The Flying Duck , Ilkley

Not a lot has changed since my last review in 2014, there’s been a widening on the beer range to 9 pulls and 10 keg taps on one of them horseshoe shaped pipe things, some of the kegs are unusual, the cask is mostly from Wharfedale with a guest from Dark Horse and a mango cider. The toilets look new and there’s a neat display of old Ilkley photos in the corridor leading to them. Events are held in the upper floor; “The Loft”. I can understand Wharfedale beers not being to all tastes, mine was fine but the hops used imparted a slight burnt rubber flavour. The only Ilkley pub in the 2022 GBG.

My husband and I visited this ale house this afernoon. First visit since well before the start of the pandemic. We used to enjoy visiting so looked forward to returning.We had a couple of drinks each and we were a tad disappointed.My husband tried a guest ale and a Wharfedale beer and did not enjoy either beer. I had a couple of halves of the Pilsner. It was ok but I'd enjoyed tastier lagers.The place was also quieter than on previous visits.

A quiet two room pub, both rooms with people in at the time of my afternoon visit but still very quiet. This is a Wharfedale brew pub and there are three of their ales take the centre hand pulls on the bar (a blonde, bitter and a mild) accompanied by six guests (one of which was off). I like to try the local beers whenever I can but I found the Wharfedale Blonde not to be anything special and I was left feeling I probably should have gone for one of the guest ales instead. I can't remember the full lineup of guests but it included the excellent Titanic Plum Porter. There was a wood burning stove going in the main room. The gents were modern and clean. There is apparently a function room available for hire. Definitely worth a look.

My review is from a visit in July 2016. A Wharfedale brewery owned roadside inn on the main road towards Skipton, this was tick number 2 in Ilkley from the GBG. York stone flagged flooring through the bar and dining area which is to the left of the long wooden bar. The bar has 4 of the breweries ales on plus another 5 from Yorkshire breweries' Wantsum, Northern Monk, Ilkley, Bridgehouse and Dark Horse. I had a pint of Wharfedale's Blonde, a citrus session ale at 3.9%. They also have 3 ales & lagers on keg. We spent around 45 minutes here and it filled up around 6pm with couples. Reputablely the oldest pub building in Ilkley, nicely laid out and worth a visit, just lacked a bit of atmosphere for me, maybe because it wasn't that busy.

A very good traditional pub with friendly and welcoming bar staff, who are knowledgeable about their beers. The interior hosts honey coloured stone walls, flag floors and lots of oak timber. Nine pumps with eight in use on our visit, so we went for the Wharfedale Golden and James & Kirkman Brewery New American Pale. My American Pale was excellent and I could have easily stopped here for a few more. A proper Ale House, this one and one not to be missed.

Official site of The Flying Duck - www.wharfedalebrewery.com

Official site of The Flying Duck - www.wharfedalebrewery.com

The Flying Duck is a stone pub that is on a very busy road. Once inside there is a square shaped room with the bar facing,the floor is stone,the seating normal tables and chairs,there is a smaller area to the left which also has normal tables and chairs plus a few pew seats. The pub is a Wharfedale tied house so there is a good selection of their beers on the bar,i had a drink of Wharfedale Blonde which went down well,the other beers noted were Wharfedale Black /Best,York Terrier,Hop Studio India,Goose Eye Spring Wells and one from Dark Horse. Background music was playing and food was being served. This is a good pub to visit if in Ilkley. Pub visited 7/11/2015

Now refurbished and under the care of Wharfedale Brewery, a 2.5 barrel unit located at the back of the pub. Structurally not much different to its Albert days, downstairs has two distinct areas, to the right mainly vertical drinking with one table, some chairs and a bench, there are also a few stools alongside a drinking shelf. To the left is a more comfortable seating area. Behind, along the rear wall is the counter with its nine pulls, which includes two ciders, there are also seven kegs taps. Ales come from the on-site brewery plus other small breweries, on this occasion from Hetton, Jarrow and Bollington. Upstairs is another seating area split into two sections with a corner counter carrying two more pulls, you can also go outside here onto a deck or "sun terrace". Inside the roof timbers are exposed the building dating back to the beginning of the 18th century although it became a licensed premises only in the 1980s. Excellent home brewed beer, pub quizzes and live music, what more could you ask for?