31/03/26 - A Tardebigge Circuit

Indecipherable Place Name

I knew that the latest West Midlands History Podcast would provide plenty of potential walk inspiration. Mike Jenkins talks about his new book - The History of Place Names in England and Worcestershire. A £5 visit to Amazon and my Kindle will now be able to bore blogfans through a whole new avenue. Skirting the book and listening to the Podcast, my mind was soon made up that the walk would be from Tardebigge.

Unique as the only village in the land that has belonged to three counties (Staffordshire, Warwickshire and now Worcestershire) its also the only place that Mike (and other experts) cannot decode it's naming roots.

After a long discussion of potential options, Mike concludes;

However, most toponymists seem to agree this this is one of those place names which remains obscure and has even been postulated to be related to a pre-Celtic, possibly an Old European (pre-Indo-European) language! If true, this would mean the name originates from at least 3,000 to 4,000 years ago!

We borrow a couple of dogs and park at the impressive church, situated on high ground. I couldn't even find the main door to tell you if its "Doors Open" or not.

Tardebigge Church

And its position on a high ridge

This circular walk is outbound on lanes, along the Monarch's Way. Not many cars to avoid but they are 100% Land Rovers. The Joneses' keep up with each other in these parts.

Borrowed dog, Sam, shows the way through Stoke Cross

Some empty agricultural fields to pick up the Birmingham-Worcester canal, following it up along the famous flight of locks back to the church.

Happy Mrs M and Sam with-guide-dog-in-training, Ian - we don't name them

Celebrating the end of the flight

A perfect walk for dogs - no stiles, off-lead frolicking and plenty of sniffing interest.

Less so for humans. No tea shops, let alone a pub.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - 100 Walks in Hereford and Worcestershire, Walk 61 

30/03/26 - Three Parks and the Highbury

City Green Spaces

The Ramblers - of whom I am both a big fan and a member - posted on Facebook a claim that a lack of green spaces is inhibiting city dwellers in their ability to work.

I attempted three times to say utter nonsense but stopped myself each time. I cannot do with the trolling.

Let me present the evidence from two recent walks. Last time in London, I walked 5 miles from Hyde Park, through Green Park and into St James Park and only crossed two roads.

Today's latest AZ City Walk in Birmingham has me walking through Kings Heath, Highbury and Cannon Hill parks for an experience similar in length and quality.

The original FB poster was from Scotland. I felt like adding that Edinburgh has a fecking mountain in the middle of it.

Today's walk has been completed before. A repetition, mainly as I am completing the AZ in order and I have noticed a previously unexplored CAMRA Heritage Pub in the vicinity.

Photos of the parks:

Kings Heath - standard, swings, tennis courts, grass

Highbury - wild and best place to dump a getaway car/hide a body

Cannon Hill - Boer War Monuments

Cannon Hill is the Jewel in the Crown. Lakes, Medieval pubs transported from Digbeth, the River Rea running along the edge and this little curio. Adventure Lab Caching taking me to a model of the Elan Valley - celebrating when fresh water arrived into Birmingham.

Dam

And the plaque

The walk ends at the Stirchley Fringes, where my CAMRA Heritage Pubs of the Midlands has an entry for the Highbury. I should have been suspicious when it was text only, with no photos.

A typical large Birmingham suburban pub, built in the 1920s for Mitchells & Butlers. The public bar at the front corner of the pub still has its original counter, an elegant bar back (with 'M&B' carved in the pediment), wall-panelling to two-thirds height, and a decorated fireplace. The door to the rear lounge has given way to a wider opening and this room is now used for pool. The wall panelling here is a little more elaborate and the beams are decorated. The small curved counter is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. A separate side entrance leads to a mostly modernised lounge (formerly gents only in the days when it was still legal to exclude women from parts of a pub) and a plain function room with panelled walls and a segmental-shaped ceiling. A former off-license can also be discerned between the two entrances.

At first, I think it may be closed but the parked mobility scooter provides both hope and an indication of Monday lunch punters.

Solid looking boozer

Inside, I look for signs of why it could be in the guide. It's a two roomer - front room, knocked through with the well described but not particularly impressive bar back. A pool table, with unusual leaning seats for non-combatants. A rear room offering more of the same on a smaller scale.

M&B etched in the pediment

With the external posters showing pictures of their wares (Guinness, smooth-pours, Carling), I was right to be sceptical of the Cask Marque sign. The first time I have used the form to update the CAMRA Heritage Web Site which claimed two real ales.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 8

Walk Inspiration - AZ City Walks, Walk 12

Previous Birmingham AZ Walks - Walk 1 & 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7, Walk 8, Walk 9, Walk 10, Walk 11

28/03/26 - West Midlands Metro Pub Crawl - Stage 4

Back to the Beginning

The quest to find the nearest pubs to the West Midlands Metro stops reaches stage 4. I'm back in Wolverhampton. The brief was to see if AI had plotted correctly and to move on three stops at a time. Having got to Birmingham, I reset from The Royal.

 

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
11	The Royal	The Royal London	The Harp

All I can say is that if you think Wolverhampton is rough, wait till you reach the outskirts. AI getting it hopelessly wrong. There is a pub called the Royal London, but it's much further from a tram stop in the middle of a dual carriageway than the Harp.

Hard to know if the Harp is open.... or a pub

The last review on pubsgalore is from 2012....

A traditional pub for the discerning drinker who likes good company of a refined nature

Which shows that irony has never been out of fashion.

If I was truly down with the kids and abandoned Twitter for TikTok, I would have known that this place is famous for its authentic Jamaican cuisine. Indeed, all the action was in the room on the opposite side of the bar where a jolly man with a plastic apron, gloves and hat was keeping customers entertained.

This left the bar side for me - still a traditional drinking area and Guinness at £3.50 adding to the time-warp vibes. Horse racing on a TV, which could not be heard over the humming of a drinks chiller. Loud enough that it must be breaking health and safety rules.

For lunch, Jamaican, rather than Black Country, would have been a better choice

 

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
12	Bilston Central	The Trumpet	The Horse and Jockey

Interesting. The Horse and Jockey was visited when I alighted at The Crescent. I hadn't realised it was next door to Bilston Tram Station and I only hope I didn't walk all the way back last time out.

So the Trumpet - long saved in my "to go" list and also a Holdens Pub (another ticklist) is on the cards. Even if I have to "cheat" by walking past a terrifying Craft Union pub. The chain that provides a home to those banned from 'spoons.

Jazz - 7 Days a Week

It's places like this that make my travels worthwhile. This inauspicious looking place has become a mecca for live music since a landlord started playing his Jazz records in the 1950s. Slade used to meet there, and it might have been an interview with Noddy, where I found the inspiration to go.

The Slade International Fan Club

It now has a "stage" at the far end and a collection plate to pay towards the artists. Slightly too early for the scheduled act, I wasn't not entertained. A bizarre Saturday afternoon form of karaoke takes place. Punters are encouraged to sing along to Fleetwood Mac, whilst (I assume) the landlord plays along on the bongos and/or the drums.

It's actually much better than I can make it sound.

This, chatty locals, banter and a landlady who came and had a chat with a stranger made for a perfect afternoon. 

I will be back... I missed the GBG Tick the Cafe Metro and the building opposite is surely worthy of blogging and research.

Black Country Bitter

Surprised to find a Medieval Manor House in Bilston - The Greyhound and Punchbowl

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
13	Wednesbury Parkway	The Brunswick	The Lord Nelson

There is a pub called the Brunswick Arms - so AI may have been saving me from myself. The Lord Nelson is much closer - but it's a terrifying walk to get there. First, underpasses need to be negotiated - which are somehow far more sinister when devoid of human life than when the hoodies are congregating. Then a walk past those chop shops that you only see on daytime crime series. All cars with missing front ends and no registration plates.

During my walk, I thought Google Maps was having a moment.

Pub Ahead - You've got to want to go!

The Lord Nelson up close

Does this mean other toilet-based activity is allowed?

I've no idea where the other punters have come from but there was one table occupied under the TV screen with the football scores coming in. 5 customers showing the pub to be a real survivor. Maybe it gets lunchtime trade from the chop shops in the week?

Tick them whilst you can!

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
14	Dudley Street Guns Village	The Horse and Jockey	The Wheatsheaf

AI getting it slightly wrong again. There is a Horse and Jockey in West Brom but you have to walk past both the Hop Pole and the Wheatsheaf. The Hop Pole previously visited, as it was in the Good Beer Guide. The Wheatsheaf an enigma of poor opening hours. When I say hours, I should say days. Although that might have changed. Sources disagree.

Regardless - it's a Holdens and looks handsome from the outside.

Handsome - and open for the first time in 3 visits

The Positives: Best pint of the day today. Not too hard, but the Golden Glow was perfect.

The Negatives: All a bit spartan inside - very brightly lit and furniture that looks stolen from a café. Not really providing the comfy pubby vibes suggested by the exterior.

Dimmer switch required

This never ending pub crawl gets picked up from West Bromwich Central next time. Hopefully, in less than 6 months.

Walk Details

Previous Metro Pub Walks - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Pubs - 4

Total Number of Metro Station Pubs - 14

25/03/26 - The Bellman's Cross, Shatterford

Spring Equinox, Slightly Delayed

My calendar had the 20th March marked for a pilgrimage walk to celebrate the spring equinox.

By March, light and dark are equal. The Spring Equinox is about a poised tipping-point. Pilgrimage at this time can mirror that balance, walking between two equal poles, whether literally (two hills, two villages) or inwardly, between past and future.

I have plenty of linear walks lined up, so with the March days escaping me it's time to combine hobbies. This route from the latest Country Walking Magazine runs between Kidderminster and the hamlet of Shatterford. Home of the most famous Black Country musician. Led Zeppelin have a number of local locations that I can also use for walking inspiration.

As if by design, my walk ends at Robert Plant's local. When there is a two-hour lunchtime gap between buses. Perfect, but I am getting ahead of myself.

The Wolverhampton canal takes me from Kidderminster and into Wolverley. Home to a hilltop church, two pubs and a nice café.

Leaving Kiddy

Potential Pub #1 - The Lock

Wolverley Church on the Hill

Potential Pub #2 - The Queen's Head

Some unfortunate, albeit quiet lane walking before arriving at Drakelow - underfoot are the remains of a WWII munitions factory and a Cold War bunker. Some ruined buildings on the ridge, but through the trees makes for pointless photographs.

A climb to Castle Hill - where AI fails to provide much in the way of history - before a change of terrain to walk through the outer reaches of the Wyre Forest at Shatterford/Arley Woods.

View from Castle Hill

Shatterford Woods on the ground, Arley Woods on the OS Map

Which brings us to the end and a 90 minute celebration until the 297 bus.

The Bellman's Cross is hosted in a row of terraced cottages. It's a shared location with a restaurant called Dominique's. French A La Carte but with gyros Wednesdays. 

Pub / Restaurant

For a fine dining location, the prices aren't too bad. My gauge - through jealousy at what I cannot afford - is steak. It's £5 cheaper than my local in the Lake District last weekend. This "keen" pricing is reflected in the beer prices. £4.50 for a Bathams, Three Tuns or Enville Ale is acceptable.

All my friends are here

If you go to any of the pubs serving Bathams in Worcestershire enough times, you will eventually stumble upon Mr Plant. So far, I have found him at the bar of Kidderminster's King and Castle and in the beer garden of Bewdley's Waggon and Horses. I like that. A mega-star who is down to earth enough that Bathams in a community pub is a good night out.

Today, I have evidence but no sighting.

With Dominique. And others.

Walk Details

Distance - 7.75 Miles 

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, Feb 2026, Walk 15