27/06/15 - Shrewsbury Pub Crawl

Distance - Negligible
Geocaches - 2
Pubs Visited - 6


Something a little bit different for this Saturday.  Rather than heading off and hitting double mile digits on a countryside ramble, we took the train from Kidderminster, changed at Smethwick Galton Bridge and completed a pub crawl of the top pubs that Shrewsbury has to offer.

Shrewsbury sits within a horseshoe bend in the River Severn.  Our task of selecting which pubs to visit have been eased by the fact that the 200 pubs that were allegedly within the river boundary have been whittled down to 30 as a result of the general decimation of our pub culture.  Still, 30 is still going to be pushing it, so I use a combination of the Good Pub Guide, a CAMRA guide to pub crawls and an on-line resource called www.pubdroid.com to plan an itinery.

Pubdroid is superb - plot where you want to go and allows you to follow a map on your mobile in real time.

Our Intended Route

On embarking the train, I realise that pubdroid is only going to work if I bring my phone with me. The curse of SmartPhones.  I had my bag packed last night but left the phone charging, as I knew that taking it out for navigation, photos and updates to the untappd app was going to result in about 3 hours of battery life.

Looks like I am relying on paper maps from our book.

Alight at the station and 10 minutes to get my bearings before we enter pub 1 of the day, the Salopian Bar.

Fresh Faced and ready for what the day can offer

A choice of four or five real ales and as usual, I make the wrong choice.  Not that there was anything wrong with going for Stonehouse Station Bitter - after all, its won national awards.  On pouring, one barmaid asks the other if its meant to come out like this and then they spend 5 minutes arguing about how they are meant to tap a barrel.  I'm not precious about my choice and offer to go for something that involves less debate.  They assure me the beer will be fine and its just the pump, but my suspicions are aroused.

Not even the joy of the Jukebox playing Stevie Wonder's Superstitious can stop me from being suspicious.  Sonia is not too impressed and the fact that the bar staff are still arguing and offering a "free taster" to a regular to make sure that "it's Ok" means that I'm not, either.

Stonehouse Station Bitter

We move on to the Riverside and to a much improved, although 50p more a pint, pub called the Armoury.  Up until 1995 the impressive building used to be an Armoury.  Its now one of those converted pubs full of bookcases and lovely looking leather wingback seats that prompts us to check on ebay for an upgrade to our conservatory furniture.

Not that we are sitting inside.  Whilst I get a wonderful pint of Woods Shropshire Lad and a half of Stowford, Sonia uses all her skills to get us a seat outside next a thirsty dog drinking its owners bottled water.

The Armoury and a Shropshire Lad

Despite the most civilised lure of table service, we have other places to investigate and wrench ourselves from these fine surrounding for a short walk along the river to the Boathouse.

A couple of geocaches are captured on route to show its not all about the drinking.

The fine weather has brought the whole of Salop out to this fine waterside drinking establishment, but we have little trouble in getting a seat outside to soak up the sunshine and riverside views.

The Boathouse from the Inside of the Horseshoe

Our Inspiration for the day.  And a pint of Salopian Gold

We consider eating here but two things stop us.  1)  It's suddenly got even busier with huge queues at the bar and 2) the Coach and Horses is recommended by our book for its great value grub.

Off we head, using the Dome of St Chad's as a navigational aid.

I like Beer.  Geocaching.  And Architecture.  Having a fine day.

This is a victorian, wood panelled old school boozer, with little alcoves.  An extensive menu on the boards but it says that food is served until 2:30.  Its 2:31 but I am sure that a bit of Mappiman Charm can mean we get lunch.

My enquiry is met with "Well we normally do food, but today we are not bothering because of the Food Festival".  Oh well, Salopian Oracle will do for me.  A packet of cheesy crisps will do Sonia.

Salopian Oracle.  No Food.

Sonia's flagging spirits are raised by the fact that the only other punters are a young-ish couple completing the same as us.  Armed with the What Pub Guide, they are hitting the same pubs as us and a conversation ensues as to which is the best in Shrewsbury.  The barman, in true American Werewolf in London Style, insists that they are all fine "as long as you stay within the river boundary".

We take his advice and head off to the Three Fishes.  They stopped doing food at 2:15pm.  I have been here before, so its no hardship to forsake this boozer for the nice cafe just up the Bear Steps.

No Repeat visit to the Three Fishes

A couple of sandwiches and a side order of chips and we are ready to go for our final pub visit of the day, Loggerheads.

I only wish I had my smartphone.  I could have checked into Facebook to say "Mappiman is at Loggerheads".

An interesting pub, which is part drinking establishment, part maze to work out how to get from the outside to the bar.  This is not as easy as it sounds and the strange corridor layout surely means its a 21st Century fire hazard without easy means of escape.  Having got to the bar, we take our drinks - this time a Snecklifter for me, into a place where Sonia wouldn't have been allowed a mere forty years ago.

At Loggerheads

Not the Toilets - a Side Bar with the most uncomfortable pews

Wait until its near to our hourly train back and realise that having done 6, we've got 24 to go.  I make this 4 more pub crawls in Shrewsbury.  Then we can investigate what's the other side of the river.