As a result of attending the 33rd Leeds-yon Symposium on Tribology, I had the opportunity to make the most of a night spent at Trinity and All Saints College in Horsforth on the outskirts of Leeds. A number of pub visits were pencilled in for the evening, and I was to make good haste as I was exploring alone. After a relatively quiet day, the final tea break wound up at about half past four and after a change of clothes and a hop into the car, I had reached nearby Otley by half five or so. I had heard that this was pretty good for pubs as three entries were listed in the Good Beer Guide. A half of weak ale in each would still keep me able to drive back.

The Black Bull in Otley was a low beamed market place pub containing a selection of slightly rough looking locals. Its listing in the Guide is however justified as it does a very good bit of Timothy Taylor Landlord. Not having the Guide with me, I was struggling to remember exactly which pubs were recommended, but visualising the appearance on the page I recalled that there was one on the Market Place and as this one stood there I thought it worth a go. Beer was served in the typical foamy style of Yorkshire.

Consulting the map for the next stop, I recalled that Bondgate had two pubs and the first that I visited was the Junction Inn, which was also a bit rough looking with a distinctly male bias once had squeezed through the front door. Having said that, there was a good selection of 4 or 5 ales on and the Deuchars IPA was very good indeed. I snuck out the back door via the toilets so as not to draw attention to how quickly I had consumed my half. Alas the GBG Bowling Green had ceased trading, but this did at least allow me to do the other Market Place pub in Otley, the Bay Horse. This pub had extensive floral displays and a small front bar where I sat and read the newspaper whilst consuming an excellent half of Tetley's Mild.

Having had three halves and sampled the delights of Otley, it was time to head back to Horsforth. I had tried on a couple of occasions to get into the HQ bar at the college and on each one it had been closed. This time however, it was just opening (7pm) and I elected to have a swift half here whilst watching the Champions League build up on TV. It was a large warehouse of a bar and not particularly cheap and there was no real beer on as I recall. Time to start on Horsforth proper then, and a stroll down the hill into the town.

The evening in Horsforth didn't start with the greatest of pubs. The first establishment encountered was the Old Ball, a Mr Q's establishment although pleasingly it was only moderately busy and the clientele was a cut above the usual meat-headed crowd that these places tend to attract. A half of Tetleys barely touched the sides on its way down. Along the road was the Queens Arms, a more traditional looking pub with a few proper beers on and a front and back bar showing the football. It looked quite a comfortable place to be for a few drinks at cheap prices although nothing special and I decided to move on, hopefully to somewhere that did food. The Grey Horse was another pub with two bars. I liked this one better as it was more like a living room with ornaments and other random assorted pieces of shit scattered around the drinking area. The kind of pub that you might have a long session in on a cold Saturday evening. The bar staff didn't seem to know what they were doing though, but the half of beer was acceptable.

Food was finally obtained at the Town Street Tavern which fortunately was GBG listed so the opportunity to consume a pint was taken, in order the wash down a very nice plate of steak and chips. The premises were a little odd though - it looked like a shop unit with enormous plate glass windows and was not particularly cosy. The 'bar' was more of a shop counter at the rear. The range and quality of beer however more than made up for this and they had a vast array of beer mats on the tables. Interesting continental beers were available. These factors would make it a more agreeable place to drink for a session.

Over the road was the incredibly lively Old Kings Arms which had a few beers on and was showing the football. It was difficult to find somewhere to perch so I made swift work of my half which was perfectly reasonable and competitively priced, before moving back across the road again. The Black Bull is one of these bars in the ground floor of a hotel catering for a younger clientele and serving lots of brightly coloured drinks. It had a traditional if a little spartan interior and not a lot of beer, although at 75p the Tetleys was a wonderful price. I pulled up a seat in the front part of the bar that was not quite as austere as the rest and watched a little more of the match.

I little bit of a walk followed to the Fleece near to the main road. This was a pub in a similar style to the Grey Horse, but a bit more dated in interior, being dark and wooden inside but not rustic at all. A true locals' pub, their beer was pretty cheap and I could imagine a lot of pensioners tucking into cheap dinners there during the week, maybe a band doing covers in the evening at weekends. Cheap beer in chain surroundings was to be enjoyed at the Toby Carvery which was exceedingly quite although did at least have the luxury of a few plush old bastard chairs for me to enjoy my ale in comfortable though, in keeping with many Tobys, hot and stuffy surroundings.

Having achieved a fair number of pubs I went on a little bit of a wander from this point to areas that I had not memorised so well and so consequently may have missed a couple of reasonable establishments. Anyway, the Horsforth was an acceptable though nondescript place to drink. I think some Sky Sports was on at the time. Moving further East I eventually found myself at the Ringway which was a pretty grotty but cheap pub with a load of pool tables and active charity events. Marks were boosted because the toilets were very good; no doubt some sort of trough although I do not remember the details. By this time I had pretty much met and exceeded expectations so decided that it was time for a kebab. Heading along a main road and no doubt missing a few boozers on the way, I found myself back at the station. Alas there was no kebab shop there, but there was a nearby pub, the Fox and Hounds, complete with inattentive bar staff. It had been quite a walk and I was glad to enjoy a pretty good half of Landlord in one of their comfortable chairs, although being a chain pub there was a certain sterility about the place.

Eventually I did get my kebab, and pretty good it was too by walking about half an hour out of my way towards the centre of the town again. This perambulation however was a blessing in disguise as I felt right as rain the next day!