CAMRA social events are currently suspended to ensure groups of members are not encouraged to gather in pubs, but comply with social distancing guidelines, in order to keep everyone safe. One event planned for a Saturday in the autumn was to visit pubs in Grassington using service buses. Although we will not be holding an event people may wish to support these pubs by going on such a trip.

In July Keighley Bus Company launched a BACKtoBUS campaign, combined with a clean, safe & ready to go policy, to encourage people to use the buses again, for which they received a commendation from VisitEngland. Outlined below is a guide on how to use their buses to visit Grassington pubs.

Bus service no. 72 buses run between Skipton and Grassington nine times a day, Monday to Saturday, and the best one to get from Skipton is the 11.30am from the bus station, arriving in Grassington at 12noon. If coming from Keighley, you can use the Dalesway service (no. 66) to Skipton. These run every 30 minutes during the morning, leaving Keighley at 20 mins and 50 mins past the hour, with a journey time of 35 minutes. Hence the latest bus to catch, to connect with the 11.30am from Skipton, is the 10.50am bus from Keighley, which gives a 5-minute connection in Skipton bus station. The best ticket to buy is a KDay day rover ticket, which can be bought from the driver of the first Keighley Bus Company bus that you board at a cost of £4.50. Up to date information about bus times and route maps can be found at: https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/keighley/services.

Once in Grassington it is possible to spend 3 to 4 hours visiting the four pubs in the centre of the village, for a few beers, and a pub lunch if desired. These are:

The Devonshire Hotel selling a range of beers from Timothy Taylor brewery.	The Grassington House serving Dark Horse Hetton Pale Ale and two changing beers.
The Black Horse selling Tetley bitter and up to five changing beers.	The Foresters Arms selling Tetley Bitter, Black Sheep Best Bitter & Riggwelter, Timothy Taylor Landlord, and one or two changing beers.

Buses depart Grassington at 3.15pm, 4.23pm, 5.28pm and 6.30pm. This means it is feasible to break the journey for one or two hours at a pub on the route back to Skipton. For example:
  •  The Old Hall, Threshfield, selling Theakston Best Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord and one or two changing beers.
  •  The Devonshire Arms Hotel, Cracoe, a Marston‘s pub selling Thwaites Original and a selection of up to four beers from the Marston‘s group.
  •  Cracoe‘s Cafe Bar & Bistro, selling Dark Horse Craven Bitter.

Details of the pubs can be found from CAMRA‘s pub database, WhatPub (at https://www.whatpub.com/ ) and typing the name of the village in the search box.

The majority of these pubs supported their local communities by providing takeaway services during lockdown, and, in turn, local residents have been supporting the pubs. However, the pubs also rely on support from visitors, particularly after the end of the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

Please note that details were correct at the time of writing but may change.

Jenny Baker
(Keighley & Craven CAMRA Social Secretary)