The Cricketers Beerhouse, Wakefield

A smart looking, brick built pub, with a black and white, half timbered bit that looks like it may be a later add on. 2 rooms with the right hand room being very smart with a nice fireplace. 8 handpumps on the bar including a real cider. My pint was in excellent nick and served by a friendly, attractive barmaid. The only negative for me is that all the beers have return valves in the drip trays. That knocks a point off as I find them to be totally unhygenic.

A big old building, recently taken over by the same people who run the WRLRR. This means a heavy emphasis on real ale and indeed there were eight lined up, an eclectic selection ranging from Tim Taylor Landlord and Mild through to Mallinsons and Marble via Copper Dragon and Golden Sheep. Work on the finishing touches of the refurbishment was still in progress and the front bar area looked very spartan and unwelcoming which I assume will be addressed. The quality of the beers served up was, to be honest, variable; I’m not sure whether somewhere the size of Horbury has the demand for so much given that there’s the well-established Boons up the road. Time will tell. The lady behind the bar was very enthusiastic and engaged us in conversation about our day’s planned crawl plus the pub’s immediate future. We were the only early afternoon customers (again, in contrast to Boons who had around a dozen). Certainly the owners have a track record in the trade and I imagine that in a couple of years this one will have found its stride.