Old White Bear, Crosshills
Keighley
and Craven CAMRA ‘Pub of the Season’ for Autumn 2003 is the Old White
Bear in Cross Hills. When Brenda Naylor and her sons Robert and Stephen
took over about 2½ years ago they had a hard act to follow.
Prior to this well-known local man Bryan Eastell, and wife Sandra, had
had the pub for several years and had won our ‘Pub Of The Season’ award
themselves not once but twice! However, Brenda and sons have done an
excellent job at the pub and it remains a bustling, popular local pub
which seems to appeal to all ages.
The pub benefits from being next door to the Old Bear Brewery, though they are run as separate businesses. Old Bear Original is on sale and there is often a guest beer. Other Old Bear beers may be seen at times.
On entering the pub you come to a room adjoining the left-hand end of the bar. To your right is another room facing the other part of the bar and, beyond that, yet another room. The restaurant is the final room further on. If you go straight on when coming in instead you go into the games room where darts and ‘Ring the Bull’ are often played. In good weather there is room to sit at tables out front and back. In the Summer in particular the pub boasts a huge array of colourful hanging baskets outside. The pub dates from 1735 and it is reckoned that it is named after Admiral Sheffield’s ship from the Spanish armada days. Possibly some of the old beams are from that very vessel.
The pub is open from 11.30 to 11 Monday to Saturday, 12 to 10.30 Sunday. Food is available from 12 to 2.30, 6 to 9 Tuesday to Saturday and 12 to 2.30 on Sunday. The Keighley to Colne bus (21 or 25) passes the door on an hourly basis each way and the Keighley to Skipton service (66, 67, 67A, 68, 68A) also goes through Cross Hills (though not past the pub). Unfortunately Cross Hills has not got its railway station back yet but we live in hope! Don’t confuse the pub with the nearby White Bear which is in Eastburn about a mile away towards Keighley.