Batley: The Park, Bradford Road is being converted to a restaurant.

Birstall: At Birstall Cricket Club, Jennings Cumberland has replaced Barnsley Bitter. The Horse & Jockey has well-kept John Smith's Cask and Copper Dragon Golden Pippin plus a rotating guest.

Briestfield: There are hopes that the Shoulder of Mutton, a lovely country pub, will re-open under new ownership.

Carlinghow: The Barfield Arms has been converted to offices.

Cleckheaton: The Talbot, Cleckheaton has Theakston's Mild and sometimes Courage Best. The Commercial had no real ale on a recent visit, the Old House at Home has Tetley Bitter and Taylor's Landlord plus occasional guest while Brass Monkey beers may be tried at the Rose & Crown.

Building work on a large extension has begun at the Marsh (Old Mill range including the excellent Mild), to tap in to its sustained popularity, while the Punch Bowl has re-opened with 2 handpumps. The Obediah Brooke continues to have a good range of well-kept ales in a wide variety of styles, many from local brewers. With up to 7 ales on at the Wickham too, there is lots of choice in the town.

Dewsbury: The Shepherd's Boy ran a very successful beer festival with local, Scottish and Winter ales providing a great choice to stimulate the taste buds, while 28^th April - 2^nd May will see 10 milds with 5 on at once and a prize draw for mild drinkers. The West Riding, which has had 15 consecutive entries in the Good Beer Guide, are planning another “World Sup” festival for June. Dewsbury Central Station Hotel should now be open after restoration, featuring Tetley Bitter @ £1.70, a Black Sheep beer and two rotating guests from local breweries. The tap room will have a rugby theme and four fireplaces will help provide a warm atmosphere. The John F Kennedy is still open (with limited opening hours) and serving good beer after 40 years with Ted in charge.

Gomersal: The California has cask Landlord @ £2 / pint, the West End has John Smith's, Ossett Pale Gold, Daleside Old Legover and Taylor's Landlord; the Shoulder of Mutton has Tetley, Black Sheep Bitter and Leeds Pale; more upheaval is expected at the Wheatsheaf, probably resulting in further spoiling of the pub's once-cosy village pub feel. It now has a somewhat bland interior with dull grey woodwork. It is rumoured that both side rooms will be for diners only while the loyal regular drinkers will be squeezed into the centre section. Complain to Punch Pub Company if you feel so inclined.

Hartshead: The Hartshead (Club) now has Jennings Cumberland Ale and up to three top quality independent guests, while Jennings' Gray Ox continues to be a busy restaurant which welcomes drinkers with good beer away from mealtimes.

Heckmondwike: The Cricketers is being converted to an Islamic Cultural Centre. The New Charnwood will feature many milds through May and usually has at least one dark or mild beer at other times.

Hightown: The Shears is being sold, with an uncertain future following the removal of memorabilia and artefacts allegedly by disgruntled tenants and some vandalism. The owners (Punch) are expected to favour selling to a developer rather than a pub company or publican, with a leading question on the bid form querying whether the purchaser would wish to continue trading as a pub. Punch recently agreed to stop putting restrictive covenants on their pubs but that doesn't prevent them from selling to developers.

Liversedge: The Old Oak has re-opened but won't have real ale. At the Swan, Black Sheep has been replaced by Copper Dragon Golden Pippin, selling well and bringing in new trade. The Black Bull was awarded the branch Pub of the Season for Autumn (see feature).

Mirfield: The Saville Arms has been sold and is thought to be planned as a free house. The Thirsty Man has Black Sheep Bitter as does the Plough. The Old Colonial Club had the launch of a new beer from Copper Dragon; Freddie Trueman's name graces the pump clip and the beer is an outstanding 4% bitter with a very traditional flavour, formulated with long established English hops and malt.

Oakenshaw: The Richardson's Arms is for sale.

Roberttown: A beer festival is being organised for Roberttown, probably early May.

Thornhill Edge: Anglo-Dutch supplied three casks of beer to the Flatt Top when their usual suppliers could not get through because of the snow.

Batley: The Commercial and the Wellington have no real ale, while ale sales at the Cellar Bar are booming.

Birstall: The Black Bull hosted a successful beer festival in October with 15 excellent ales of a variety of styles from around the country, with a healthy sum raised for the Hollybank Trust. At the Horse & Jockey, Copper Dragon Best Bitter is well established alongside John Smith's and a rotating guest, while at “Birstall Nash” Club guest beers are going down well aside well-kept Tetley's and the Greyhound continues to have renowned guests. The Pheasant has low-priced Ruddle's Best and a rotating guest. The Scotland recently hosted a meeting discussing the future of the British pub, with Tony Payne, chair of the national LVA the main speaker, probably refreshed by well-kept Tetley Bitter.

Briestfield: The future of the Shoulder of Mutton is in doubt.

Cleckheaton: The Marsh has added new beer Blonde Bombshell to the line-up of Old Mill Mild, Bitter, Bullion, and seasonal guest, while the Wickham on our last visit had Tetley, Black Sheep, Bass, Landlord, Moorhouse's Pride of Pendle, Copper Dragon Black Gold and Golden Pippin. The keen new management at the Obediah Brooke have boosted real ale sales with good quality control and of course low prices, featuring national and local brews. The Old House at Home features a varying range of well-kept ales.

Dewsbury: The Gate, Westtown keeps opening and closing, while the Shepherd's Boy nearby is thriving, now doing Sunday lunches and has a new manager, Rob, who is very keen on cask ale and has also added a real cider pump with real perry available too. Don't forget Beer Street if you are heading out that way. The Imperial now have two guest beers on trial, so please support them on your way up to the Crackenedge which has Copper Dragon Best Bitter selling well alongside Tetley's. Nearby, the Black Labrador is closed.

Gomersal: The West End has Ossett Pale Gold, John Smith's and rotating guests, the Shoulder of Mutton, the Wheatsheaf and the Bull's Head all have a choice of ales.

Hanging Heaton: The Fox and Hounds are finding the guest beers popular, with well-kept Young's Bitter and beers from Acorn and Clark's alongside the Tetley's available on our recent visit.

Healey: The George no longer sell real ale.

Heckmondwike: The Junction and the Woolpack have been bought by the owners of the Crackenedge but both have no real ale. The New Charnwood's first major beer festival was a success, 30 beers of character were available in good form and £300 was raised for Kirkwood Hospice.

Hightown: The Cross Keys has Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and John Smith's.

Liversedge: Lillibet's have Black Sheep Bitter.

Mirfield: The Old Colonial Club held a mini-festival with an innovative beer and cheese pairing event featuring twelve real ales and cheeses, to raise funds for “Help for Heroes”. Congratulations are due for being awarded third place in the Yorkshire CAMRA Club of the Year competition, judged by random visits by judges from around the county. The Navigation held another winning beer festival with more ales than ever. The next festival will feature solely West Yorkshire breweries, which nowadays gives a vast choice, and runs Friday to Sunday 29-31 January. The Thirsty Man, Mirfield has new licensees and real ale. The Pear Tree, Battyeford has Spitfire, Golden Pippin and Bombardier and is not currently serving food.

Oakenshaw: The Richardson's Arms is closed and for sale

Ravensthorpe: Ravensthorpe WMC has closed amid much media publicity.

Roberttown: No real ale at the New Inn.

Shaw Cross: The Huntsman has a fine house beer, well-kept Taylor's Landlord and two good quality rotating guests.

Thornhill: Leeds Brewery beers are proving popular at the Savile Arms and at the Flatt Top.

Upper Hopton: The Hare & Hounds has a varying guest, lately Thwaites Nutty Black.

Whitley: New licensees at the Woolpack, serving Black Sheep, Greene King IPA and Ruddle's.

LICENSEES – if you are disappointed that your pub has not been mentioned, please contact us with your pub news before mid-February for inclusion in the next issue.

Batley: The White Hart, currently closed, has a planning application for change of use to housing. Batley WMC has Tetley cask, £1.82.

Birstall: Jardy's Sports Bar has joined the real ale scene with 2 handpumps, featuring rotating guest ales from Coor's and independents. A weekend music and beer festival in July featured 9 ales which almost sold out on the Sunday. The White Bear has re-opened with temporary management. The Horse & Jockey now has 1 or 2 well-kept guests alongside John Smiths Cask. The Black Bull are following up their Summer charity beer festival with another on October 9^th & 10^th, 15+ ales. Buses 220 and 283 pass nearby with 209, 229, 281 and 282 within half a mile.

Briestfield: Shoulder at Briestfield has been sold, future uncertain – we would be happy to chat with the new owners.

Cleckheaton: Our three Wetherspoon pubs, especially The Obediah Brooke, have been promoting real ale with a number of welcome initiatives including “Meet the Brewer” sessions, featured independent brewers and customer voting for the next week's guest beers from a list. All 3 outlets had a Dew-Cleck-ley festival with special beers supplied by Moorhouses.

Dewsbury: The Gate, Westtown has re-opened. The West Riding is very busy now on Saturday daytimes with lots of “Rail Ale Trailers”, causing the popular Ale Day Breakfast to be extended to the Cellar Bar in Batley to accommodate demand. The annual Cider Trail has been extended to take in the Sportsman, Huddersfield as well as the West Riding and Cellar Bar, 11-12 September. The Huntsman on Chidswell Lane continues to have some great guest beers including some from Millstone and Wold Top.

Dewsbury Moor: Moorend Club, perhaps the oldest club in the area, is closed and for sale..

Gomersal: The Bull's Head has Jennings Cumberland, Black Sheep and a guest. The Wheatsheaf has re-opened with a keen new licensee, with Tetley, Black Sheep and a rotating guest and will be ditching the unpopular grey décor for something more in keeping with the traditional style of the pub.

Grange Moor: The New Inn has Tetley Bitter and Black Sheep Bitter.

Hanging Heaton: The Fox & Hounds, Bennett Lane, Hanging Heaton, on the 202 bus route, is a busy, traditional community pub with a keen licensee, with well-kept Tetley and 2-4 guests. For Yorkshire Day, 10 Yorkshire ales were featured, 5 at a time, and proved very popular.

Hartshead: The Gray Ox has well-kept Cumberland, Cocker Hoop, Sneck Lifter and a rotating guest; the emphasis is on good food but drinkers are welcomed outside peak times. Hartshead Club has 2 cherished ales, Jennings Cumberland and a rotating guest, often from Bob's Brewery.

Heckmondwike: The Junction has changed hands and is for sale or to let. The New Charnwood will have a beer festival Friday 13^th November 11-11, Sat 11-11, Sun 12-4, 30 beers from all over the country, wide variety of styles.

Hightown:The Shears, vandalised, boarded up and apparently stripped of historic artefacts awaits the next move from owners Punch Taverns.

Liversedge: The Old Oak has closed, probably permanently.

Lower Hopton: Lower Hopton WMC has Copper Dragon Golden Pippin, Tetley Bitter and a rotating Clark's beer, priced around £1.75 while the nearby Flowerpot, which like many pubs has to buy through the pub company at a high price, has guest beers priced at £2.85.

Mirfield: The Swan has re-opened under new management as has the Pear Tree. The Navigation had another successful beer festival with 27 beers on at once plus reserves. The next festival is planned for 17-20 September. The Old Colonial has a cheese and beer fest starting Fri 11^th September.

Oakenshaw: The Richardson's is closed and for sale.

Ravensthorpe: The Ravensthorpe has been sold and delicensed.

Scholes: The Rising Sun, has Tetley, Jennings Cumberland, Landlord and guest, lately Golden Pippin.

Thornhill: Recent guests at the Savile Arms include beers from Leeds and Clarks : The Alma is still serving food but bar meals rather than restaurant.

Thornhill Lees: The Perseverance has closed permanently.

Upper Hopton: Hare and Hounds has Black Sheep, Taylor Landlord and Sharps Doom Bar, while The Travellers have Black Sheep and Tetley Bitter.

Whitley: The Woolpack is up for lease at a high price.

Anglo-Dutch have new beers, Old Staff celebrates a Brontë anniversary, Dusk Till Dawn, formulated by Dawn, the brewer; and Special, a 4.2% with a mahogany colour.

Batley: The Cellar Bar's recent festival was a success, almost sold out.

Birstall: .The White Bear, Birstall is closed and boarded up. The Black Bull held their first charity beer festival at the end of May.

Briestfield: The Shoulder of Mutton is reported closed.

Chickenley: The Spinners Arms is apparently being converted to a curry house.

Cleckheaton: The Marsh has rearranged its pumps and continues to feature a good line-up of Old Mill beers including the tasty dark Mild. Weston's award-winning Old Rosie traditional cider is now on handpull and is proving popular.

The Old House at Home has well-kept Taylor's Landlord, Tetley bitter and John Smith cask and has been awarded Cask Marque for ale quality.

The Rose and Crown has varied guest beers of the likes of Spitfire and Old Hooky.

The Broomfield is now owned by local company Clifton Properties with the same tenant, who is now free of tie, offset by an increased rent.

The new manager of the Obediah Brooke, from the Guide-listed Gatehouse, Doncaster is promoting real ale by featuring selected independent brewers, with “Meet the Brewer” sessions. The head brewer of Daleside gave a talk in May while Kelham Island are due around June 15th.

Crackenedge: The Crackenedge has been selling cask Tetley Mild then Ansells Mild, both worthy ales, at £1.50 a pint.

Dewsbury: The Woolpack, Dewsbury Moor is reported closed.

Leggers came 5^th in the national Waterways World canalside pub competition and recently took the title of Heavy Woollen CAMRA Pub of the Year.

The West Riding and other station pubs featured by Oz and James have significantly increased sales of real ale since the programme was aired (around 4,000 pints per week) and the Leeds-Batley-Dewsbury-Mirfield-Huddersfield-Marsden-Stalybridge Rail Ale Trail seems to have really taken off as an attraction for group celebrations. The West Riding Summer beer festival was due 4th - 7th June.

The Imperial has recently changed hands and now has John Smith cask and Tetley Bitter.

Wetherspoon's beer festival was a great success and sales at Dewsbury were apparently up by 30% compared to last Autumn's event.

Hartshead: Hartshead Club have added more handpumps to satisfy demand.

Heckmondwike: The New Charnwood, Heckmondwike now has 4 handpumps upstairs and 4 downstairs, all but one on separate lines, to keep up with steadily increasing demand. Taylor's Landlord is the regular beer with mostly independent guests normally including a dark ale. Show your CAMRA membership card to get 10% discount on ales.

Mirfield: The Old Colonial hosted a pie-judging contest against Wigan, and Yorkshire pies won, despite half the judges being from West of the Pennines. St. George's Day was celebrated in style, with special events including sampling of some excellent speciality sausages. Mild Month of May saw ten different mild beers on sale from large and small brewers.

The Navigation are holding a Summer beer festival, 25+ ales expected, 19-21 June. Regular choice is John Smith Cask, four Theakston ales and at least two guests.

South Pennine Boat Club, Battyeford, had an open day in May with 5 handpulled ales in the beer tent, all sold out while lager didn't.

The Three Nuns now has Tetley Bitter and Greene King IPA on handpull after a change of manager.

Shaw Cross: Recent guests at The Huntsman include beers from Saltaire, Abbeydale, Cairngorm, Shardlow and York

Thornhill: The Flatt Top has four ales including its own unique brew, Flatt Top SPA, brewed by Leeds Brewery.

The Blackers Arms has closed.

Morton House WMC has Tetley Mild (£1.60) and Bitter.

The Blackers Arms, Thornhill Lees is now a house.

The Alma has Black Sheep Bitter and Sharp's Doom Bar.

Recent guests at The Savile Arms include beers from Adnams, Leeds, Copper Dragon and a Black Sheep seasonal.

Upper Hopton: The Freemason's Arms is being converted to housing.

The Travellers' Rest has Tetley Bitter and Black Sheep Bitter.

The Hare and Hounds has Landlord and occasional guests.

Whitley: The Woolpack is reported closed.

Many of our pubs are for sale freehold, some with restrictive covenants. Many will not re-open as pubs. Currently advertised for sale (some may be under offer or sold) include Barfield Arms, Carlinghow; White Hart, Batley; Punch Bowl, Cleckheaton; Perseverance, Thornhill Lees; Station Hotel, Dewsbury; Crown, Chickenley; Cricketers, Heckmondwike (being sold de-licensed); Junction, Heckmondwike; Old Oak, Liversedge; White Gate, Mirfield; Talbot, Batley; Thirsty Man, Mirfield.

Batley: The beer festival at Wetherspoon was enjoyed in our 3 Heavy Woollen outlets, with good quality beers at £1.49 or less with the odd 99p surprise such as the Inveralmond Ossian at Batley's Union Rooms which was in fine condition.

Batley Carr: The Old Shoulder of Mutton, Batley Carr has new licensees interested in real ale.

Birstall: Demand for guest ales in Birstall continues to grow, with the Black Bull having a good turnover of independent brews on its one guest pump, with John Smith Cask and increasingly rare Boddington Bitter providing alternatives; the Horse and Jockey is gaining a reputation for well-kept guest ales mostly from renowned established breweries, e.g. Hook Norton Old Hooky and Shepherd Neame Spitfire; the Greyhound (try the good value Sunday lunch) sometimes has a guest alongside the handpulled Tetley and the Pheasant has up to 3 real ales, at reduced price on Wednesdays.

Carlinghow: The Lord Nelson is to let, free of tie.

Chickenley: No real ale at the Spinners.

Cleckheaton: May is Mild Month and the Marsh is a good place to sample Old Mill's fine, dark brew which is popular with regulars.

Dewsbury: The Leggers Inn held their first beer festival last November and intends to have another in the Summer, where the new decking overlooking the canal basin should be a fine spot to dwell. The Woodman, Hartley Street, (a short walk from Dewsbury station), a fine old traditional pub, has Tetley Dark Mild and Bitter and maintains an active social scene with 4 football teams, a pool team and ladies and gents darts teams.

Hartshead: Hartshead Social club, winner of the branch Autumn Pub of the Season, has Jennings Cumberland Ale and a good quality local guest beer always available; visitors welcome (check openings on 01274 873365)

Heckmondwike: The Cricketers has closed down. For good beer, try the Old Hall for low-priced Sam Smith's or the New Charnwood for Landlord and guests.

Hightown: The Shears Inn has closed, concern has been expressed about Luddite-related historical artefacts which seem to have disappeared.

Liversedge: The Swan has Tetley's, Daleside Bitter and Taylor's Landlord, the Black Bull has nine ales including a mild and the grade 2 listed Albion makes an interesting diversion with Tetley on offer.

Lower Hopton: Lower Hopton WMC has guest beers, recently Clark's Classic Blonde, £1.80 and Ansell's Bitter, £1.60.

Mirfield: The Old Colonial Club now has 5 carefully selected guest ales alongside Copper Dragon Bitter.

The Navigation had a successful second festival, with all 16 festival beers sold out by the end, despite the bitterly cold weather; ales reported to be in very good condition.

The Pear Tree has a new, keen manager maintaining the three real ales, London Pride, Bombardier and Greene King IPA. Food available at reasonable prices.

The Wasp's Nest has a keen licensee with 3 real ales including Abbott.

The Railway and the Yorkshire Puddin', under the same management, have Black Sheep Bitter and Taylor's Landlord, with 3 and 2 rotating guests respectively which are proving popular.

South Pennine Boat Club, across the river from the Pear Tree, have a rally and open day on May 9th, 11-5, with a small real ale bar with beer expected from Bob's Brewery and Anglo-Dutch, free entry.

Shaw Cross: The Huntsman is readily accessible by bus and has a real country pub atmosphere and view, with four excellent ales including Taylor's Landlord and a house beer.

Upper Hopton: The Freemason's Arms is for sale with a restrictive covenant with planning permission applied for, intending conversion to housing.