Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Huddersfield – Travelodge

    Huddersfield – Travelodge

    My luxury abode for the few days that I was in Huddersfield was the Travelodge which was located around a ten minute walk away from the town centre. What it lacked in convenience it more than made up for by being reasonably priced. Friendly staff as well, although I rarely have any issues in that regard with Travelodge (or indeed with any hotel company to be fair).

    The room, which looks like more other Travelodge rooms around the country. They’ve taken out the sofa from the room, which was evident as there’s a mark on the carpet where it once was. It was all sufficiently clean and comfortable though, no issues there.

    The beautiful view of the sweeping plains and dales of Huddersfield. What’s a little harder to see is that there’s a railway line on that embankment, although there didn’t seem to be many trains on it.

    Although I need to add that my wide angle phone has distorted this, it’s not the biggest bath that I’ve ever seen (and it is a bath and not a shower tray).

    The hotel is pretty well reviewed on-line, although as something outside of their control, I did have some problems with my Vodafone signal and there’s no free wi-fi in the room (or not beyond the free thirty minutes per day), so that wasn’t ideal. There’s no cafe bar at this Travelodge, they just offer the silly little breakfast box which is £5.25 and comes with a small cornflakes, milk, a muffin, flapjack and pain au chocolat. I’ve never had one (well, other than the ones they’ve given me free on a few stays) and they pick up a fair few negative reviews about them. I’m surprised that they’ve persisted with them. Anyway, I digress.

    As a hotel, this was a perfectly good stay, very little internal or external noise and the staff topped up the teas and coffees every day and changed the towels every day, although that’s the limit to what they’re doing at the moment. All very acceptable.

  • Huddersfield – The Grove

    Huddersfield – The Grove

    Hop & Vine Tony and I couldn’t get into this pub when we tried on Monday, primarily as it’s shut on Mondays. However, I didn’t want to miss out (and my friend Julian S from Norwich is also a fan of this pub, so it came personally recommended), so I went down on the Tuesday evening to see why this Good Beer Guide pub was so well reviewed.

    The beers on the bar, certainly an excellent choice with plenty of different styles. Incidentally, I didn’t like how my view of their crisp selection on the bottom shelf was obscured by the high bar. I realised after I had ordered that they had Frazzles and I didn’t get to order them….. I’m not saying that this is a critical problem in the world today that needs media attention and Government action, but I felt it worthy of mentioning here.

    A more complete look at the beers that they had, which I’d mostly already had in one shape or form, but there were some that intrigued me. The Albino Pheasant from Verdant Brewing was tempting, but it’s not a cheap beer and I’m sure there will be another occasion.

    The artwork on the wall was, well, I can’t really say anything as apparently it’s of the owners and it feels wrong to make any other comment than to say it’s certainly quite decadent. I would say though that I hope JD Wetherspoon don’t decide this is an angle that they want to go down, I don’t need to see any more of Tim Martin.

    The interior decoration was certainly quirky….. In front of the stuffed animal on the wall, that’s a Green Devil IPA from Oakham Ales which I expected to be quite average, but was actually anything but. Zesty, hoppy and quite powerful, I really liked this.

    I also didn’t have great expectations for my half a pint of Alf, a collaboration between Marble Beers and Amundsen Brewery of Norway. I’m not very good at describing pale ales, but I’ll have a go, but just to say, this was a beer which had a depth of flavour that I’ve rarely experienced in this style, although it is a 5.4% beer. I had to think about this beer and sip it slowly, pretending that I actually had a clue what flavours I was trying to decipher. It was very fruity, that was evident, and there was a strong hoppy background to it and I decided that I could taste peach, although I probably made that up. A clean flavour and rich aftertaste, and I wish I could explain why I liked this beer, but that’ll have to do in my little write-up. I gave it 4.75 on Untappd though, which was generous of me.

    The pub had a relaxed atmosphere, clearly something very different and not run of the mill. The staff were friendly and helpful, welcoming customers who were leaving and departing, with a community feel to the whole arrangement. I hope that they remain in the Good Beer Guide for many more years to come, it was all really rather lovely.

  • Huddersfield – King’s Head

    Huddersfield – King’s Head

    Huddersfield Railway Station has the rather lovely situation where there is a pub at either end of the building, the Head of Steam at one end (more on which in another post) and the King’s Head at the other. It’d be nice if Norwich railway station had such decadent choices, but maybe one day (and perhaps a Greggs as well whilst they’re making the changes). The pub was formerly known as the Station Tavern and the interior is something different, with the floor tiling being of note. It’s certainly a large space (and there’s some outdoor seating as well), although perhaps rather sparsely laid out at the moment though.

    Tony, from the wonderful Hop & Vine pub in Hull, was joining me for the day and this is where we started our little expedition from. Something which doesn’t appeal to me (I prefer quiet and genteel in pubs…..), but there is regular live music held here and I think that that’s a popular way of getting people in for this venue.

    The list of beer options and I liked the range of different beer styles that were available. The prices were also reasonable and it was easy to see the beers that they had.

    The Tiramisu Stout from Salvation Brewery, which was entirely pleasant to drink, but lacking in any real depth of taste. The beer is listed by the brewery as having “a delicious depth of flavour”, but it wasn’t quite desserty enough for me.

    The service in the bar was friendly, with the staff member being engaging and conversational. I can see why this is listed in the Good Beer Guide, a very acceptable place to wait for a train.

  • Huddersfield – Rat and Ratchet

    Huddersfield – Rat and Ratchet

    The Rat and Ratchet in Huddersfield has an excellent reputation locally and is listed in the Good Beer Guide and has been for the last thirty years, which is an impressive achievement by any measure. The pub is located near to the Queensgate Campus of the University of Huddersfield, a short walk from the town centre.

    Underneath the pub in the cellars is the Rat Brewery, which as this useful sign notes has been producing beers since 2011 under the new owners, the Ossett Brewery. The beers are still though separately branded for the moment.

    It’s fair to say that I liked the signage.

    The bar was nicely presented and the barman was kind enough not to comment that I nearly tripped over the little step by the bar whilst walking towards it. Fortunately, I recovered the situation promptly and professionally……

    I was slightly puzzled (not difficult, I’m nearly permanently puzzled by something) at the weekend to see the Ossett Brewery beers at the Salt Beer Factory and so I asked the barman about that given it was replicated the other way round here. He mentioned that it was all part of the same family, which is something that I didn’t know. Judging from their on-line branding, the brewery is treating Ossett Brewery as their cask product and Salt as their keg product.

    The list of cask and keg options is clearly marked up.

    I ordered half a King Rat from Ossett, as well as half of the Ratsputin which was an imperial stout which some depth of flavour to it. Both well kept pints, at the appropriate temperature and so on.

    The service was friendly and the environment had an historic feel to it, although it had a modern edge to it as well, the ‘old meets the new’ and all that. It felt a welcoming pub judging from the other customers and I can see that this would be a handy place to have as a local. There’s very much a focus on their own beer, with few guest beers, although that is perhaps not unreasonable given that they brew some of the products here. Definitely a very worthwhile addition to the Good Beer Guide.

  • Huddersfield – German Doner Kebab

    Huddersfield – German Doner Kebab

    It seems that every city that I’ve been to recently has a German Doner Kebab outlet and I’ve been slightly intrigued by the whole arrangement. It transpires that it’s operated by Hero Brands and they’re on a big franchise push, opening 50 outlets this year and they’re keeping that rate up for seven more years. After checking, it appears that this franchise opened only a few weeks ago, replacing an outlet of Pizza Hut that had closed down last year. That reminds me that I haven’t been to Pizza Hut for years and I remember when there were queues of customers outside many branches waiting to get in for lunch buffet. Anyway, I digress.

    I very rarely have doner kebabs, namely as I tried one about 15 years ago that I was given free from a kebab shop and I thought it tasted bloody awful. However, I had a kebab in Poznan in Poland a couple of years and I’ve been reminded how popular this whole thing is in Germany, with its Turkish roots.

    The menu is above (clicking on the image makes it more readable), all clearly laid out. The shop has some self-service touch screens, but they’re broken, which isn’t ideal given how new the shop is.

    Given that the brand is clearly doing something right, I thought that I’d try the food here, although I was rather sceptical. Anyway, the service at the counter was friendly and helpful, so everything felt welcoming and well managed. The shop was generally pretty clean as well, I didn’t have any concerns there. I’m not sure if it’s standard practice or just because it was quite quiet, but the staff brought the food to the table for me as well.

    I went for the mixed chicken and beef doner box with fries. Goodness knows how unhealthy that was with the fries and salt, but there we go. It comes with three dips, which are garlic, yoghurt and spicy. I can’t say any were exceptional, but they added positively to the proceedings.

    As for the taste of the kebab, it was much better than I had expected. The beef was actually full of flavour, although much of that was probably salt and additives, but it was very moreish. The chicken was also tender and had a depth of taste to it, with the sauces livening up the fries. The portion size was also more than I had expected, perhaps not really shown by the photo.

    I’d certainly come to one of these outlets again and I can see why this franchise is doing well, it’s something that isn’t that well catered for by chains at the moment. I suspect that there will be some considerable trade lost by the traditional late night kebab shops up and down the country unless they’re able to tap into a loyal following.

  • Northern Trains + TransPennine Express : Shipley to Huddersfield

    Northern Trains + TransPennine Express : Shipley to Huddersfield

    My rail journey today was from Shipley to Huddersfield, which isn’t an expensive one, coming in at £6.50 for the two services, a Northern Rail from Shipley to Leeds and a TransPennine Express from Leeds to Huddersfield.

    It takes a little bit of working out to find the appropriate platform at Shipley railway station.

    Wikipedia tells me that there are only two triangular railway stations left in the country, this one and Earlestown on Merseyside. I’m not entirely sure how interesting a fact that is, but there we go.

    That’s how the situation evolved.

    A handy little waiting room.

    The Northern train which had come from Skipton, with Shipley being the final stop before Leeds. This is a horrible train (or the interior, the actual train is fine), the seating isn’t large enough, but more about that another time when I get around to writing about when I went from Leicester to Bradford (when I took photos). It’s really not a good look for a rail company, and the Government managed Northern Trains (no longer Northern Rail, just to confuse things) would do well to just take half the seats out and dump them in a heap somewhere, as a large number of seats are unuseable with the current set-up. Anyway, I digress and it didn’t much matter as I found a seat at the end of the carriage.

    Here we are in Leeds.

    There’s the TransPennine Express service from Leeds to Manchester, which was operating at well over its seating capacity, meaning standing room only. As the journey from Leeds to Huddersfield is only 17 minutes, I decided just to stand near to the end of the carriage, but I felt sorry for those unable to be seated who were going all the way to Manchester. There was a friendly guy who was passing around sweets (which were sealed) to customers in his vicinity, which I don’t think was a mass poisoning exercise (can’t be too careful). I hope not anyway, I had a Wispa.

    And safely into Huddersfield, with hoards more people trying to get on (mostly not in the photo). This is clearly a heavily congested route, I’m not sure if there are usually this many problems with a lack of seating. Customers would have got away without paying for a ticket though on this route, there were no ticket checks and there are no barriers at Shipley and the barriers at Huddersfield weren’t in operation.

    The exterior of Huddersfield railway station, and a statue of the former Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

    As for this journey, convenient and on-time as it was, it’s not an ideal set-up from the rail companies who seem to be struggling to deal with the number of passengers wanting to use their services. Time perhaps for the Government to speed up more investment in the rail network to get more services running. Anyway, I digress….

  • Huddersfield – Magic Rock Brewery Tap

    Huddersfield – Magic Rock Brewery Tap

    This is the taproom of Magic Rock brewery, a company which was established in Huddersfield in 2011. It’s now something of a corporate affair, having been taken over by Lion Brewery, an Australian multinational. Magic Rock beer is also widely available in supermarkets and the like, as well as often being seen on restaurant menus. The taproom is listed in the Good Beer Guide, although I would have come here anyway given the good reputation that Magic Rock have.

    There’s no shortage of seating here, this is part of the external area. There are food trucks which turn up every weekend, this week’s was a Dutch company.

    The list of beers, although they’ve also got the complete menu on Untappd as well which made things easier.

    The very nice interior of the taproom, which is very well reviewed on-line. I mentioned to the member of staff that I had booked a table just in case, but it was clear that I didn’t need to. It was a little busier outside, but the venue was surprisingly quiet. Everything was clean and comfortable, with an organised feel to the whole arrangement.

    I must admit to being slightly disappointed at the entire lack of any dark beers, even as guests, with not even their Commons Grounds porter visible. I went for five different beers from Magic Rock, all served as thirds. The bar service was slightly clumsy given that the beers are all the same colour, I would have really preferred a better set-up than this, even if they had just written them down on a bit of paper. The barman told me the drinks, but he got the order muddled up, although I think I was able to correct it (that’s the handy thing about a Gose, it’s not hard to recognise). There was also a moderately surprisingly lack of engagement given that this is the brewery’s taproom, but the service remained friendly enough.

    The keg beers were all very good though, my own personal favourite was the Clown Juice a white IPA, which is a mixture of an IPA and a Witbier. Anyway, I had a perfectly pleasant couple of hours here and I liked that they were serving as thirds. The location was clean and there was an on-trend feel to the whole arrangement, with the staff members always being helpful and polite. This also means that I’m verging on completing the main range of beers from Magic Rock which is handy. This is very much worth a visit though, it’s not far to walk from the centre of Huddersfield.

  • Bradford – Bradford Holiday Inn Express

    Bradford – Bradford Holiday Inn Express

    I was able to get a decent rate for four nights at the Holiday Inn Express, which is helpful in reaching my Platinum IHG status for the first time (which I should do in late October, not that I can imagine anyone is too interested in that other than me). The hotel is located just over the road from the Bradford Interchange railway station and only a few minutes walk from the city centre.

    The check-in process was well managed and the staff member was helpful. She said that she had given me a room which had just got a new carpet and new bed, but instead of delight, it worried me what had precipitated that. I decided that I’d rather not know.

    My room, which I felt was very comfortable and I was pleased to note that the windows opened so that I didn’t end up in a sterile environment. There was a fan and heater as well (to make up for the lack of air conditioning), making it easy to get to whatever temperature is required. It’s a large Smart TV as well for anyone who wants to cast their phone to it. There were only two power points, which is really quite low for a hotel room, but I imagine a refurbishment will sort that out.

    The view of gorgeous Bradford from my window….

    My welcome drink at the bar, and I’m entirely content with the Goose Island IPA, so no complaints there. The England and Poland football match was on, so I was vaguely watching that. One man got a bit over-excited and started screaming at one point with delight at the football score, but luckily he only did that once.

    The breakfast room which was rarely as quiet as this, but it was never a problem getting a table.

    The breakfast set-up arrangement, with the standard Holiday Inn Express selection of four hot food items (sausage, bacon, baked beans and scrambled egg) as well as cereals, yoghurt and pastries. I’d have liked the bacon to have been crispier, but that’s my standard comment as I don’t like fat on bacon that hasn’t been frazzled. There were some decent fruit teas as well, a wider selection than I’ve usually seen.

    And my little breakfast selection….. All entirely satisfactory and in line with the usual brand standards.

    There were no noise issues either internally or externally and I liked this hotel so much that I’ve already booked it again. The staff were friendly, the room was clean, the hotel was comfortable and everything was as I’d want it to be. All very lovely.

  • Bradford – Bradford Industrial Museum

    Bradford – Bradford Industrial Museum

    And another post which is primarily just photos….. This is the Bradford Industrial Museum, which is of a substantial size and it’s also free of charge in common with other museums and galleries operated by the city council. There’s plenty to see, including a row of industrial cottages which were taken down brick by brick to be reassembled here and they are fitted out with interiors from over the last century.

    The main museum, which has been open since 1974, is located in a former mill building, Moorside Mills, and there are an impressive amount of collections here. Unlike the National Science and Media Museum in the city, which seemed to be poorly curated and in desperate hunt for a purpose, this museum is beautifully curated and seems absolutely clear about what it is trying to do. There are collections of textile machinery, industrial machinery and also a transport section with trams, cars and trains.

    To see everything here is likely to take a couple of hours and I can imagine that children would very much enjoy a visit. The staff were friendly and conversational, with one of them telling me about the history of modern Bradford and also listing his favourite pubs, information that always comes in useful to me. It might not be the most up-to-date of museums, but it’s clearly cared for and an example of what a heritage organisation should be doing. I would write more, but my blog backlog keeps growing and this will do for now, but there were plenty of individual exhibits that greatly interested me.

  • Bradford – Bradford Police Museum

    Bradford – Bradford Police Museum

    The Bradford Police Museum can only be accessed as part of a guided tour, which costs £5 per person. As an early aside, Google insist that they’re closed, even though they (and I) have told them that they’re not. The bonus for this tour is that Covid rules issued by the council, who are responsible for the building, means they are having to do private tours only and for no additional charge. The police museum is located in Bradford City Hall, which was constructed between 1870 and 1873 and was inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, where I managed to get to in 2020.

    The initial welcome was friendly, but the volunteers, who I think are all former police officers, were dealing with an abusive visitor to the premises. He refused to wear a mask as the law said he didn’t have to. The guide explained the council had set additional rules to protect their staff and that was the end of it. The guy continued to be rude to the guides and I although I must admit that I liked watching the free drama unfolding in front of me, I felt sorry for the guide. Fortunately, they weren’t going on a tour, they were there for other reasons.

    My tour then began by being walked around the building so that I could enter as a criminal would have done. The building was closed for this purpose in the 1970s, when it was used by the prison service in its final years. The guide explained how the police would have checked my details and also showed me where they’re hoping to fit out next year a room that was used by the doctor if he was called.

    This is a fake door which was put in during the filming of Peaky Blinders, and that bit of the corridor to the right is apparently in the programme. However, the element afterwards was filmed elsewhere, but the guide said you wouldn’t know as they’d edited it so well. There’s an original door exactly like the fake one which is to the right of me when I took the photo, although it doesn’t go anywhere as it has been bricked up behind the door.

    The former office of the person in charge and they’ve got an original restraining chair from the nineteenth century. Apparently a fair number of visitors comment that the model looks a bit like Ian Hislop….

    There are male and female cells here, but the male cells are now used by the council for file storage.

    A toilet of unknown age, with the cells not having any private facilities.

    One of the cells and this one has had some ghostly incidents. There was once a slope to this cell so if someone was sick it would just pour towards the gutter, so standing near the window would have been sensible. I was originally shown into a different cell, but it became apparent that the ceiling appeared to be falling down. The guide thought best that we didn’t linger in there, but it’s a reminder of how expensive and challenging these buildings are to keep well maintained.

    I was told in advance that there was only one place where I couldn’t take photos, which was in a cell used in the 1970s for prisoners on their way to court, or on their way back. There’s graffiti all over the walls which has now become an important piece of social history and I’m impressed that they’ve kept it. They don’t want photos taking here though as many of the prisoners who had written on the walls are still alive. One guy had written on the back of the door “I had expected two years I got life” and someone elsewhere in the cell had written “expected life, didn’t get it”, so swings and roundabouts….

    Those cells are inaccessible for those on the tour, they’re the ones used for storage by the council.

    A slightly wonky photo unfortunately. But I was taken up the stairs from the cells into the court room, with this photo showing mostly the public galleries.

    And standing looking at where the judge would have sat. The council’s Chief Executive has taken the judge’s former robing room as their office, so there’s no way to sit in that chair. Apparently younger children are allowed to scramble across, but it’s thought best not to let adults do it. This is also where some people get married, which seems a slightly odd location, but each to their own…..

    That witness box to the right hand side of the photo has only just been recovered from eBay a few weeks ago. It went missing in the 1970s and someone observant noticed that it was for sale on eBay and fortunately the seller co-operated with returning it.

    The guide mentioned that there was a tunnel underneath the judge’s chair which was once used by anyone needing to cross the courtroom, as it wasn’t allowed to cross in front of the judge. The guide said it was usually just children who wanted to use this tunnel today, but I felt the need to have a little look as well.

    These were the steps that I was taken up into the courtroom, and then back down again.

    After going back into the former holding area for prisoners, I was then shown towards where the police museum is. There has been a deliberate decision not to feature the Yorkshire Ripper or the Bradford stadium fire as it was thought too emotional and too raw. There’s more of a focus on the Victorian policing, which is appropriate given the age of the building.

    The guide explained this was the former police briefing room and he had used this when in the police force. I had expected a tour of around 45 minutes, but the guide was so conversational, engaging and interesting that my tour lasted for nearly three hours. I was fascinated to hear the stories from his time in the police force and he was very knowledgeable about the history of the building and the criminal justice system.

    These are challenging times for the museum given the limited number of people on tours and also the relatively low number of people booking anyway. However, for the £5 admission fee, I think it’s superb value for money. Definitely recommended and I was delighted with the engagement from the tour guide, very pleased to have gone on this.