White Lion Inn, Hebden Bridge

Heptonstall is one of the great picture-perfect villages and this old stone pub fits its main street perfectly. The interior is a cosy single room with seating areas to the left and right, plus a tiered outdoor drinking area at the back (the old Thwaites pub sign is on display here). A few ales on from smaller breweries and my Golden Salamander was in great condition on a hot day. i ignored the below advice and walked up from Hebden, a fine workout but I was in a sorry state by the time I got here. Also the garden is a sun trap but I was relentlessly pestered by wasps, so beware!

Heptonstall's second pub is a bit more open plan with the bar area on the left as you enter dominated by a fireplace and some seating around the wall. Over to the right is an area of low tables and chairs. I didn't investigate any further than this. Happily this one has no TV screens. The bar has five hand pumps and I noticed three non mainstream ciders. The beers were Thwaites Wainwright, Goose Eye Chinook Pale, Elland 1872 Porter, Bath Special and Empire White Wolf. I went for the Chinook Pale (£3.20) and the 1872 (£3.30) both in good condition but the 1872 being particularly good. Both village pubs make the short bus ride up here (you wouldn't want to walk it!) well worth while. This one is GBG 2016 listed.

This is the second pub in the village of Heptonstall a little walk up the hill from the Cross Inn. It is a comfortable traditional décor three roomed Thwaites house with a public bar with flat screen tele off to the left and more comfortable lounge area off to the right. And then through the lounge is a third room laid out as a dining area. Then out the back is a fairly small but pleasant paved garden area. We didn't eat but several people were and the steak sandwiches and burgers were substantial and looked pretty good. Three Thwaites ales were on at the time of my visit, Original , Wainrights and Bomber. All very passable and the Wainrights was particularly pleasant. All in all, a solid pub if you are visiting or walking in the vicinity of this picturesque village..