"Beer was so popular with medieval priests and monks that in the thirteenth century, they stopped baptizing children with holy water and started using beer." -Ian Lendle, in Alcoholica Esoterica
Built in the mid 1700s at the crossroads of two old coaching routes, the Blue
Bell Inn is purportedly named after a local privateer’s boat the Blue
Bell. Legend has it that he was later caught and hanged for his piracy
and is thought to be buried a few hundred yards away in the cemetery
next to Halkyn Castle. How to find us.
At 850 feet we are near the top of Halkyn Mountain with spectacular 70
mile views over the Dee & Mersey rivers, the distant Cumbrian
mountains & Pennine hills. With an extensive events
list we are enjoyed by walkers, riders, cyclists, folk & jazz
musicians, game players and locals alike. Our award winning walks can
be found here and you can use our free wireless internet to stay in touch. Real fires in winter add to the warm welcome.
We have it on good authority that beer is good for you, we’ve had hundreds of different cask ales and our own local
Welsh brewed Blue Bell Bitter is always on with its stablemate Dark Blue, other regularly changing real ales, ciders and
perrys. You will find us
in the Good Pub, Cider & Beer Guides and we have a Cask Marque for
quality, in fact we are one of the highest scoring cask marque pubs in
the UK! We also have a good selection of great wines, a large range of soft dinks, FairTrade tea, coffee and hot
chocolate. Our food is a mixture of locally
sourced, home-made and traditional meals ranging from lighter bites to
those that challenge the hungry.
Philosophy in Pubs (PiP) are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres).
Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!
The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.
Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.
We plan to start a PiP group at the Blue Bell Inn to meet on a monthly basis at 8pm on the 1st Sunday every month.
No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy. The first session will be at 8pm on Sunday 7th March 2010, subject to be announced...
Quiz Night every Wednesday at 8:30pm through the winter. You may recall that we don't charge for the quiz but we do ask for a donation to our favourite cause, this year it is to raise funds to support our Halkyn Pensioners Christmas Party to be held here in at the Blue Bell Inn in December and then after that we'll be supporting the RNLI.
The quiz comprises several rounds of general knowledge interspersed with a bit of fun guessing with our novelty quiz a picture quiz and a few dingbats or rebus quizzes. Winners receive a jug of beer (or something similar) and a good time is had by all.
Quiz night continues until April where we plan to restart ever our popular Wednesday evening walks.
Have you ever run a pub quiz? Would you be interested in running the Wednesday quiz at the Blue Bell Inn? If you are interested then let me know over the bar or
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.
There's Trad Jazz here every Sunday at the Blue Bell Inn, Halkyn, with
the mellow sounds of Mad Ed's Hot Five who bring a great mix of humour
with superb musicianship. Don't miss them this week as they entertain
both us and themselves with such verve and vigour that you'll get
withdrawal symptoms if you miss them!
We had to reinforce his Bass to hold him upright like that!
Mad Ed's Hot Five
The full ensemble outside the Blue (Carol's the one on the left)
Mad Ed's Hot Christmas Four!
with the surprisingly lovely Al Tunstall on piano!
Mad Ed's Hot Five
butchering another one :)
Mad Ed's Hot Five
Happy 1st birthday tooo yoouuu!
Mad Ed's Hot Five
2nd birthday and aging well!
Mad Ed's Hot Five
OK, call it inflation! Is that John on Pocket Trumpet?
ModJango in action...
Our very own Roy and son Paul Gregory in action as ModJango
Mad Ed's Hot Five
Tom where's me shirt Jones on Trumpet!
Mad Ed in Elfin form on the Welsh Highland Railway
we said he was mad!
Mad Ed's hot Five are in full force most weeks with double bassist Mad EdLloyd-Hughes leading a stunning line-up of Roy Django Gregory(Modjango) on guitar & banjo, Stan BananasWilliams (YouTube) on trumpet & flugelhorn, Tom the DocRippeth on trombone & wagnerian horns and Carol Hornekeeping a sense of decorum with her georgous voice and clarinet. You'll see from the pictures that they are ably supported by a range of fantastic subs who give us a lovely and varing mix of sounds.
All are welcome to enjoy the entertainment & our range of cask ales & real ciders and we hope you have fun joining in with Mad Ed's happy band of jazzers. Don't forget to look out for our new Jazz Links pages as they're growing all the time! We've joined myspace.com have you?
The Rantin' Dogs- a fantastic sounding folk quartet, Steve, Dugie,
Mark & Michael would like to let you know that they rehearse and
play here every 2nd Tuesday each month from 9ish, playing traditional acoustic folk with a celtic leaning. Check out where they got their unusual name from here cos there's no ranting with this group, like all the music here at the Blue Bell Inn, it's a lovely sound.Next one Tuesday 9th February.
We have acoustic music here on the second Thursday of the month with M&S, come and join them for some wonderful folk, rhythm & blues. Next oneThursday 11th February!
Bill
Malkin & John Sylvester launched their fantastic new album ‘Hunting With Hounds’ at the Blue Bell Inn, Halkyn.
Go on, have a listen to the first track Cropredy Musical Fair...
They performed many of the
tracks from the new album ably assisted by Dave Russell and son Greg, as well as material from the previous album (Making
Waves). All of the tracks are originals, written by either John or Bill.
There is no entry charge though there will be a raffle towards expenses for the chaps (Aber is a loong way!). Come and join us for an evening of first class entertainment.
All are welcome to enjoy the entertainment & our cask ales and real ciders. We hope you have fun & join in, even if you can only manage the choruses! Check out our Folk Links for more information.
The Rantin' Dogs - a fantas...
February 09, 2010 (9:00 pm - 11:59 pm)
(Music) The Rantin' Dogs- a fantastic sounding folk quartet, Steve, Dugie,
Mark & Michael would like to let you know that they rehearse and
play here every 2nd Tuesday each month from 9ish, playing traditional acoustic folk with a celtic leaning. Check out...
Around 1.5 hours and 3-4 miles you will be able to take in the stunning 360 degree panoramic views of over 60 miles on a clear day.
The walks vary in route from week to week finishing off at the Blue Bell Inn for a chat and refreshments.
This...
Conversational Welsh with M...
February 11, 2010 (7:00 pm - 8:30 pm)
(General) So you've been to classes, what next? Come and practice in a real environment and you will surprise yourself how much you have remembered. You can broaden your vocabulary and have a great evening out too.
Every week we do two 1.5 hour walks (a fast 4-5 mile and a slow 3-4 miles) with the exception of the third Saturday in the month when we have the option to do an additonal longer 3 hour 6-7 mile walk with Bob Mossop or the normal walk.
Open from 5pm Monday to Friday and 12pm Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays. Food: Saturday 12pm to 2:30pm and Sunday 12pm to 2pm (menu here). Opening Hours.
Advance bookings taken for food / drink outside of these hours.
Coaches welcome by appointment. - We take most major credit and debit cards.
Built in the mid 1700s at the crossroads of two old coaching routes, the Blue
Bell Inn is purportedly named after a local privateer’s boat the Blue
Bell. Legend has it that he was later caught and hanged for his piracy
and is thought to be buried a few hundred yards away in the cemetery
next to Halkyn Castle. 
Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!
Quiz Night every Wednesday at 8:30pm through the winter. You may recall that we don't charge for the quiz but we do ask for a donation to our favourite cause, this year it is to raise funds to support our Halkyn Pensioners Christmas Party to be held here in at the Blue Bell Inn in December and then after that we'll be supporting the RNLI.
The quiz comprises several rounds of general knowledge interspersed with a bit of fun guessing with our novelty quiz a picture quiz and a few dingbats or 
and a good time is had by all.
