#commondale

The political scenery of Three Howes Rigg

Having been brought up on the Transpennine Express line, friends, family and I have been doing the Rail Ale Trail long before James May and Oz Clarke made the route popular. But, off the back of that program, the trail has exploded, and now many other areas have been trying to emulate it with varying degrees of success. The Esk Valley Railway have published their own Rail Ale Trail, comprising a headache inducing 22 pubs across 13 villages; starting in Whitby with the furthest point at Great Ayton.

The reason the Transpennine ale trail is so popular is its ease: regular trains, all the pubs within minutes of the station and plenty of different pubs to choose from. When planning my Esk Valley ale trail, however, I quickly realised military precision was going to be needed. The first problem I had was that there are only 5 trains a day, and with 2 of those running before midday, that narrowed our options to 3 trains! I eventually though settled on a route that I’d hope would incorporate at least 5 different stops and possibly 7 pubs…

We arrived in Whitby on a fantastically warm, sunny day at around midday. On purchasing our train tickets we were helpfully informed by the ticket officer that, with there being 4 of us, it’d work out cheaper buying 2 duos instead of 4 individual tickets - coming to less than £5 each! Tickets purchased, we proceeded to our first stop, and Cleveland CAMRA pub of the year 2011, the Station Inn. It’s a small, mock-Tudor pub immediately facing the station. As you walk through the door, you’re meet with a large open room, and a bar on the left that bends in a quarter circle. The guest ales were York Guzzler, Timothy Taylor’s Golden Best and a guest beer whose name escapes me. As we were in it for the long haul, I opted for the Guzzler and so did A.N. Other, whilst the remaining 2 opted for Golden Best. We took our seats towards the back of the bar, which is adorned with various train pharaphenalia, and as soon as I sat down I spotted a chalk board hidden to the furthest right of the beer. A board that listed all the guest ales, including Black Sheep, Ossett Silver King and Sharp’s Doom Bar. We’d completely missed the snug that is on your immediate right on entry! Disaster! To add to my disappointment, the Guzzler was only ok, but reports of the Golden Best were better.

So, on to the 12:41 to Commondale and a 45-minute train journey along what has to be the most scenic train journey in England. On arriving at our destination, we all looked at each other, as there seemed to be no discernable exit. Luckily, a local had also departed the train, and we spotted him open a gate, walk along a narrow path through farmland and out another gate. We followed! On catching up to him, I asked where we could find the Cleveland Inn, to which came the terse reply “in the village”. But of course. I asked him if it was to the left, to which he simply pointed to a sign that read “Commondale 1/4 mile” with an arrow pointing to the left. Yep, we were definitely in deepest Yorkshire now.

We followed the road along to the left, and were accompanied as we walked by a hen and her chicks, which brought out the remark “this is too perfect” from one of the group. And so it proved to be. On arriving at the Cleveland Inn, we were greeted with 2 choices: John Smiths on draught or Fosters. Disaster 2! The 2 hand pumps weren’t in use, and didn’t seem to have been for some time. We had to grin and bear it as our next train wasn’t for another hour and 30 minutes. We ordered what was available and took ourselves off to possibly the most perfect beer garden I’ve ever sat in. we perched next to the stream with sheep grazing on the opposite side a mere few feet away whilst a curious free range chicken took to a liking to our pork scratching. The lack of beer proved to be a real shame, as otherwise the Cleveland Inn would be a very special pub; made up of various tiny rooms inside, all untouched for I’d guess at least 40 years, with a beer garden in the most glorious of locations.

Still, luckily I knew what was in store next. We were now coming back on ourselves, and the 14:55 from Commondale would take us to the Board Inn at Lealholm; which any regular readers of the blog will know I have a bit of a love affair with. It is one of my favourite pubs, and one I’d designated as our eating pub. But on ordering, we were told lunch finished at 3pm and it was now quarter past. Disaster 3! We politely asked if we could trouble the chef for a sandwich before leaving for the day; luckily she was more than obliging. So, we ordered 4 pints of Wychwood Gingerbeard and took ourselves off to the beer garden. After quickly polishing off our doorwedge sandwiches, the plan now was to order a taxi to take us to our next stop at Egton Bridge and to the Postgate Inn. Unfortunately, after ringing round several taxi firms, they all seemed reluctant to travel out to us to take us the short distance to Egton. Disaster 4! We therefore took the decision to skip Egton and get the taxi through to the next stop at Grosmont, which would get us back onto the railway. Just enough time for another round of the excellent Gingerbeard!

At Grosmont, our stop was the Station Tavern, which is a 19th century building adjacent to the train station. On entry, the bar is immediately in front of you facing to the left whilst 2 rooms run either side of it. This was clearly a popular choice for other “ale trailers” as it was full of groups of men on stag-dos. Nevertheless, we battled through the crowd and were greeted with a choice of Cameron’s Strongarm and the omnipresent Black Sheep. A round of Cameron’s was well received by all as we sat out at the front of the station where you get a clear view of the steam trains pulling in and out of the station. As we’d arrived in Grosmont much earlier than planned it gave us longer to sit and enjoy the passing trains, including the Green Knight and Sir Nigel Gresley, whilst downing several pints of the Strongarm and Blacksheep and also trying the various bar snacks which included something I’d never seen before – Snyder’s Honey Mustard & Onion pretzel bits. They went down almost as well as the beer! At 18:46 we boarded the final train of the day. Originally, we were going to make a final stop at Ruswarp and the Bridge Inn, but given the problems we’d already encountered with taxis we instead made the decision to just stay on the train and make for the Black Horse in Whitby.

The Black Horse is a small, red fronted pub on church Street in Whitby. They regularly have up to 6 handpumps on, and also do a fantastic cheese board. By this point my memory starts going a little hazy, though I do remember I ended up drinking Hoegaarden as the beer choices were all dark, malty beers which didn’t mix with the glorious sunshine we had outside.

That concluded our journey for the day. It was a great day out, which took in some of the best scenery England has to offer, fantastic pubs and plenty of ale along the way; but the difficulty in getting around means I just can’t see it taking off. It’s a shame, as the Cleveland Inn at Commondale appeared to be owned by the elderly lady who served us, and a boosting ale trail business could do wonders to the place. As it stands, I wouldn't be surprised if the place closed within the next few years, which means we’d be losing yet another fantastic heritage pub.

If you are thinking of trying it for yourselves, our itinerary was:

12:41 Whitby – Commondale

14:44 Commondale – Lealholm

Taxi from Lealholm – Grosmont (£17!! As they charge from Whitby)

18:46 Grosmont – Whitby

The train tickets are £6.50, or £9.70 for 2 if you ask for a duo ticket.