21/11/24 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Shifnal, Shropshire

Planets Align in Shifnal

Shifnal has been on my destination list for ages, and today, everything fell into place. My monthly scan of Ramblers Group walks revealed the Shrewsbury Group was heading there—perfect timing. That’s the beauty of the Ramblers: one subscription grants access to countless walks and groups, each filled with fascinating people.

In today’s group, I met a man who very nearly ran the best steak pub in the county and another planning a Saturday pub crawl through all the Bathams tied houses. If only the Cape of Good Hope was still open—and if I weren’t already bound for the Albion on Saturday!

Another great perk of Ramblers walks? No planning required. You simply show up and set off on what feels like a magical mystery tour. Today’s route didn’t just shine thanks to the glorious weather—the walk leader, Kath, had done her homework, sharing stories and facts about the manor houses and mills dotted along Wesley Brook.

Walk Photos;

Ramblers always assemble at stiles

Much debate about the distant hills - Wrekin and Clee Hills, my bet

Lodge Hill, which we circumvent

Mill Owners showing that humour is not just for Halloween

Shifnal has a rich history tied to its role as a bustling coaching stop during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Situated on the London-to-Holyhead road, it served as a key staging post for horse-drawn coaches traveling between major cities. And this can mean only one thing - Coaching House pubs. A conversation in the Micropub told me that there were once 26 pubs in town. Of course, the number has significantly reduced now but 3 in the Good Beer Guide is not a bad haul.

The Plough is a C17th freehouse. I'm busy taking photos, waiting for another patron to enter. This leads to the landlord saying "I have no customers all day, then two enter at once".

Bingo! First GBG Tick of November

Three Tuns XXX is one of my favourite pints. Alas, this wasn't up to scratch here. More punters required. Still, a decent enough traditional pub, with nice Xmas decorations.

Xmas comes to Shifnal

In this part of the world, there's bound to be a Black Country Ales Pub. When I return, there will be two, with the White Hart going through a refurb. Today, it's a little walk to The Anvil but all worth it for the roaring fire.

Accidental Selfie

Everything else in order with the BCA blueprint. Cobs, traditional games and beers that you have never heard of but are well kept. Moonraker by the Crafty One brewery anyone?

Just enough time for the perfectly positioned King's Yard MicroPub. Chip shop to the left, kebab to the right. Indian to the right +1. In fact, the Indian is unlicenced and you are allowed to take your pints from here and they will return the glasses. Biodiversity in action.

Perfect Positioning

A couple of Wye Valley (my local's brewery), so I spent far too long perusing the chalk board before settling on pint of the day. Three Acre Brewery Harlequin Green Hop.

A Pubby Micro

A painless return home, with all public transport running to time. We'll file today under "Success". Let's hope the Shrewsbury Group pick another good pub town in the near future. Or I get an invite to next year's Bathams crawl.

Walk Details

Distance - 5.5 Miles

Geocaches - 1 Adventure Lab Cache

27/09/2024 - The Micropubs of Colwyn. And Old Colwyn

The final day of the 2024 Good Beer Guide Ticking. 2025 will be waiting on my Worcestershire doormat when we return from this mini-break. We find ourselves at the sea-side and like so often, first impressions are sketchy. Gangs of men hanging around at street corners, some literally sitting on the pavement. One bloke loudly chucking up over the railings next to the Station Inn. It's 1pm on a Friday afternoon.

Mrs M demands safety and I have four potential ticks available. The distance between Pen-Y-Bryn and the Crafty Fox likely to make this three. But other tragedies will befall us.

The Bay Hop is the pick of the pubs. A blue-print for how micros should be run. Shop conversions may lack the comfort, style and history of a classic pub, so the least they can do is stock the best drinks known to humanity.

Just and I mean just, warm enough for outdoor seating

We've a fine choice between traditional cask, Oktoberfest Keg, Belgian Surprises and all the craft cans and international bottles you can throw a stick at. Entertainment? Last nights quiz questions available on the bar. Alas, not the answers. I make a tit of myself by laughing at Mrs M's answer to what Diana Armstrong from Minnesota has grown to 42 feet. It was her fingernails. We find the pictures on google but not the most pressing answer as to how she wipes her bum.

Two drinks - an Ampersand Best Bitter and a Erdinger Oktoberfest for variety and we head off for disaster.

I've timed arrival at the Black Cloak Taproom to meet the 2pm opening hours confirmed by Google. Mrs M, always the harbinger of doom, says "we're not going in there are we? It looks locked up". True enough, a handwritten sign proclaims "Due to illness, we will not open till 4pm". Welsh cures are both miraculous and very time specific. But to be fair, no one wants to be in a micro when the plague is in town.

Not looking good at 2:05pm

Instead a long (read never ending) walk along the promenade to Old Colwyn. I can sense morale is dropping and suggest a topical ice cream stop. Until we see the one-scoop prices. On we plod.

The Crafty Fox has all the locals. A two room micro, with all tables in the front room occupied. Fortunately, they have a second room for space and its here I pay for a game of pool with a card for the first time in my drinking career.

A classic pub chariot

The beer range is far simpler than the Bay Hop. No fruity beers. Nothing too international. Some classic cask pales and IPAs. Coach House brewery seem to dominate proceedings.

Other entertainment options? Purchasing a second round, the landlord proclaimed I was missing a cabaret, as the oldest gent was on his feet and performing a little turn. And of course, there is always the record player. If you come prepared.

There'll be a Hue and Cry if you touch Gordon's Vinyl

Old School cab home, where the operator tells us it will be 10 minutes before we have even placed the order. After negotiation, we can have one in 30 minutes. It comes in 45. 

21/09/24 - London Spiral - Stage 16 - Penge to Woolwich

Green Corridors to Scary Woolwich

A comprehensively good walk in South East London. Fast disappearing. Most suburbs ending in Ham, as I negotiate Beckenham, Mottingham and Eltham, before finishing up at Woolwich. The Elizabeth Line the quickest and cheapest way to get back into town, leaving a river crossing for the start of the next stage.

Kent House, South Penge is the start of the walk. Waiting for a GPS signal, I am instantly met by the local wildlife.

Parakeets on a Wire

I'm soon picking up existing and official Long Distance Paths - The Capital Ring, The Green Chain Link and St John's Walk take me along green corridors and through some fine walking country. Discovering;

Beckenham Place Park - The Georgian Mansion House

A Woodland Trail

Best views over the City for a long while

Eltham Palace - A Medieval Royal Residence

Severndrrog castle - a folly on Shooters Hill

Both refreshment stops are in Eltham - a traditional gem and a micro.

Its easy to fall in love with the Park Tavern. My arrival is five minutes before opening, so I can wait with increasing expectation for the scrape of the bolt - only to find several punters already bedded in. Lots of maybes. Maybe Google have the wrong hours. Maybe they haven't gone home from last night. Maybe there is an opposite name to a Lock In?  A Crack Open?

Handsome. Proper. Free.

And look at this interior - a modern interpretation of a classic bar counter?

As if I couldnt love it more

Adnams Broadside taken into the last of the 2024 sunshine, wondering if I have enough of the Anthony Bourdain in me to lunch at the Mash and Eel cafe opposite. I don't.

A little bit of Kent is found at the Long Pond. A micro pub, that will be remembered for Kent Ales (Hop Buzz Martello), Kent Crisps and a newspaper on every table.

Micro Pubs in Eltham, Kent

All downhill to Woolwich. I've got to admit, for the first time in my London wanderings, my danger senses are tingling overtime. Groups of men, hanging around on most street corners with cans and jazz cigarettes. Shirtless men howling at the skies and trying to break into church fetes. Architecturally becoming increasingly shanty. Was I correct to be on edge, or has Elon's algorithms polluted my mind to the end of Western civilisation? Possibly, but the day after I wake to the sad news of yet another fatal daylight stabbing in the very next street to where I was plodding.

Once at the the Waterfront, its very handsome.

Walk Information

Distance - 12 Miles

Start - Kent House

Finish - Woolwich

Areas Walked - Beckenham, Mottingham, Eltham, Shooters Hill, Woolwich

Geocaches - 7 and two Adventure Lab Caches

Pubs - 2

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15

20/09/24 - Tewkesbury, The Oldest and the Newest Pubs

Trapped by a Tornado

As excuses for being late for a Worcester Pick up - trapped in a pub by a tornado is right up on the edge of the believability stakes.

Caught a little down spout in Tewkesbury, looks better in 4k. pic.twitter.com/LwnP5gWx7X

— Rich$ingularity🇬🇧 (@richdeanmartin) September 20, 2024

Quite mental, as there was only sunshine at Worcestershire Parkway Station. That, and no trains south caused by all the flooding.

Tewkesbury was a stop off - Two Adventure Lab Caches opening my eyes to this rather unspoiled town. The Abbey, medieval buildings all flag bedecked as though the armies from Games of Thrones are visiting, cat art and many, many alleys.

How great to see the Black Bear open for the first time in my beer blogging career. And haven't they done a fine renovation job. If I told you it had a sympathetic make over, with a fine terrace overlooking the River Avon, you'd probably expect Gastro.

Glosters Oldest Inn

Lots of claims - as you would expect. Dating from 1308 and etched onto the pint glasses. Shakespeare performed there. A tunnel runs to the Abbey - now glass covered, with a monk hiding below. Used as a field hospital after the 1481 Battle of Tewkesbury. More ghosts than you can rattle a chain at.

I was impressed that they had Uley Brewery house beer and the prices kept to an affordable £4.  Excellent stuff.

And since my last visit in 2018, a new Good Beer Guide Tick in town - The Cross House Inn. Architecturally, you would be hard pushed to tell which pub was the newest.

Someone's Pub of the Year - 2023

It's a cracking two roomed micro. Ales, counter top mounted and gravity fed. Ciders and perries in bags in pull out draws.

Carton were exported to Worcestershire. 

Frequent checks at the door to see if the storm had passed. Time to determine that Travelodges are available in December for £30 a night. I'll see if any fellow casketeers are interested in a festive crawl in an impressive beer town.

Not yet

 

17/09/24 - Wythall to Yardley Wood for the Shaking Hand in Shirley

Proper Retirement Feels

Sat in (possibly) the last of the 2024 sun, sipping a 2:30 pm on a Tuesday Siren Craft Brewery Memento, I probably felt that I had made it in life. But how did I get here?

Don't worry, this won't be a blog on "Just In Time" manual reading before client meetings. Just how did I get here today.

A morning out with the South Birmingham Ramblers. All I know is where (Wythall Train Station) and when (10:03) to meet. Where we go is in the hands of the Gods. Well a God. Called Chris. Who has completed a reckie walk, has a register (first one I have been one, before you ask) and completes a health and safety talk before we head off.

A lovely green corridor of 4 miles, mainly on the North Worcestershire Path and a short stretch along the River Cole.

Heading off on the North Worcestershire Path

Nearing the end at Trittiford Mill Park

Lovely. 1pm and off for a first visit to nearby Shirley for a couple of Adventure Lab Caches (ALC) and a Good Beer Guide tick.

The first ALC tells the history of Shirley. Making it sound like a South of Thames hinterland of criminal activity. Most of it centered on the still standing Plume of Feathers.

After reading that bio, it would have been rude not to visit. Even if I had low expectations from a Stonehouse Carvery.

However impressive it still looks

The only crimes that I can report today are the complete lack of cask and whatever the hell happened to Stella Artois. Today's advertising campaign would have to read simply "expensive". 

I was that upset I couldn't bring myself to enter the second stage for a Sizzling Saracens Head. An equally ancient and handsome coaching house now gentrified for the family dining experience.

Instead, I head off past the new build 'spoons to find the 2pm opening Micro Pub, The Shaking Hand. Unsure whether this is a reference to Delirium Tremens or an act of friendship. Certainly the latter I find from my be-bracered barman, who responds to any query with "Not a Problem". A good choice of Cask, Keg and "Tinnies". I first settle on a cask Best Bitter and an Irish delicacy.

Perfect Lunch

As the solo customer, I fail to lure any other punters in, although I do hear a few refusals. From the wives of shoppers who respond to pint requests with "if you really have to". We all know the correct answer to that.

Time to reflect on whether I have made the recent correct career choice.

A locALE New Intervention Brewery (Walsall) Cosmic Coast confirms that this life is much better than endless Microsoft Teams calls. Although I do miss the terror of putting the wrong message in the wrong chat window.

And as if the day couldn't get any better, a seamless public transport connection gets me home bang on time.

Walk Details

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 2 x ALC

Good Beer Guide Tick - #985

16/09/24 - Droitwich to Bromsgrove for the Hop Pole Inn

Worcestershire Greened

A walk that's long me on my "to do" list. Using Public Transport to go from Droitwich to Bromsgrove. Since when did Public Transport get so expensive? An 11 minute rail journey from Kidderminster to Droitwich costing as much per minute as first class on a 747. Probably.

The walk was a navigational breeze. You sacrifice any interest by near total canal walking. If I had left later in the day, it could have been a fine pub crawl, with the Railway Inn, Eagle and Sun, Boat and Railway and the Queens Head all on route.

Canal Views

The canal is left behind at the foot of the Tardebigge Flight, for fields with fine views over Worcestershire. Malvern to the South and Bromsgrove to the North.

Hop Pole is somewhere down there

My post walk target is the final Good Beer Guide 2024 Tick in Worcestershire. Just in time for the new release in a week or so's time.

Monday lunchtime an odd time to try an get a drink in the UK. I'm not sure even I can endorse pubs keeping open. 45 Minutes as the only punter in the Hop Pole, with a bored looking barman and a soundtrack that grated. They cannot have generated enough profit to have even covered the juke-box being on.

No complaints on the beer front. An impressively good Woodcote Hop Till You Drop. Especially when you consider when the last purchase was made.

Traditional Battleship Grey

The Loneliness of a Short Distance Pub Ticker

Walk Details

Distance - 8.25 Miles

Walk Inspiration 

Geocaches - 4

12/09/24 - Benetts Arms, Semley

More Beery Bad Luck

Our week on the Dorset/Wiltshire border has not been without its beer bad luck. We've had a suspiciously non-golden pint of Exmoor Gold. We've had pubs advertised as being open all day tragically close at 4pm. We leave it to the last Good Beer Guide pub of the week to get things back on track. But you can probably tell where this is going.

First, our circular walk from Semley. Map reveals clues to its history, with the Castle Ring Hill Fort labelled at the midway stage. A geocache tells the story of plague and the village in lock down, Eyam style. A little digging into the pub history tells that the nearby railway station was built explicitly to whisk milk down into that there London.

And then there's the church. Its as if they couldn't decide whether to have a turret or a spire. So went for both.

Semley Church

Geocaching GZ

No pictures of interest from the walk - a mixture of lanes, arable land and dense woodland. 

We arrive at the Benetts Arms just after midday opening. A farmhouse style pub that's been in operation since 1867. Sits on the biggest village green in Wiltshire. Inside, its a two room affair, a tiny bar and another area for dining.

We went bar and watched the locals on lunchtime G&Ts

Three hand pulls on and after much deliberation and some well intentioned questioning, I went for Salcombe Life Saver. I was sold on the description of a copper colour, strong bitter. What we've found this week in Wiltshire is that the the beers in this part of the world are either from Salcombe or Exmoor Ales. There cannot be any hope for Arkells. 

The bar-staff failed to mention the slight tang of vinegar and the distinctly non see-through haze in the glass.

Suspicions confirmed when the minute that the I moved away from the bar, out came the screw driver to remove the clip and ten minutes of pulling through the the next barrel.  

Whilst she was looking directly at me, you might have expected a replacement pint to be offered. 

I should have complained. 

But the chips were nice. 

Note to future self. Next time in Wiltshire, sod the Good Beer Guide and concentrate on the chips.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Mike Power Pub Walks in Wiltshire and Avon

Geocaches - 1 

30/08/24 - The Crown at Kemerton

Penultimate Worcestershire GBG Tick

The one pub ticking goal I have is to ensure that Worcestershire, my home county, remains "greened".

Three new entries in the 2024 edition and with mere days before 2025 lands, I still have 2 to get.

I best find out exactly where Kemerton is.

Well, it's in the Cotswolds. A good start. Its also in the foothills of one of my favourite places, Bredon Hill. But that is for another day, we are walking on the flat today.

An easy circuit of Westmancote and Overbury, where apart from the pub, churches are the only source of interest.

The surprisingly large for the village size, Kemerton Church

Inside Kemerton Church

The Norman Font at Overbury Church

Enough religion, refreshment. Most of Kemerton prefer the coffee shop. Whereas the pub is empty, the outside tables at the coffee shop are packed. Its not outdoor smoking ban that will kill pubs, but hot drinks.

Traditional Country Pub

Which makes the Crown's choice of having 4 cask on even more perplexing. A Wye Valley tied house but is there any need for Butty Bach and Bitter? Is there any need for HPA and Gold Rush?

Two is plenty.

The Line Up

The bad news - the Gold Rush was tired, cloudy and fairly lifeless. The good news, the sandwiches were good value. For an indication of pricing, chips are only £1.50 extra. And the service was friendly.

Hopefully I get to Bromsgrove before Amazon deliver next year's edition.

I went for the Coronation Street cover.

Walk Details

Distance - 4.5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Cotswolds Walks Book 1 North: Walk 7

Geocaches - 1 

24/08/24 - The Altrincham Drinking Scene

The Sunday Times Best Place to Live?

This is a blueprint for the dying high street. Simply re-invigorate a Market Hall, fill it with drinking and dining options and the punters will come flocking. Saturday lunch-time and there is a real buzz to the place. Outdoor tables and chairs fully taken everywhere. 

Table Service and Sofas in the Cinema

With two types of guide - Good Beer and knowledgeable would be locals (they are saving up) - we head out on an August Saturday to see what the bars are like. 

Costello's Bar - GBG #976

Micro Bar Number 1

I appreciate that the above image conflicts with my earlier "bustling Altrincham" comment but the rain had just started to hammer and it was early.

A showcase for the Dunham Massey Brewery hosted in the Goose Green area of Town. I've walked in the Dunham Massey estate but the beers have eluded me. A Stamford Best Bitter a perfect introduction.

You'd expect it to be perfect on its home ground.

The Market

Run by the people who bring you Mackie Mayor in the Northern Quarter. Thankfully, we had Gen Zedders to do the heavy lifting. Ordering three types of meal from phone apps and leaving me to navigate Jack in the Box old-school by walking up to the bar, like some sort of dinosaur.

Bringing punters to the Yard

Black Jack Pub Ale Best Bitter and people watching.

Rustic - GBG #977

The micro pub that didn't impress. 2pm opening time on a Saturday, when Google says midday.

Of course I was the first punter but I didn't really warm to the bar man telling me my Marble Pint had not been pulled through, even if he did offer to change it if I wasn't satisfied. Dirty glass. I'll watch with interest if its in the imminent 2025 or did I catch them on a bad day.

The view at 1:58pm

Belgian Bar

Our local guides told of a micro that does exactly what it says on the tin. Confirmation that Kwak is dispensed in the appropriate glass and bemusement when I offered my shoe as a deposit.

A fully continental drinking experience in Greater Manchester.

Kwakers

The Beacon - GBG #978

Slight confusion between the online GBG website and the book which details this place as PI. Presumably the same owners, as 18 Shaws Road remains recommended.

A fine blueprint for a micro, where a window seat provides street theatre viewing.

Red Willow Feckless in such good condition that we stayed for two.

AI representation of a perfect afternoon

I could have stayed for longer - but we had a pop music rendezvous with an artist that I had last seen in the flesh 39 years ago.

There is no need to guess which of us has changed the most.

Johnny Marr has a picture in his attic.

Just before another Wythensaw Boy, Billy Duffy, came on stage