The Turks Head, Sowerby Bridge

Visited on Saturday while on the Calder Valley real ale trail. At the bar was an overly friendly inebriated gentleman warning us about a less friendly man on the other side of us. He kept pointing at the various pump clips and grinning, and thought maybe he was a real ale enthusiast, but instead he trotted off with a massive vodka with some Vimto in it. As we were about to be served the man we had been warned about chipped in and said the lady next to him had been waiting before us. We didn't argue. Service was friendly but there was only one barmaid on so it took a while to get served. The bar area itself was fairly small. There were 6 hand pumps of which 5 were in use. The pub itself was not too busy but the beer garden sounded a bit rowdy. Nice to have tried it but it felt more like a locals' pub and I was glad to drink up and leave and move on to the next place.

A nice little pub off the main drag. 2 rooms with the slightly larger one to your left as you enter. You can see into both as they are separated by a through way. 6 handpumps on the bar with Abbeydale Twisted Sister, Ghost Reaper, Farmers bitter, White Lion by someone and Salopian Lemon Dream. It overlooks what I assume is the River Calder. Two real fires ablaze today. A nice friendly pub.

The Turks Head is a proper looking pub that is just off the high street,it is a shame they have now painted the window frames in the horrible battleship grey colour. Once inside there is a single square shaped room which is divided into two halfs by a fire place. The bar is on the right side,the seating bench type and small stools,the floor is part tiled and bare boarded. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Brentwood Galaxy,which was quire a nice drink,the other beers were Phoenix Arizona,Salopion Oracle,plus one more i noted but cannot read the name of. There was a TV to the rear showing football and background music was playing. This seemed a decent pub to have a drink in,it was also fairly busy on my Saturday afternoon visit. Pub visited 29/8/2015

A small stone built, one time Webster’s house, tucked away just off the high street and perched precariously above the River Calder. Internally, it’s semi open plan but with several discernible drinking areas. It looks as though the floor space originally consisted of four tiny rooms. Some refurbishment has recently taken place with the addition of a new modern pale wood bar and bar back, but some of the old wooden flooring and wooden panelling remains in place, so it may well be a work in progress. However, at present, the upholstered wall benches and square wooden tables also remain. At the bar five of the six hand pumps were on the go including Salopian ‘Darwins Origin’, Newby Wyke ‘Orsino’ and Millstone ‘Tiger Rut’. Quality was OK, but rather variable. The new landlord is on record as increasing the commitment to real ale, but maybe the footfall isn’t quite there yet? Fairly quiet on our early Saturday evening visit, but we did receive a warm welcome from the two young barmaids behind the bar, which is always a plus. To be honest, the jury’s still out on this one. I thought there was enough promise to justify a return visit when next in town and perhaps all it needs is just a little more time. However, with some stiff competition nearby it may well have to up its game, somewhat, to remain viable.