Completing the Amblecote Triangle - It's Murder
Book 2 in the West Midlands Based Kim Stone detective book series providing the inspiration for exploration.
A significant literary improvement on book 1, and a nice cat and mouse mystery between Kim and a worthy adversary. A psycho-analyst convincing her patients to commit crimes. An amusing and entertaining villain and the reader is provided with an interesting back story for Kim. A 4.5/5 review.
The main crime sees a rape victim taking unexpected revenge, following her therapy session.
"And even that frail facade had been destroyed three months earlier when she'd passed a pub on the Thorns Road and seen her attacker leaving with a dog by his side"
"A dark gulley ran along the side of an end terrace that stretched up towards Amblecote, one of the finer parts of Brierley Hill"
There is only one pub left on the Thorns Road.
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| Leaving Lye Station |
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| Victims last drink - the Thorns |
I've no idea what the pub is trying to be at the moment. It's listed on Pubs Galore as The Koyla Kitchen - a Thai restaurant. Yet it still runs an afternoon carvery. I checked in case I could experiment with something different to a pad thai, but all I found were Yorkshire puddings.
Sometimes, all you need is a first impression to make up your own mind as to the type of venue it really is.
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| You go out for a half with a pair of shoes... |
The scene of crime alley running adjacent.
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| Suitably grim |
The text describes how the alley leads to Amblecote - the jewel of Brierly Hill. I can plot a walk that is more interesting on the 1890s map than the current OS Map. Where once there were foundries and pits they is now an endless housing estate, sometimes hiding footpaths that will get me to Amblecote.
A worthy destination for the beer enthusiast. A little triangle of roads contains four regular Good Beer Guide Pubs, all with keen pricing. A chance for me to tick off the Swan and who could ignore the Robin Hood. One of the Telegraphs Top 500 pubs in the land.
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| The Swan |
An unnecessary roaring fire on entry - after my walk, I need to position myself on some smart leather benching as far away as possible. A standard selection of cask - with a couple from Hobsons, including a never before seen Town Crier Green Hop.
And onwards to the Robin Hood - a showcase for the best beer in the Black Country. There aren't many places where you can have both Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby and Bathams Bitter. It's always worth stopping for two.
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| A Mappiman Top 10 Pub |
Walk Details
Distance - 4 Miles
Geocaches - 0
Walk Inspiration - The locations in Evil Games, by Angela Marsons.
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