The Kings Arms, Heath, Wakefield

Changed since my last visit. Clarks distibute Ossett Beers and of the 8 Real Ales on offer priced from £2.50 -£2.70 none were from Clarks and the House Beer Kings Arms Bitter is from Ossett. Didnt check out the food but what I did see the portions looked a good size. Further to some comments from other reviwers staff all appeared on the young side and in the bar servise was erratic as bar staff deep in converstaion with friends.

Situated in the conservation area of Heath, an 800 year old village a mile or so east of Wakefield consisting of a number of fine stone built properties around much grassland and commons, The Kings Arms is a splendid traditional pub that features in Part 2 of CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. Itself an attractive stone built building entirely in keeping with the rest of the village, the pub features a number of small interconnecting old rooms with wood panelling, flagstoned floors and dark beams. As you approach the front door, you immediately notice the Cask Marque symbol plus, unfortunately, a notice telling you that "anyone suspected using illegal drugs on the green will have their car registration reported to the police …..". What a shame that such an attractive looking country pub in an idyllic location feels fit to have such a notice displayed - three times in total, in various parts of the pub. The small bar at the front is a typical snug bar with realistically room for no more than half a dozen customers comfortably. My immediate initial reaction was that it's not a lot bigger than the small front bar of The Dove, in Hammersmith, West London, which of course holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest bar room. On the other side of the central corridor are two other traditionally furnished old rooms. Carrying on through the corridor leads round to a larger more comfortable bar with a couple of fine fireplaces. Modern additions include a well appointed restaurant on the far left of the building and a conservatory behind the larger bar where the World Cup and Wimbledon were advertised as being shown. There's a large rambling garden at the back and several seats outside at the front overlooking the green. On the real ale front, the beers in the front snug bar were Tetley Bitter, TT Landlord and Clarks Classic Blonde. In the larger bar - which was deserted on my visit - 4 additional beers were available - Ringwood Old Thumper, Caledonian Flying Dutchman plus beers from Purple Moose and Conwy Breweries. Both beers sampled by me - Clarks Classic Blonde and Tetley Bitter - £ 2.04p and £ 2.34p respectively - were in good form. It seems churlish to be critical, but I'm surprised that a pub that is apparently owned by Clarks Brewery should only be offering one of their own beers. Interestingly, also, there's no external branding/ badging to show that Clarks own this pub, although bar staff were wearing appropriately branded black corporate shirts. This is an attractive pub in an attractive village and you should make the effort to seek this one out if you get the opportunity.

Comfortable looking pub. No real ales that I could see. Has a small stage area and comfortable seating. On my last visit, all the taps were off due to a power failure.

Fascinating country pub which is completely gaslit. The bar area always has a warm cosy feel about it, unfortunately, the new conservatory at the back of the pub does nothing to add to the ambience. The evening we were there in Jan.08, the conservatory was very untidy, and freezing (since, been informed that this is usually set aside for families with young children). This does not detract from the fact that this Cask Marque pub is one of the best in the region.