Into the City
An afternoon on an organised walking tour of Birmingham - The Crown, Black Sabbath, Digbeth, River Rea - all that sort of stuff. Unsure the guide was right when he said that Budweiser is brewed in Aston. We all agreed that Birmingham would be lovely when it's finally finished. It's frankly all a bit of a mess. Especially Digbeth.
Before this, I have a few hours to complete the next stages on the tram pub crawl. I asked AI to identify the nearest pub to each stop and when on the ground, fire up Google Maps to see if they have it correct. Stopping every three stops, I've made it to the end of the first run.
| Number | Station | AI Recommendation | Actual Nearest |
| 8 | St Pauls | The Rectory | The Hen and Chickens |
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| Curry for lunch |
A Victorian corner pub from 1875. Inside, it's largely unchanged and labyrinthine, with a little snug behind the bar and another separate dining area. Advertised as "Cask and Curry", they do indeed have Theakston Lightfoot on. Once I make my mind up that £29.50 is too expensive for a small grill, it has to be a Cobra to wash down my Madras. The first mistake of the day was eating the rather large green chili balanced atop.
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| Famously expensive |
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| Midday at the Hen |
| Number | Station | AI Recommendation | Actual Nearest |
| 9 | Library | The Shakespeare | The Windsor |
When in doubt, AI recommends the Shakespeare. There is one near New Street, but the Windsor is much closer. As long as you can navigate the abandoned rental scooters and are prepared to venture into a dodgy looking alley.
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| Canon Street |
This is a modern (1990) rebuild of a Victorian pub, maintaining the style by using the original spruced up facade. If it looks a little rough, its more the street than the actual pub but it does carry a long-term reputation. A 1970s Pubman describing the place as;
“a bit rough looking… a dodgy bar… if you wanted something cheap, nudge, nudge, wink, wink,” but also noted it was “not trouble-wise”
It's now inhabited by pre-match football lads and old boys. The former in a uniform of shorts, even the one with a false leg. The latter drinking John Smiths smooth pour.
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No cask ale and possibly the only thing of interest is that a decent looking cooked Irish breakfast is 80p cheaper than a pint of Japanese lout. A rather fine collection of whisky and if I had been a true adventurer, I would have asked if the "double up for £1.70" included Lagavulin 16.
| Number | Station | AI Recommendation | Actual Nearest |
| 10 | Library | The Shakespeare | The Gentlemen and Scholar |
Move onto the Library - so no end of drinking establishments along Broad Street. Google Maps shows the Gentlemen and Scholar as directly next to the tram stop. Here comes mistake number 2 of the day. It looks like a pub - behind a glass wall, with some comfy looking sofas and pubby furniture. Getting in proved near impossible. No door on the main street opens. The bouncer next door couldn't tell me how to gain access. At one point, I gave up and tried the Wetherspoons. Yet this was three deep at the bar and would have been a betrayal of the mission.
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| When is a pub not a pub |
All became clear when heading around the corner. This is a hotel bar for the Hyatt hotel. Still, in for
£8.20.
But I do tell her to be grateful that I don't smoke cigars.
Snipage a snip at £15.
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| That's me staying in for the rest of the week |
Really, should have taken the short trip to the end of the line at Edgbaston Village. However, my brother cannot be left unattended, so I call it a day.
Stage 4 starts back at Wolverhampton for some more wallet-friendly drinking.
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