30/03/17 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Bewdley

Distance - 1 Mile
Geocaches - 2
Pubs - 4

The Camra Good Beer Guide Pubs of Bewdley line up along the Kidderminster Road, like stepping stones reaching to the centre of this fine Georgian Town.  They make a perfect pub crawl.

The Rising Sun, 139 Kidderminster Road, Wye Valley Butty Bach

Four real ales and trust me to pick the one that has just gone.  I curse my luck to the barman, who points out that this is not bad luck, for I will be partaking in the freshest pint available tonight.

Patience, a virtue I never seemed to learn.

Barman departs for the cellar, leaving me to be entertained by two black springers, each with their own ball, who seemingly never tire of tear-arsing around the pub to retrieve them from a strangers boot.

The barman comes back and takes pride in his work.  A complex ritual of decanting between glasses, having a taste and holding to the light is performed before £3.40 is exchanged for the finished article.

Perfection in a Glass

The next punter to come in admires my purchase and says it looks lovely and asks what it is.  No doubt he will be having the 2nd freshest pint tonight.

The Waggon and Horses, 91 Kidderminster Road, Bathams

A short stroll to destination number two, interrupted only by a geocache, magnetically attached to a phone box.

Despite their branded house glasses protesting that they are in Wribbenhall and not Bewdley, this was pub of the night.

Od Waggon and Horses....

... In Wribbenhall

There's a choice of six real ales on.  Like a parent forced to choose his favourite child, the selection ultimately comes down to a Three Tuns or a Bathams.  Sorry Bishops Castle, for once, Brierly Hill wins.

The pub is packed - obviously a testament to quality of the ales.  I sit near a quartet of post work boozers and learn the evil ways of dentists and vets.

The Great Western. 42 Kidderminster Road, Bewdley Brewery Worcestershire Way

A pattern emerging here - a short walk - a geocaching interlude in Wribbenhall Churchyard.

This place appears to have had an external make over - with bold advertising on pale paint offering "Ales, Stouts, Wines, Porters, Tonics and Revivers".

Under the Arches

The pub has a mezzanine floor, crying out for exploration and a chance to do a Begbie.  But first the ale selection.  There a lot of Speckled Hens and Greene Kings on offer, so I go LocALE for a pint of Bewdley Breweries Worcestershire Way.  Unusually, I am offered the choice of a straight of handled jug.  I feel like Michael Caine in Get Carter.

My Untappd check in elicits a grim warning of "water infections" from Mrs Mappiman.

LocALE

The Mug House, 12 Severn Side, Timothy Taylor Landlord

No more unfound Geocaches but a chance to recreate the photo from the Great Western.

Bewdley by Night

The Mug House has always been my destination pub in Bewdley.  Perfect location by the river, with one of the best beer gardens in the land - suitable for all year round use by a outdoor heating system that would have environmentalists shaking their heads.

It's the closest place to home where I can get Timothy Taylor Landlord.  I never before noticed the premium that I have been paying.  £3.85 a pint.

Still, pubs are like houses...... it's location, location, location.

Mug House - also home of a fine restaurant

The closest to home Timothy