Magical Mystery Tour
A recent Ramblers walk alerted me to Birmingham Heritage Week. Most of the building open days were already booked up, but there were a couple of slots left on the third running of the "Heritage Pubs of Birmingham" tour.
£15 to join a guided walk around 4 pubs that I had almost certainly been to before - but it offered the opportunity to learn something new and meet new people.
It turned out to be a fine day out.
I knew I was in good hands when we started at the Bull. A short distance but a completely different world from the bustle of the city centre. We were told about the gun manufacturing industry, the payment of workers in actual beer tokens, and fights that were broken up by the priest from the nearby Catholic church.
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| Two buildings knocked through |
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| So what if most of the information was written on the wall |
My fourth visit and being part of a group tour, it meant that this was the busiest I have ever seen the place. My last two pre-baggies visits, it was just me and an old boy in a brown three-piece suit, complete with a gold watch chain. And the resident cat, Ellie.
Onwards to the recently revived (last 12 months) Woodman, Fantastic, a group tour with added Bass. The smoking room was reserved for our use, so we got the leather banquette seating and access to the toilets all to ourselves.
If/when HS2 is finished, this will be a gold mine. Prizes for guessing what they'll use the Doric columned gatehouse for when the station reopens.
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| I admit, I was here for midday opening before the tour. |
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| No alternative |
A lengthy walk coming up and things get interesting...... where could he be taking us? My guess of the Craven Arms is dismissed in my head as being too far away.
We stop at the Crown to see the makeover that was completed in time for the recent Black Sabbath gig, rather than the sadder two week later demise of Ozzy. There was general agreement that someone needs to show a bit of imagination. Surely the pub could be supported by the worldwide interest in heavy metal music. It would be a mecca. Have you seen the flowers on the Sabbath Bridge?
The answer to stop 3 is a little left-field. The Victoria has a long history as a theatre-pub. Rumours of a tunnel linking the pub to the theatre next door. Charlie Chaplin is said to have been a famous former patron.
Probably best not to dwell on the rather dull deep green external paint job and head straight in for a glamorous interior. The beer is not much to shout about - with Ubu or Black Sheep the only two choices, but apparently they do the best pisco outside of Peru.
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| The Wednesday Afternoon Drinking Club |
Of course, the Craven Arms was next. A survivor and now lovingly looked after by the Black Country Ales. Holders Brewery remodelled the Craven Arms in 1906–10, adding its bold tiled façade. More than decoration, the tiles projected respectability — a look designed to impress magistrates as much as customers.
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| Abandon all hope... |
Alas, they were having a bad day. We all know that Black Country Ales stock too many cask ales. With a group party, I could get a fair representation of quality. Two hand pulls failed to produce any beer - just foam. This led to an argument between the staff - a severe lady berating the server for not pulling it correctly and him fighting back. Several alternative options were selected and from what I saw, there seemed to be an awful lot of murky beers being served. And many short measures.
Still, we enjoyed the chat and once the tour was declared over, we got to see the hardcore who stayed for just one more.
And we found inspiration for the next day out.
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| I could walk that. |
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