caught in the whole "circus" of drunken idiots.
I'm wanting to go as early as possible and be able to enjoy my pints and write about them on my blog, but don't really want it to be full of idiots when I do!
Any advise on times and tickets/price needed. I will be travelling from dewsbury.
Thank you in advance

Go on a Friday, its far better, far calmer, far more relaxing.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

My advice as a guard who has to work over this route.... Avoid Saturday like the plague. It's a mess from beginning to end. My advice is Monday to Thursday or a Sunday.

I could not agree more. Saturday is terrible from beginning to end. It is impossible to avoid the drunken idiots. It is not uncommon for me to deposit crowds at Stalybridge or Dewsbury around opening time (1100) who have been drinking crate loads of Stella on the train whilst getting there.

If you MUST go on a pub crawl this Saturday starting out from Dewsbury, I would suggest you could find far nicer locations and have a far better crawl along the Calder Valley using a West Yorkshire Train & Bus DayRover. Decent pubs in Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Brighouse, Halifax etc, all within easy walking distance, although use the bus from Sowerby Bridge to get to the truly excellent The Big Six Inn at King Cross outside Halifax.

 

[wellhouse]

As an ale enthusiast with Slaithwaite as my local station, I can only confirm the advice above that on Saturdays both the rail travel and the pubs are unpleasant experiences. Some of the pubs now serve only in plastic glasses on Saturday afternoons.

I can endorse kwvr45's suggestion of the Calder Vallley alternative for a full day out, and if you are unable to get out on a Sunday, try the Transpennine route in instalments on weekday evenings.

 

[theblackwatch]

Some good news regarding a number of pubs on the Rail Ale Trail no longer serving lager, shots and various other drinks on Saturdays between 12.00 and 20.00 - see http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/loca...-as-pubs-say-enough-is-enough-86081-33388598/ for more details. Let's hope this works and the Real Ale Trail can return to being a pleasant day out.