The Swan, Ilkley

A friendly pub with an unusual four room layout and a small square servery with three serving faces, the two back rooms have direct access while the front two and a front standing area are served from the front face. Three hand pulls on the front and right faces, with different beers on each, Taylor's Landlord and Boltmaker one way, Ilkley Pale and Blonde the other. A few standard kegs lurk in the corners. The front right room and the rear right room seem more for dining and were full of middle class diners, front left had a gaggle of older women so I escaped to the back room, a ropey carpet, just two settles, an old dining table and two high bar stools, very pleasant, it is labelled as a snug. I was slightly miffed at being charged £5 for a 4.2% beer albeit of good quality.

This is a popular village local - so popular in fact that I was unable to get to the bar. It's quite a short section of bar in a sort of lobby on entering, with a further small bar, even more hatch-like, just around the corner to the right. The pub occupies quite a long building, but my guess would be that this was originally several cottages that have been knocked through. There were three hand pumps that I could see, with Timothy Taylor Landlord, Tetleys Cask and Moorhouses Pendle Witch, plus three others that I couldn't see because of bar hangers - hey, it's their pub, so I'm not complaining. Beers were served through autovac with a tight sparkler, which I used to approve of back in the day when Tetleys was bitter, and Landlord too. But nowadays both beers are a shadow of their former selves in my opinion - and it's not my taste buds losing their function, as other beers are still bitter. I had a half of Landlord here, and it was as bland as they come; in good condition, but lacking in taste. Date of visit: 2nd July 2019

Pleasant pub, opened out and slightly modernised but retaining a snug behind the bar and a nice and very effective range. There are some roadside tables at the front, and a decked area to the back by the fair-sized car park up a sharp slope. A warm welcome and exceptional service from the barman (or possibly landlord), who despite being alone volunteered to bring our drinks over and kept us supplied with food and drink. A good range of beers included several Yorkshire brews and some from further afield, and were all in very good condition (Cask Marque listing). the traditional pub food was equally good. I would be happy to return.