Wharfedale Brewery, housed at the back of the Flying Duck brew pub on Church Street in Ilkley, has announced a 12-month campaign to advertise on the back of buses on the “Pride Of The Dales” service which carries passengers from Ilkley and Skipton to Grassington and Hebden then on to Kettlewell and Buckden.

The fledgling brewery, which produces three staple beers; Wharfedale Blonde, Wharfedale Best and Wharfedale Black, hopes to enhance brand recognition and build on the number of stockists on the bus routes, while plans are also afoot to create a Wharfedale Ale Trail.

Marketing director Jonathan Shepherd said: “We see this as very much a partnership initiative and when we started brewing towards the end of last year, we set our stall out on being a community focused business. We hope that in some small way our investment will help to keep this wonderful bus service on the road which provides such a valuable transport link for residents, businesses and visitors throughout Wharfedale.”

Grassington-based Horseless Carriage Services Ltd has been operating the “Pride Of The Dales” service since 1992 and with threat of reductions to bus service subsidies from North Yorkshire County Council looming, owner Mark Stewart-Clarke welcomed the support from one of its neighbouring companies.

“I am delighted to be forming this alliance with Wharfedale Brewery and thank them for investing in us.”