The Navigation, Sowerby Bridge

The Navigation is a bit of a walk from the train station, or perhaps it just felt it due to the rain on Saturday evening. We approached from the main road down Chapel Lane so had a bit of time to take in the view of the pub as we made it downhill. This was the first pub of a small crawl in Sowerby Bridge and Hebden Bridge. It looks fairly basic and traditional from the outside, so we weren't really sure what to expect, but the sign outside boasts a 'traditional warm welcome' so we figured it was not the kind of place to lock non-locals in the cellar. On entering through the front door the toilets are off to the left and the bar to the right. The bar area was pleasant and comfortable, feeling fairly traditional but with fairly modern décor - certainly not shabby and neglected like some 'traditional' pubs can be. At the bar, five hand pulls, two of which were off, the remaining on offer being Donkeystone Badass Blonde, Donkeystone Cotton Clouds and Great Heck Treasure IPA. I went for the Cotton Clouds which was a perfectly pleasant pale ale. Although not investigated, there was a door at the end of the bar which presumably takes you through to a separate room to the left, and possibly a rear entrance for ease of access to the car park. The pub wasn't busy at 6:30pm on Saturday but the service was friendly and the ale was on form. A good pub to start the crawl with.