Well, I was drinking in a fantastic pub in Leeds at the weekend; the Whitelocks Ale House. So what was I doing in Leeds? Well every autumn Transpennine Express have an offer of cheap train tickets anywhere on their network for those over 55, Called Club 55. Travel is possible for only £19 (even less if blessed with a senior railcard).
So to take advantage of this offer, a group of 6 mates and myself decided to travel to Leeds. Now when I was working, I used to visit the city at least twice a month, but hardly ever had time to go for a pint. So I was looking forward to seeing the city again and its pubs.
We do a few of these outings a year and its customary to start with a Wetherspoons breakfast. As luck would have it, there was one inside the train station, with the imaginative name of (drum roll), Wetherspoons.
So after a fantastic breakfast, washed down with a pint of Moorhouse Pendle Witches Brew, it was time for our next pub.
Sadly, one of the group is a Newcastle United supporter, whose team were going to be on the telly that lunchtime. I had a couple of pubs lined up (The Scarbrough and Head of Steam) next , but neither had a TV. A nice barmaid in theformer pub suggested the Griffin, just round the corner.
One of our gang compiles an excellent quiz, which we always enjoy in every pub we visit. So, finding some seats near a TV we started the quiz
while the match was on. There were 2 games going on; in one part of the pub the locals were cheering as Leeds United beat Huddersfield, while we saw Newcastle beat Bournemouth 1-0. I had a couple of pints of Daleside Monkey Wrench which I could have drunk all day, but time to move on and find Whitelocks.
This pub is the oldest in Leeds, and as luck would have it, was celebrating its 300th anniversary in 2015. All the pint glasses for real ale were commemorating this - see photo right (The beer in the glass was Saltaire Hazelnut Porter) 
The pub has a long narrow interior and the bar has a copper top and its frontage is adorned with tiles. There are stained glass windows and also several old mirrors hanging up , one of which was for Robert Fenwicks Brewery, in Sunderland. **There was an excellent range of ales dispensed from 10 handpulls including one, from the North Yorkshire Great Heck Brewery, called Washington Red. I would like to think this is named after my hometown but for some strange reason it doesn't feature on the brewery's website. So unable to tell why it has that name.$$
For more info on Whitelocks click on here CAMRA Heritage Pubs
After a few more beers and continuing with the quiz, we then headed back to the Scarbrough Hotel. The building dates from 1765, becoming a pub in 1826. Settling down to continue and complete the quiz, I think I had a Loch Lomond Silkie Stout and a Redemption Rising Sun. I cant entirely be sure. (do the maths, these were pints 7 and 8) All too soon it was train time. As is the case with these trips away, we visit less pubs than planned (I blame the footy), a lot of beer was consumed, and someone fell asleep on the train - me this time. But a good time was had by all.
PS. The train back was late running. There were some quiz questions left over after we boarded and, as the guard was handing out compensation forms, he let the quiz-master use the PA system to ask some questions. What the passengers in the other 2 coaches must have thought.....????
** Robert Fenwicks Brewery was located in Low Street Sunderland, where we have our Octoberfest !! Sadly it was bombed in an air raid in 1943
$$ Update -
Washington Red has Simcoe, Citra, Columbus hops from Washington state, USA, with hint of red from crystal malt
