Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: West Yorkshire

  • Bradford – National Science and Media Museum

    Bradford – National Science and Media Museum

    It took me a little while to work out how to take this photo without taking a photo of myself as a reflection at the same time. Anyway, this museum is free of charge to enter and is part of the National Science Museum. I was the first one into the museum today, although that is primarily as I always seem to arrive everywhere early for no apparent reason. The staff member at the entrance was helpful, scanning my ticket as although they’re free they still have to be pre-booked. The staff also appear to have been trained (as I note it is mentioned in other reviews) to leave a donation on entrance, but I can imagine times are challenging and that approach probably tempts some people who might not otherwise leave anything.

    The lower floor permanent collection is quite substantial and is a history primarily of photography and videography.

    The first section explains how photography looked in the Victorian period.

    I’m pleased that I don’t have to sit like this for a photo. Not that I have many photos taken of me.

    Photography at the beach and the evolution of the huge Kodak company, who have given a substantial archive of stuff to the museum. I’ve taken a fair few photos of some interesting individuals exhibits, which I may one day getting round to writing about for my four blog readers.

    There’s some of their stuff, a heap of cameras. There were no shortage of cameras on display on this level, but largesse wasn’t repeated on the upper floors where there were very few actual exhibits.

    The interactive Wonderlab exhibition, more designed for children.

    You could shout down this and see how it echoed or something. I decided against that.

    A mirror maze. There was no way that I was going to do that, I’d just walk into a mirror and you can absolutely guarantee that at that moment six people would see me.

    This is a fake Dalek (or whatever they’re called) from Doctor Who.

    Play School. I’m obviously too young to remember this. I actually assumed when visiting that these were copies of the originals, but they’re actually the real ones that were left after the series came to an end. I would have stared at them for longer if I had realised….

    Gordon the Gopher, once in the broom cupboard with Phillip Schofield, and I do remember that. This doesn’t appear to be original as it’s not listed on the on-line collections of the Science Museum.

    Zippy and George from Rainbow. I also have no idea whether these are copies, the museum hasn’t put them on their on-line catalogue and some people think they’re real and some say that they’re fake. The museum doesn’t help here, they posted a series of images of their puppets on Twitter and noted some things were real, but didn’t add that for these.

    I’ve alerted my friend Liam that I will be taking his children here on a trip and he seems very agreeable to that   🙂

    Some of this museum was really very good such as the permanent collection on photography, but there’s a huge amount of wasted space here and some questionable uses of that space. They appear to have a museum that’s far too big for what they need and I’m slightly puzzled why they don’t take some more items out of storage. The story of photography exhibition ended with digital cameras from twenty years ago, that perhaps needs something of an update as well.

    I also don’t really understand (despite reading the reasoning carefully) why they changed their name from the National Media Museum, which seems an excellent description of the place, to the National Science and Media Museum, as there’s a very limited amount of science here other than in bits of the Wonderlab exhibit. I’m not quite sure what they’re trying to be and personally I thought some of it was just a bit of a mess. It did feel a bit like they’ve left all the good science stuff at the National Science Museum, which is pretty spectacular, and sent some of the junk up to Bradford. The television exhibition had very few exhibits at all (other than their puppets collection), none of a science or engineering nature and so I assume they weren’t allowed anything nice from the main collections in London.

    The museum scrapped a lot of their film work and festivals a few years ago, and for some reason got rid of the Royal Photographic Society’s huge 270,000 photography collection down to the Victoria & Albert Museum. I can imagine the V&A’s delight at this, with the National Media Museum new head, Jo Quinton-Tulloch, saying:

    “Our new mission will concentrate on inspiring future generations of scientists and engineers in the fields of light and sound, as well as demonstrating the cultural impact of these subjects.”

    Anyway, it’s free, so I can’t complain (well, I clearly now have in writing this, but I can’t always be positive about everything) and I’m glad I visited for the morning. Friendly staff, a Covid-safe environment and some interesting displays. There were also nearly no other visitors, so at least there wasn’t a cacophony of children shouting. So, sort of recommended….

  • Bradford – Sunbridge Wells (Wallers Brewery)

    Bradford – Sunbridge Wells (Wallers Brewery)

    This is a slightly complex venue which is today a series of underground pubs and bars of various types. Originally this was built as a quarry in the thirteenth century, later becoming a dungeon and the largest air raid shelter in the city during the Second World War. In the 1960s it was turned into a nightclub which was operated by Shirley Crabtree (better known as the wrestler Big Daddy) although that lasted less than a year before the authorities had it closed down. Then the site was used as a dump for rubbish, which wasn’t ideal.

    A few years ago vast amounts of material were removed from the cellars (the stuff dumped there in the 1970s which included a lot of heavy rubble) so that they could be opened up for public access. Hence the pubs and clubs that are here now. The two photos above are of the two entrances to the vaults, with each of the individual freeholds having to be repurchased following their sale in the mid-twentieth century.

    The entrance corridor, suitably slightly haunting.

    Photos of the descent down to the ground floor. Apparently the local museum has helped to provide some of the items displayed on the wall, all of which have added some real character.

    I only visited one venue in the complex, as that was the only one that seemed open when I visited and also the only one that is listed on CAMRA’s Whatpub (some others are listed, but they’re marked as permanently closed). It’s a quirky venue, but it’d be hard not to be when you’re at the bottom of a complex like this. It’s a large pub and some people may say that there’s a very slight feel of damp, but I call that atmosphere. And who wants generic and sterile piffle. Back to the beer, I went for the Maiden Voyage from Bosun’s Brewery and it was entirely agreeable.

    There has been some controversy about this place and apparently some arguments between the tenants and landlords that I don’t understand and don’t really need to. However, it’s an interesting location to visit and definitely recommended. And it makes sense to have a beer when exploring, so a win-win. And here’s a BBC local news story about the opening a few years ago……

  • Bradford – Sparrow

    Bradford – Sparrow

    This is the Sparrow pub in Bradford, opened in 2011 and taken over by Kirkstall Brewery of Leeds a couple of years ago.

    Located in a former shop, it’s bright and airy, with extra seating available outside in the blazing hot sun (it’s been too hot again today). It doesn’t really have a feel of a pub and has more of a cafe bar arrangement to it, but everything was clean.

    The cask and keg selection neatly written up at the end of bar, with a decent selection of different beer styles. There seems to be a little cluster of decent bars here on North Parade, the Record Cafe is over the road and I’ve noticed a couple of other places I’ll hopefully get to visit.

    I went for the Black Band Porter, completely forgetting that I’ve had it before (at the Three Legged Mare in York) but it was equally good this time around, a nice coffee aftertaste. Those Seabrook crisps were delicious, I nearly got myself another pack but moderation is the key.

    Wheeling out my usual standard for a pub, I’d say that anyone moving to the area and coming to this pub to try and meet friends would be successful here. The member of bar staff was friendly, engaging and helpful, with the pub having a laid-back environment. Another rather lovely pub.

  • Bradford – Record Cafe

    Bradford – Record Cafe

    I still haven’t dealt with my blog post backlog from Leicester, but since I’m now in Bradford, I’d better start first with my little adventures here. This is the Good Beer Guide listed Record Cafe on North Parade, a mixture of Spanish restaurant, craft beer bar and record shop. That’s an intriguing mix by any measure.

    The beer list, which I thought was nicely put together with a range of beer styles. There’s also an ample list of cans as well, with some interesting and decadent imports from the United States.

    The service was excellent, with the staff member being friendly and engaging. I asked him which other pubs I should visit in Bradford and he gave me a few suggestions on top of the Good Beer Guide ones. He also suggested a venue over the road and checked with a group of customers in the pub when it opened, which was handy. The group probably thought I was following them when I then visited, but they were pleasant when I did, well, follow them.

    Anyway, the beers I had were a half pint of each of the Henry Hops from Mikkeller and the Brownie Hunter from Wilde Child Brewing Company, a micro-brewery from Leeds. The first was a keg beer and was fine, but the latter cask beer was excellent. It was full-bodied, smooth, inevitably decadent and if it had a slightly stronger aftertaste to carry on that beautiful flavour of chocolate fudge brownie then it’d be near perfection. Possibly a little too sweet for some, but absolutely not for me, a lovely lunchtime treat (and actually better than most desserts as far as I’m concerned).

    This is the sort of bar that I’m delighted is in the Good Beer Guide, as otherwise I’d have perhaps avoided it thinking that it was primarily a restaurant. It isn’t, I’d say that it’s a primarily a bar with food options and records for sale as well. Bradford should be proud of this pub, all nicely done.

  • Leeds – Stick or Twist Pub

    Leeds – Stick or Twist Pub

    The Stick or Twist had been a JD Wetherspoon operated pub in Leeds from 1997 until 2018, when it was demolished to build student accommodation. The pub chain had a long lease which meant they were able to negotiate a new pub at the site as part of the new building complex. That opened a few weeks ago, in mid-July 2021, after a £1.8 million spend on the interior fittings. It’s apparently larger than the old pub, which I hadn’t visited, with a bigger external area as well for customers to enjoy the outside (for those people who like that sort of thing).

    It’s all clean and organised, but I thought quite bland for a JD Wetherspoon outlet, although they’re limited by the quite bland building they’re in. Not many of the tables had access to power points, which is usually a feature of a renovation by the company, with only a limited number of booth style seats as well. The section at the front has mostly high seating (which is what I prefer) and the section at the side has mostly table seating, so there’s a bit of a choice for customers which is handy.

    I ordered the Blonde Witch from Moorhouse’s Brewery from Burnley and I used the app to do that. That probably wasn’t the best idea, it took them 14 minutes to get the beer from the bar to my table, but I wasn’t in a rush. My table didn’t have a number on it and so I had ordered it to the table next to me, which was empty. The staff member seemed just a little bit put out at that, asking why I had used a different table’s number. The beer was quite bland and lacking any real flavour, but it was at the appropriate temperature and well-kept so it was about as good as it was going to get.

    Anyway, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the transformation and I’m sure that many in Leeds are glad to get their pub back again. To me though, it all felt a bit generic and soulless, albeit at least clean and tidy. It’s good that pubs are starting to open though, even if this one was replacing a location that had closed.

  • Leeds – BrewDog White Cloth Hall

    Leeds – BrewDog White Cloth Hall

    Having visited the Leeds Brewdog North Street bar for unlimited chicken wings I thought that for the sake of completeness I’d visit the other Brewdog in the city as well. That’s all handy given that I’m working my way through all of the Brewdogs in the UK, although they’ve just opened another one in London as soon as I’ve completed that little challenge.

    This Brewdog is located in the historic White Cloth Hall, this one traded in undyed clothing and another hall dealt with, well, dyed clothing. All very precise and a reminder that the woolen and clothing industries powered Leeds financially for many centuries. The bar opened in 2013, so it is one of the earlier Brewdog locations and the company notes “we had to fight for the right to bring BrewDog Leeds to life in the White Cloth Hall”. Sounds an exciting back story….

    The inside of the Brewdog and there was a friendly staff member at the door ready to welcome guests. I think he was actually just a bit bored and thought he might as well standing there greeting customers, as it wasn’t that busy. It felt a friendly environment though, although there’s a more limited food menu than the other outlet.

    The beer fridge. Apparently there’s an Nintendo 64 system upstairs for guests, although I didn’t go looking for it to find out for sure.

    There were a few fruit beers made jointly between Buxton Brewery and Omnipollo, but I opted for the original double blueberry ice cream one. This had no shortage of blueberry flavour which is pleasant upfront although just very slightly too tart at the end, but still a very decent beer. I think some other Brewdogs are serving this drink with ice cream, which sounds a bit too decadent for me.

    This is the Milk Shake from Wiper and True brewery from Bristol, given that name from the milk that goes into this stout to add to the creaminess. I had only moderate expectations for this one, but it was a combination of rich and creamy with a pleasant aftertaste, so it was better than I had expected.

    As for the reviews, I’m unsure about this one which said “I just ate dog food”. I’m not sure if that’s a rude comment about the food, or whether he ate one of the dog biscuits that I think Brewdog supply. I would have quite liked to have seen more information about that though. Nearly everything else is very positive, so they’re doing something right.

    So, that’s another Brewdog visited alongside the many Good Beer Guide pubs that I went to in Leeds, and all of the pubs were a delight (well, a couple of the Wetherspoons were a bit average). This bar had friendly service, a clean environment and decent beers, so nothing for me to complain about.

  • Leeds – BrewDog North Street

    Leeds – BrewDog North Street

    There are two Brewdog outlets in Leeds and this is the North Street location.

    The ground floor of the Brewdog, which isn’t the largest of locations, but the window arrangement makes it bright and airy. The air conditioning seemed effective as it wasn’t too hot inside, otherwise I might have been less pleased about the situation. I also liked the number of power points located around the bar, which was quite handy, it was a modern feeling environment.

    The beer board and the central bar. There was one staff member when I went into the pub, but he was friendly and engaging, being knowledgeable about the beer options. Another staff member was visible soon after, but it remained quiet during my visit so I’m not sure how much money this Brewdog is actually making at the moment.

    The downstairs, which with its slight damp felt like a proper cellar, had shuffleboard tables in it. These seemed quite popular during my visit (I took the photo during a dull in proceedings), they no longer charge to use them and a few people came in to book times. Brewdog have these in a couple of their London pubs as well, but I’ve never quite got round to fully working out the rules.

    Although they’re all switched off at the moment, there were a number of arcade games as well in the basement.

    I only had one drink here, which was the Berry & Cherry Trifle by the Mad Scientist brewery from Budapest. I remembered the Blackcurrant Trifle that I had at Brewdog Brixton a few weeks ago and so had high expectations of this beer. I wasn’t let down with this one, there was a noticeable aroma of strawberry from the beer but the main taste was from the cherries, with a rich aftertaste of berries. I liked how subtle this beer was with the various flavours that it had within it and I decided that it also went well with the chicken wings.

    The beer list, as would be expected from Brewdog, was sizeable and there were a range of different beer styles. For those who really couldn’t find anything they liked, there are also a fair number of cans in the fridges.

    It’s Wednesday, so I had reserved a place for Wings Wednesday. They didn’t bring a larger portion for the first round as usual, but they were one of the most pro-active at offering more wings that I’ve had. I think I went for one round of five chicken wings more than I really needed, but they were a handy little snack (well, less snack, more complete meal or indeed two complete meals by the time that I’d finished).

    The reviews of the bar are generally very positive, although I noted the 1/5 star rating as “I paid £4.85 for a pint of trendy ale!” as if that’s a lot of money for something decent. Anyway, I liked this bar, it was laid-back, informal and friendly. I had already tried many of the beers that they were stocking, but the Berry & Cherry Trifle was a decadent little treat here, so happy with that. And I also enjoyed the several rounds of chicken wings, so all really rather lovely.

  • Leeds – Vocation at Assembly Underground

    Leeds – Vocation at Assembly Underground

    This was the final visit on my little tour yesterday of some Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds. It’s a quirky location and I’m not sure that I would have found out about it without CAMRA’s recommendation as it’s located in a cellar where the first visible venues inside are food outlets. It’s actually like a little food court, with Vocation providing the bar section of the whole arrangement.

    As an aside, there’s some heritage to the building that the bar is located in.

    This isn’t the sharpest of photos unfortunately, but this is the main seating area and the food venues can be seen to one side. There are other seating areas available, including within Vocation itself.

    This is Vocation’s bar area at the rear of the basement.

    Grrrr, this photo isn’t as clear as I wanted either, but the beers are listed on screens above the bar. I asked the member of bar staff about what dark beers they had, with four options being suggested, which is an excellent choice and it’s rare that I’m offered that many to pick from. Indeed, they try and have fifty different beers on, so I can see why they’re in the Good Beer Guide with that effort.

    I went for a third of a pint of the rather decadent Ecstasy of Gold from Turning Point Brew Co. I’d had their Mile Zero just a couple of hours before, so it wasn’t a hard decision for me to drink another of their dark beers. And this one was also brilliant as far as I was concerned, smooth, rich, packed with vanilla and chocolate flavour. It was a heavy hit and so it took me a while to sip my way through the drink (which was overpoured so that it was nearer to a half pint, something I was pleased to note) but it remained as enjoyable at the end as at the beginning. I’m becoming something of a fan of this brewery, they definitely know what they’re doing.

    I liked this whole set-up and some of the food options looked really quite decent. It wasn’t very busy, but I can’t imagine Tuesdays often are, but I can imagine at weekends there’s an entirely different environment here. Some of the food venues apparently close when it’s not very busy, although this isn’t ideal if it means that customers can’t rely on food being available here. The Vocation bar is positively reviewed and although the drinks aren’t the cheapest, there is such an extensive range that they perhaps justify that slight extra cost. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, with the whole atmosphere feeling comfortable. I’m definitely pleased that this one is in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Leeds – The Cuthbert Brodrick

    Leeds – The Cuthbert Brodrick

    I’m still on a little pub crawl of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds, I’ve popped into the JD Wetherspoon operated Cuthbert Brodrick pub. It’s not in the Good Beer Guide, but I was running out of power for my laptop and I guessed (correctly) that Wetherspoons could help with that. Incidentally, the pub is name after the architect who designed Leeds Town Hall and Corn Exchange, it’s positive that Wetherspoons have chosen this as it’s a reminder of his work.

    The pub’s interior, all functional but it’s a relatively small outlet from the chain, although there’s a fair amount of outdoors seating.

    This is under-poured by some margin and the staff really shouldn’t have either served that or let that out. However, the beer was cheap and I couldn’t much be bothered to complain about a small amount of beer, but it’s a shoddy approach from the pub’s management. It’s half a pint (well, not quite) of the Triple Chocoholic from the Saltaire Brewery in Shipley, West Yorkshire. I haven’t had this beer since I visited the Horse & Plough pub in Bingham a couple of years ago, en route to a little adventure in Sheffield.

    The staff were friendly, but the atmosphere was a little sterile in the pub, although it was quite quiet. The choice of beers wasn’t actually bad though, they had a choice of six including the guests of the Daleside Bitter and the Leeds Pale.

    The staff really shouldn’t have let out lime looking like that either, but there we go, I won’t concern myself about it.

    I thought I’d get a quick snack whilst I was in the pub and this was cheap and perfectly acceptable. The pub has run out of tomato sauce (apparently I found the last two sachets) because of delivery problems. There’s something slightly amusing that Wetherspoons is having problems with supply due to what is realistically Brexit, but I won’t veer further into politics here. It would be a cheap point to suggest that the pub could easily source (excuse the near pun) tomato ketchup from local shops as others in the chain have managed to do. It might be against the national policy, but realistically it’s perhaps the sensible solution.

    I have no issues with JD Wetherspoons, especially since I’ve visited so many of them, but this one all felt a bit basic. The staff were though friendly, the various glasses and my plate were collected promptly and I was able to charge my devices which was the main reason that I’d gone in. The cleanliness in the pub was though a bit lax and the under-pouring is very rare from any pub I’m pleased to say. All really quite average, and in places, pretty inadequate and I’m pleased that this is one of the Wetherspoons not in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Leeds – Tapped

    Leeds – Tapped

    I’m still continuing with my little tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds, with this one being Tapped on Boar Lane. Opened in 2013, they try to keep 14 craft keg lines and 13 cask lines open, which should be sufficient for nearly any beer taste.

    The beers are listed above the bar, although it’s perhaps not really the easiest way for customers to try and work out what’s available. I asked at the bar for stouts and mentioned that I’d already had the Millionaire from the Wild Beer Co, so the friendly staff member suggested the Bad Kitty from Brass Castle Brewery. I recalled after ordering it that I’ve had this before, at Brigantes in York on 12 March 2020, on what sadly transpired to be one of the last days that this bar was open. Anyway, I’ve now realised that the beer choice is available on-line, so it is possible to see what they’ve got before arriving at the bar.

    Beers are made on site, which I thought added to the atmosphere in terms of the general feel of the bar.

    It wasn’t that busy during my visit and the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. I was starting to get hungry, but I didn’t realise that the bar was selling pizzas until just before I was about to leave. I’m unsure why they’ve put wine lists on every table, but not beer lists or food menus.

    The Bad Kitty was fine and served at the appropriate temperature, with a chocolate and vanilla taste to it. It was reasonably priced and I thought that the whole experience was positive.

    The reviews of the bar are generally all pretty good and most of the complaints are what I’d consider to be either ridiculous or over-stated. There was an angry person annoyed that they wouldn’t let her in wearing flip flops, and the bar is perhaps quite right to ban these not just for sartorial reasons, but because it’s quite likely some idiot would stand on them. Other complaints are from customers moaning that they were wearing tracksuit bottoms and were refused entry. I’m not one for dress codes (I’m hardly a fashion expert myself if I’m being brutally honest) but the bar doesn’t seem unreasonable in its requirements.

    Anyway, friendly staff, decent beer and a clean environment, all really rather lovely and this is justifiably in the Good Beer Guide as far as I’m concerned (although I can’t imagine that anyone is much bothered by that, at least it keeps me happy). Ideally though, perhaps they should be a little clearer about their food menu and not keep it as something of a secret.