01/05/26 - West Midlands Metro Pub Crawl - Stage 5

It's Later Than You Think

Back on the trail of the closest pubs to West Midlands Tram Stops.

Spawned out of necessity, after I saw a classic CAMRA Heritage Interior Pub was about to close down. This time next week, it will be impossible to visit the Black Eagle again.

Picking up where I left off at West Bromwich Central. AI gets it right.... The Billiard Hall is technically closer, but has already been ticked when I alighted at Dartmouth Street.

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
15	West Bromwich Central	The Billiard Hall	The Billiard Hall

The Sandwell is a Craft Union place which took refugees in from the Billiard Room, after it's short hiatus when Wetherspoons pulled out. Undergoing a refit of its own, its not looking the best externally.

Baggies!

It's a cavernous, Cruzcampo "fun pub" inside but most of the entertainment is provided when police and ambulance services are summonsed to the al fresco, afternoon gentlemen sleeper whom I noticed on arrival. A rush to the windows, much conjecture about the reason for blue light activity, until a fly is spotted that needs swatting. Teamwork in action, but the fly survived.

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
16	The Hawthorns	The Vine	The Blue Posts

  

My most used tram stop. Revisiting the Vine would not have been a hardship but its not technically the closest. This is a tie - The Royal Oak, my post match go-to pub or the Blue Gates are closer. 

Only one has a blue plaque celebrating the 1965 visit of Malcolm X.

It's a Fee Ouse

Again cavernous but no fly swatting championships. The only entertainment in a sparsely decorated pub are the two pool tables. Apart from that, it's spartan. The only thing of note is the gentlemen who tells me that "I will never forget by first visit to the Blue Gates toilets". My eyes had already started watering. My laugh is met with "They are Grade II listed and nothing can be done".

Drain unblocker may have helped. Or mandatory wellies.

Number	Station	AI Recommendation	Actual Nearest
17	Soho Benson Road	The Soho Tavern	The Soho Tavern

AI gets it correct by about 10m but in the interests of never being able to visit again, I hit the Black Eagle. Another one lost to the CAMRA Real Heritage Pubs book;

Victorian Terrace

Built in 1895, this pub retains much of its original multi-roomed layout along with some attractive old features.

Of the five small rooms here, four are clustered round a central servery. The bar front left has its original counter (incorporating a row of Minton tiles) and bar back and which also serves the tap room on the right. The lounge front right has absorbed the former off-sales; the counter is original but some tiles were damaged and the rest re-used on the rear smoke room counter. The former entrance to this room is blocked up and the fixed seating in front is modern, the rest being original. In the rear smoke room, the counter has been enlarged to the right. The bar back fitting actually consists of what were the exterior windows, removed to create the doorway to the rear dining room (which has no old fittings). On the right are a 1920s fireplace and inter-war fixed seating.

Ever wondered what it would be like drinking in the bar of the Titanic? Conversation runs from the stoic "Everything Changes" to the more morose "I haven't been this upset since Silver Blades closed".

I was asked on Twitter if the closure was permanent?

Sadly, if I was a betting man, I would say "Yes".

Offers have been made on Social Media for the fixtures and fittings

Walk Details

Previous Metro Pub Walks - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Pubs - 3

Total Number of Metro Station Pubs - 17

01/05/26 - Rail Trail - Langley Green to Old Hill, Via Rowley Regis

Walking Backwards for the Waterfall

The official Rail Trails stop at Stourbridge to restart at Shirley. The powers that be decided that there is nothing worth walking on the stations in-between. I know better — and with an OS map and Google Maps with pubs of interest plotted, I fashion something of value from Langley Green to Old Hill.

Going backwards to finally get the Holdens pub tick at the Waterfall. Friday sees standard pub opening hours.

Exiting Langley Green, I find the only "green" space on the map. I should say blue — the 1-mile Titford Canal, reaching a dead end at the M5, which I discover is built on water.

I knew he made rice

The M5 — surprisingly built on water

No avoiding the roads to get back to Old Hill. A plod to ponder why drug dealers wear such obvious uniforms: grey velour tracksuits with designer man bags.

For entertainment, I have the twin activities of finding a barber’s shop and pubs — both old and new.

A repeat visit to The Britannia, at Rowley Regis. Like a ninja, I press the pedestrian crossing to arrive at the exact moment the bolt of the door scrapes open. I’m always a little suspicious of the first pint pulled of the day, but the Bass settled into perfect condition as the pub filled up with workies getting ready for a bank holiday weekend.

Pub and brewery

A monster 22 Pub (Alan Winfield lives!) on Bartrek alerted me to The Last Jar. Conveniently situated opposite a barbers, staffed only by mutes. I wouldn’t have minded, but I had rehearsed the answer to where I was going on my holidays. The pub itself was a former barbers and is now a split-level micropub. An excellent Green Duck Stronghold bitter, flawlessly presented — not a bubble in the glass and a perfect colour.

Micropub ticking in Blackheath

Finally, I time The Waterfall to be open, having previously been forced to walk past on its usual closed afternoons. A long-standing project to visit all their tied pubs gets another tick.

All downhill to the station

Unexpectedly, Bathams is available. I have never seen Holdens in one of their tied pubs. Maintaining brand loyalty, I ordered a Holdens Black Country Special, only to find it required changing — allowing me to have what I really wanted. The friendly landlady assured me the locals say she keeps it better than in the King Arthur.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Previous Stages on the Wyre Valley Line - Worcester to Droitwich, Droitwich to Hartlebury, Hartlebury to Kidderminster, Kidderminster to Hagley, Hagley to Stourbridge, Stourbridge to Cradley Heath, Cradley Heath to Old Hill

30/04/26 - Beating the Bounds for Beltane

One Day Early 

Beltane, May Day and Rogationtide: Blessing the Bounds

Come May, there are maypoles, May Kings and Queens, Jacks in the Green and Obby Osses. Less known is the fact that the Church long ago instituted Rogation Days, when villagers would “beat the bounds” of their parish, walking in procession to the edges of their land and praying for its fertility. It was part ritual, part communal memory, part good excuse for a walk.

At the British Pilgrimage Trust, we revived this tradition with our Rogation Sunday campaign. It remains a wonderful excuse to make pilgrimage entirely local: simply walk the perimeter of where you live. You may be surprised how boundary lines trace forgotten footpaths, streams and hedgerows, linking the whole parish and creating belonging.

May 1st marks the day of my next pilgrimage walk for Beltane. Finding a walk that follows a parish boundary is relatively easy. The Ramblers promote several and I liked the look of Walk 26, in Powick.

So where are the rest in the series? I set ChatGPT on the case and it has found 9. I now have another tick list to complete, all tidied into a nice table for me. Thanks AI.

The walk was a beauty, if not a little lacking in thrills. Agricultural landscapes near the River Teme to Bransford Bridge. Through Rushwick village and the Civil War battlefields of Powick. The closure of the ancient bridge still causing navigational headaches. Only two years to repair flood damage, Worcester Council, and then you can start on the potholes.

Along the Teme

Distant views to Malvern Hills

Powick Battlefields

Pubs were passed but none open. Especially disappointing, the Red Lion at Powick. A 3pm midweek opener. 

At least the bus back to Worcester was on time and money was saved at Timbo's the Crown.

Walk Details

Distance - 10 Miles

Walk Inspiration - The Ramblers

Geocaches - 5

Previous Celtic Pilgrimages - Imbloc, Spring Equinox

27/04/26 - Stepper Point to the Harbour Inn, Padstow

Our Favourite Walk?

We've done this one before and I'll be surprised if we don't do it again in the future. The inland sections on most Coastal Circular walks involve cattle fields, mud and stiles. Not this one. The way to the coast is on broad tracks. Where there is a stile, its one of those Cornish quaint stand up slates jobs that are easy to vault. 

Walking around the headland also provides 3 times more coast than land.

Looking at Trevone, on easy agricultural paths

There could be endless pictures of the sea, as we move around Porthmisson, Gunver Head, Butter Hole and eventually to the tower and lookout station at Stepper Point. Where the Camel meets the seas is so spectacular they named an old beer after in. The once ubiquitous Doom Bar.

Stepper Point Tower

The Happy Couple, where the Camel meets the Sea

The only thing that changed from the previous walk is a stop at the tea shop at the Coastguard's Station and where to lunch Padstow. All things Rick Stein must be avoided. Can you believe that his chipper now charges £25 for takeaway. I mean, its not as if there are transportation costs involved are there? And for this, you have to battle seagulls, find a bench and have no other facilities.

The pub wins - a google suggests that the Golden Lion offer the best fish.

A little sign says the kitchen is closed today. Today only.

We'd not noticed the Harbour Inn before - tucked away down a little alley on the way back to Corporate Rick. If the fish and chips are as excellent as the beer range, then we will be in luck. Unusual Cornish Ales, at least one not seen before.

The Harbour Inn

It's all low ceilings and nautical nick-nacks. 

Session ready

And the Fish and Chips? £4 cheaper, served on a plate and delightfully light batter, according to Mrs M.

Walk Details

Distance - 7.5 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - 40 Walks in Cornwall

25/04/26 - Mawgan Porth to Watergate Bay

The £16 Breakfast

Dog sitting at Mawgan Porth for the third time. We know what we are doing. With walks this good, repetition is bound to happen.

A simple there and back walk over a spectacular section of the South West Coast Path. Dramatic cliffs, secret coves, glorious beaches. Completed during our first visit and again in our second, where I chose not to blog, as there was nothing different to report.

If we hadn't stopped for breakfast (we don't have enough cold cross buns to get through the toaster-less weekend ), then there would be nothing new to say this time.

Mawgan Porth Beach

Inaccessible Beacon Cove

Watergate bay - for breakfast

A full English Breakfast at the Beach Hut. We're paying for the views but £16, where tea, toast and a service charge are all extra. In case you say "so what?", Mrs M asked for an egg on her vegan monstrosity. £3. One Egg.

And they forgot her beans.

Cold Bacon, improved by curly sausage

It was a better start to the day than a review from my Facebook page suggested;

Oh dear oh dear.

Massive tomato, one equally massive mushroom and an artisan sausage. A single piece of thin bacon and green stuff on the eggs. There is no place for anything green on a breakfast. No black pudding.

Beans in a pot ensures proper separation however which is a plus point.

3/10

These things are taken seriously by my Facebook followers.

Fuel for the return back... Ruby and Wolf, with Mrs M

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 0

24/04/26 - The Old Albion, Crantock

A Tribute

It was Facebook memories that altered us to the anniversary. Exactly 12 years ago, we were completing a walk from Crantock. A fine photo outside the Old Albion - playing up to my football and national loyalties - used occasionally as a profile picture on one of my route websites.

Armed with a National Trust Membership card, it seemed fitting to repeat the walk and the photo, The £9 saved on car parking can be put towards post walk refreshment.

Dogs demanded a play on Crantock Beach before the walking started

Over West Pentire Head to Polly Joke

A sandwich stop at Holywell, before a different inland route to same ultimate destination.

In a world of change, it's nice that some things are timeless. The Old Albion - like me - showing it's age a little with bits dropping off it but still the same. Tribute, thatched roof, low ceilings, outside patio.

See you in 2038.

2014 Edition of Mappiman

2026 - Gained a lantern lost a L D and B

Walk Details

Distance - 7 Miles

Geocaches - 3

Walk Inspiration - Jarrold Cornwall

21/04/26 - The West Midlands Way Summary

 

The West Midland Way is a 50 year old walking route. Starting at Meriden, rumoured centre of England, it charts a circular route through Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Hand drawn maps are always a challenge, but it was simple enough to plot, with many of the paths incorporated into established Long Distance Paths. The North Worcestershire Way and Heart of England Way were frequently visited.

Highlights

The route started with well connected by public transport locations. 

Stage 4 offered superb walking - the first time I have walked the Lickey Hills, Clent Hills and Waseley Hills on the same route - utilising the North Worcestershire Path.

Plenty of new and interesting discoveries - not least arriving at Rugeley to follow an Adventure Lab Cache detailing the life of the "Prince of Poisoners".

My adaption of the route included some fine drinking towns. Bridgnorth, Lichfield and Tamworth for the three times winner of CAMRA Pub of the Year. Bathams at the Three Horsehoes in Alverley, was possibly the best way I have ever waited for a bus. The bus stop right outside.

Lowlights

I will never understand why the route designers, Ron and Eric, missed out Lichfield. Looked like they did this on purpose, as the route detoured around it. Of course, I had to include it for public transportation. 

Seeing one man bring the entire North/South Railway network to a standstill by smoking cigarettes on the bridge just outside Penkridge Station was a lesson in woke policing.

Warwickshire is the most boring county to walk in - so the ending was not particularly fitting. Boring fields gave way to two miles of road walking, which could only be avoided by adding serious miles to an already long route. 

Meriden hides its only pub away from the town centre - which meant delayed celebration.

The Stages

Stage 1 - Meriden to Kenilworth

Stage 2 - Kenilworth to Henley-in-Arden

Stage 3 - Henley-in-Arden to Alvechurch

Stage 4 - Alvechurch to Hagley

Stage 5 - Hagley to Kinver

Stage 6 Part 1 - Kinver to Alverley

Stage 6 Part 2 - Alverley to Bridgnorth

Stage 7 - Bridgnorth to Shifnal

Stage 8 - Shifnal to Penkridge

Stage 9 - Penkridge to Rugeley

Stage 10 - Rugeley to Lichfield

Stage 11 - Lichfield to Tamworth

Stage 12 - Kingsbury to Meriden

21/04/26 - West Midlands Way - Stage 12 - Kingsbury to Meriden

I Finished Something!

The West Midlands Way - a fifty year old book, charting a route around the West Midlands - comes to an end.

Due to strange logistics, I have been forced to amend the second half of the route - for the life of me, I cannot understand why Ron and Eric, the route planners, missed out Lichfield and Tamworth. Fine towns but more importantly, public transport hubs.

It was Tamworth that I found myself finishing Stage 11 at. No matter how I planned it, I couldn't find decent paths to get to Kingsbury but there is a handy bus.

I've walked this part of the world extensively on the Heart of England Way and the Centenary Way. I have previously pronounced Warwickshire the country's most boring walking county. 

Two out of three ain't bad

Nothing today has prompted me to change my mind. Kingsbury Water Park offers occasional glimpses of bodies of water through the woodland. Shustoke Reservoir is hardly observed from the footpaths that circumvent it. There are endless agricultural fields - devoid of livestock and crops (at this time of year). One pub - The Swan at Whitacre Heath - so "chainy" that it wasn't worth stopping at.

The only chance to see Shustoke Reservoir

Distant views of Birmingham from a field in Warwickshire

The only item of interest on the map is Maxstoke Priory and this is a disappointment. The church is locked up and the remains of the priory - a couple of walls in a poor state of repair - are hidden from view on private land.

Maxstoke Church

Ideally, I would have liked to end things here. There are two miles of road walking to get back to Meriden. A bus would be handy but it only runs on a Wednesday - and then at 10am! Google Maps was checked for likely traffic and/or grass verges. It was safe enough to walk but I needed the Deserter Podcast to keep my spirits up.

Into Meriden - and despite the green, a memorial to the centre of England and a monument to British Cycling, there is no pub at hand. The Bull's Head another quarter of a mile on from the bus stop.

The Actual Centre of England is at Fenny Drayton

An underwhelming end to an interesting experience which started so well.

Walk Details

Distance - 12 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11

20/04/26 - The Bridge Hotel, Stanford Bridge

Hospitality Horrors

Our plan was to use the Bridge Hotel Car Park - complete a 9 mile walk - and reward ourselves with a pint.

Even with today's prices, I am unsure whether this would have met the terms and conditions.

How to drive away customers

The route is from the Ramblers. Paths were better than anticipated in a remote corner of Worcestershire, but I have had to notify the council. A padlocked wonky gate, which even has the Right of Way Marker on the post. All added to to the outdoor gymnasium of clambering stiles and fallen trees.

As pleasurable as it was, little to report. We didn't quite make it to the door of the impressive Georgian Gothic Church at Stanford. The Sapeys (Upper, Lower, Common) have no infrastructure. We saw sheep, cattle, deer, hares, an owl but only one human. The farmer at Noverton fixing his gate.

Clifton-on-Teme Church

Worcestershire / Herefordshire views

Nearly 4 hours later and I would love to bring you a report on the pub. Mrs M quite strict in her instructions of "sod them".

Don't upset Mrs M

Walk Details

Distance - 9 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration

 

17/04/26 - Birmingham Culture

Needless and Peaky

The latest West Midlands History Podcast features the Peaky Blinders. It was only a matter of time. Carl Chinn enthusiastically reminding the listeners that they are not to be glamourised and were simply street thugs. And then going on to glamourise them for the next 30 minutes.

Finding Peaky Blinders locations in Birmingham is a little like shooting fish in a barrel. In fact, an Arthur and/or Tommy mural in a pub has now replaced Alsatians on a flat roof pub as the international measure of roughness. 

Coincidentally, I had just finished a book set in Birmingham and during the same time period, Needless Alley. 

Needless Alley is a crime novel set in 1933 Birmingham. William Garrett, a struggling private detective, makes his living staging divorce “honey traps” with his friend Ronnie Edgerton, an out-of-work actor. Their work brings William into contact with Clara Morton, the unhappy wife of a wealthy fascist, and he falls in love with her. When murder and corruption follow, William is drawn into Birmingham’s criminal underworld and canal-side backstreets.

The main characters are William Garrett, the troubled detective; Ronnie Edgerton, his witty but reckless partner; and Queenie Maggs, Ronnie’s tough, resourceful sister who lives on a narrowboat and knows the canal world better than anyone.

Rather fortuitously, there are walking routes pre-made for both Peaky Blinders and Needless Alley. I am able to just get on with walking, spotting key locations.

Book Title and Location of William's Private Detective Agency 

The Grand Hotel - Trysts between Clara and William

Art Gallery and Museum - William and Clara's first date

Gas Street Basin - Queenie lives on a Barge

Jon Jones Mural in Hill Street for the launch of the Peaky Blinders Film

Electric Cinema (looking increasingly sad) - Where William watched Marlene Dietrich movies 

A refreshment interlude. William often meets Ronnie in the White Swan, Digbeth. Last month, I visited this rough and ready pub by error, confusing it for the recently renovated and reopened Anchor.

It's not too surprising a mistake to make. Both pubs were built by the same firm - James and Lister Lea - share the same terracotta brick style and are located on the same street. In the interests of variety, I make the Anchor my port of call. 

An added incentive - the best track on Katherine Priddy's new album, Hurricane, was filmed there.

It's good to have the Anchor back. A Tardis-like multi-roomer, which cries out to be explored. And the chance of a first Bass of the year. Permanently on, Quinno.

Very similar to the White Swan

The light didn't work for the reverse photo

That dog was in the White Swan last month

The Peaky Blinder walk would have had me drinking in the Rainbow. The first mention of the Peaky Blinders in print. Carl Chinn explains;

“An ‘inoffensive chap’ called George Eastwood had been drinking in the Rainbow pub on the corner of High Street, Deritend and Adderley Street. The teetotaller was picked on by three hard men on the evening of March 23, 1890 – and all because he had a non-alcoholic drink. There is a bit of a row, but it dies down. Later, at about 11pm, George decides to go home. The hard men had already gone, so he must have thought it was safe – but as he was walking underneath the Adderley Street viaduct, he hears them shouting at him and then they brutally assault him under one of these two viaducts. One on the attackers was a chap called Thomas Mucklow, another was called Groom. The identity of the third man is still unknown. Groom punched George before they all started kicking with their boots along the street. And then Groom took off his heavy leather belt – these had thick brass buckles and they would wrap it around their wrist and leave about eight inches free, buckle it together and they would slash! Poor old George took so many beatings from the belt and the kicking and the punch that he was in hospital for three weeks. On the Monday night, the Birmingham Mail reported that this brutal assault was carried out by the gang of Peaky Blinders. It was the first time – March 1890 – that the term ‘Peaky Blinders’ had appeared in print.”

This would have been interesting for the walk - but unfortunately, the pub keeps night-time opening hours only.

The Rainbow - looking better during yesteryear

The back streets of Digbeth providing Peaky Blinder menace and the occasional artwork reminders. Montague Street, with the best mural of the day.

King of the Blinders - part of a much bigger art work

Not Peaky at all

Walk Details

Distance - 4.75 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - History WM Podcast and The Book Trail