Ring o' Bells, Halifax

Apparently the oldest pub in town and situated right by the minster. Very traditional bar, with two more rooms off to the right and plenty of tables out in the front yard (where a singer was doing very proficient renditions of Undertones and Saw Doctors songs, ahead of the real deal in the Piece Hall later). I found five of the six handpumps in use, offering Landlord, Landlord Dark, Old Speckled Hen, Acorn Yorkshire Bitter and Vocation's Bread & Butter (£4.00).

A traditional pub of great age sitting below the slightly soot laden Halifax Minster, the five beers that were on are noted below with myself opting for the Saltaire Blonde which I found in good shape. It's a very nice pub with a reasonable range of beer and a good starting point for a crawl of Halifax.

In the acoustic shadow of Halifax Minster’s bells from whence the pub taketh its name and according to CAMRA, with a history going back a good 400 years, making this the town’s oldest licenced establishment; a church headstone of 1635 is incorporated into a cellar wall and since 2022, the east wall has displayed a large mural depicting Suranne Jones as Anne Lister of Gentleman Jack fame. This is a simple, no-nonsense place with white walls and older locals; a great 1980s’ soundtrack played. My half of Titanic Plum Porter was good, but the pub uses the ‘Return Tray’ method to recycle used beer overspill. Very handy for the train.

Close to the station,a traditional pub with a cosy tap room with a long fitted bench,while through an arch are two sections,one with more bench seating ,the other with dining type tables.The muzak was decent and not too loud,food is served and there tables outside near the road. Good ale selection with a 10% CAMRA discount which on my trip meant Titanic Plum Porter,TT Landlord ,Acorn Barnsley Bitter and Saltaire Blonde (NBSS 4).A very good start or finish for any crawl and deserving of a longer stay next time.

Facebook page of Ring o' Bells - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Ring o' Bells - www.facebook.com