The Transpennine Ale Trail

Welcome to the TransPennine Real Ale Trail

Yorkshire Real Ale Trail

The TransPennine Real Ale Trail is not a pub crawl, it’s a multi-town adventure taking in some of the best real ale pubs in West Yorkshire (plus Tameside, over t’other side o’Pennines of course!), all within a stone’s throw of the railway station – some are even on the platform itself.

The Ale Trail Pubs

Stalybridge Buffet Bar
Station Pub Stalybridge
Riverhead Brewery Tap, Marsden
Short walk away Marsden
The Commercial, Slathwaite
Short walk away Slaithwaite
Kings Head, Huddersfield
Station Pub Huddersfield
The Navigation, Mirfield
Short walk away Mirfield
The West Riding, Dewsbury
Station Pub Dewsbury
Cellar Bar, Batley
Short walk away Batley
Real Pubs, Real Ale
Pint of Ale Real Pubs

Made famous in 2009 when Oz and James featured it on their Drink to Britain show, it gained a reputation as a somewhat rowdy affair for a while, but it’s now been reclaimed by true lovers of real ale, craft beer, and traditional pubs!

The pubs along the trail have collaborated to create this website to showcase the best the Transpennine Ale Trail has to offer and offer our tips for completing it. Check out the stations along the route in the navigation to see details of each pub.

Stalybridge Buffet Bar
British Railways Sign

PLAN YOUR JOURNEY

Share Your Trail!

We love to see everyone enjoying the trail and we’ve known people come from far and wide to do it. Check in at each pub and share your photos with the hashtag #transpenninerealaletrail so we can see your progress.

Whether completing the trail for a special occasion or just for the joy of doing it, we hope you have a great time – we can’t wait to see you!

Our top tips for completing the TransPennine Real Ale Trail

Yorkshire Real Ale Trail
One

IMPORTANT: check the trains are running!

Many factors can impact on the trains so be sure to check that the TransPennine route is running or whether there are restrictions. You can do this, and buy tickets, on the TransPennine Express website.

Two

Buy a day ticket

A day return ticket between Batley and Stalybridge will allow you to hop on and off the train as many times as you want to along the route. However, remember that that Stalybridge is outside West Yorkshire, so a West Yorkshire Day Rover or Metro Day Saver won’t cover the full route.

Three

Start at the furthest point

A great tip is to start at the furthest station from where you live and work your way back. You’ll be glad of the short journey home after visiting 7 pubs!

Four

Plan your beers

There will be so many delicious beers along the route that you may be tempted to try them all! This is probably not the best idea and, of course, these ales deserve to be savoured so make some informed choices. Handy apps such as Real Ale Finder and UnTappd can give you an insight into what’s pouring where and help you be more discerning.

Five

Plan your food

Many of the pubs along the route offer food but some require pre-booking. You’ll need to line your stomachs at some point so whether it’s a hearty ale trail breakfast, pub lunch, bar snacks, or finishing with tea to soak it all up, give some thought to where you’d like to eat and plan accordingly. See the individual pub pages for details of their food offerings.