September 18, 2011
My mother found this place by chance one day when she was out walking and introduced me to it on a Sunday afternoon when we were in the area and looking for a spot of lunch. They don’t serve food on Sundays but the friendly barman kindly made us a sandwich anyway. Four of the six taps were on, each with a beer from a local microbrewery. Mum was quite taken with the idea of the Saltaire Elderflower Blonde and was offered a generous sample before making her choice. I was delighted with the place and have been talking about it ever since. I like it because it serves several purposes - café, bar, tearoom and meeting place for beer enthusiasts and railway buffs - and blends them together exceptionally well. It’s in the only surviving part of the old station building and has been beautifully restored to its original style, with green and cream walls, a bare brick chimney breast at one end, light wood tables and art deco pendant lamps. There’s an interesting collection of posters on the walls depicting old breweries from around the area and railway timetables. The station is still operational and the bar also has a “Whistle-stop Window” open from 0645 to 0930 on weekdays to serve hungry commuters with breakfast on the go. My plan is to test this out when we eventually get round to doing the trans Pennine and Calder Valley railway pub crawls. (Visited 24 July 2011).