06/09/25 - West Midlands Metro Pub Crawl, Stage 3

I hit 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

At least the Rectory exists.... but there is a pub closer. If I had been able to easily alight the tram stop to the left, it might have been the new Indian Brewery Tap Room. However, on Constitution Hill is a desi pub of greater vintage.

 

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.

Famously expensive

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.

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.

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.

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 many a penny, I decided to investigate. After paying for another Japanese lout, I instantly get a message from the keeper of the joint bank account. Mrs M wanted to know why I was drinking in expensive hotels instead of being back at home listening to my brother.

£8.20. 

But I do tell her to be grateful that I don't smoke cigars.

Snipage a snip at £15.

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.

Walk Details

Previous Metro Pub Walks - Part 1, Part 2

Pubs - 3

Total Number of Metro Station Pubs - 10

27/08/25 - Rail Trail - Stourbridge to Cradley Heath

The Heavy Drinking Music Hall Actor

The Wyre Line Rail Trails abruptly stop at Hagley. There are more Rail Trails on the line available, but these don't restart until after the Birmingham Stations. I was able to get a decent countryside ramble from Hagley to Stourbridge, but I can kind of see their thinking. Not much to encourage the walker between Stourbridge and first Lye, then Cradley Heath.

Unless the walker doesn't appreciate the upcycling Henry the Hoovers as plant pots.

Upcycle

Or attention to detail and anatomically accurate graffiti.

The wind blows hard in Wollescote

For the old-school walker - views of the day from Stevens Park would be more appreciated.

The Black Country

Lye is the next station on the line, but we have only just begun walking.  The Dudley Real Ale Trail  suggests the Windsor Castle for the sole stop. Sadly closed down now - but still providing fond memories of my first ever brewery tour, where the lesson learned about "finings" is used to ask sensible questions on all subsequent tours. We cannot even blame demographic changes for the closure. My first visited curry house over the road is also closed.

Standing Proud but sadly closed

Lye Central behind the memorial to Sir Cedric Hardwicke

The Holly Bush bucks the trend. A community boozer that is open from 10am in the morning. Will anyone be in there at 11:01am on a Wednesday?

Plenty.

Under starters orders at 10am in Cemetery Road

I think they were rather surprised to see a new face. No real ale on, which at times can be a relief. Most of the posse on the left hand side, but one solo drinker on his own on the right. In the 30 minutes to took me to drink a Guinness and come to terms with the latest West Ham Meltdown on Sky Sports, the solo fella managed three pints of John Smiths. Impressive dedication, by anyone's book.

Up Thorns Road for Adventure Lab Caching in another Stevens Park before arriving at the top of the hill for Quarry Bank.  The aforementioned trail telling me to visit the Church Tavern, formerly known as the Nailers.

But first - the real church, an impressively huge Victorian edifice.

Christ Church, Quarry Bank

In the field research told me the main item of interest here was the grave of a music hall actor, Charles Godfrey, who died in 1900.

Charles Godfrey (born Paul Lacey, 26 April 1854 – May 1900) was a highly acclaimed English music hall entertainer, remembered as one of the most phenomenally successful artistes of his day. 

A heavy drinker throughout his life, Godfrey’s health suffered, and he died prematurely in May 1900, aged just 46.

Enough clues from the Black Country Society Blog to track down his final resting place.

 

Last Orders

In honour of a fellow drinker, it was over the road to the Nailers – which well and truly hammered the final nail in my coffin when it comes to trusting cask in unknown premises.

The Church Tavern

Let me explain why it won my trust - a good, recent review on www.pubsgalore.com. Untappd showing a rotating list of cask ales, many of which were my favourites. The Real Ale Guide.

Two punters - both on Carling - should have been the counter-warning. Still, I ploughed on, choosing the Burton Bridge Stairway to Heaven over a more LocALE Holden's Golden Glow.

It was dreadful - smelly, cloudy and nasty tasting. 

Would you have taken it back, potentially facing a shooting stars-esque raising of handbags and a "Oooooh" from the Carling Twins?

I simply vowed to always ask for a sample first. 

Like I did the last time this happened.

Walk Details

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 6

Future Inspiration;

Taking the narrative from the Black Country Society Blogs and turning them into walks

The Dudley Trail - 5 Walks of varying lengths, which appear to have a common start. A section passed in Stevens Park

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

02/08/25 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Kingswinford

Crooked and Bored

Latest walk from the "Best Pub Walks in the Black Country" takes me from unloved Gornal to unknown Kingswinford. The reason for a yomp through the deserted post-industrial landscape?

Lean in - From the Guide Book

Ah - the Crooked House. The one time cause célèbre of pub closures, which was destroyed in the space of days, allegedly by ruthless land developers wanting to expand their scrap empire. For those that don't know of the place.

The Crooked House near Himley, originally built in 1765 as a farmhouse and later converted into a pub around 1830, became one of Britain’s most distinctive and beloved landmarks. Known for its dramatic tilt—caused by 19th-century mining subsidence that sank one end of the building by about four feet—it earned nicknames like "Siden House" and "Britain’s wonkiest pub." Inside, marbles appeared to roll uphill and furniture seemed off-kilter, drawing visitors from around the world who came to experience its quirky optical illusions. Despite its popularity and historical significance, the pub closed in 2023 and, just weeks later, was destroyed by a suspected arson attack. In a controversial move, the building was demolished without planning permission shortly after the fire, prompting public outcry and legal action.

In truth, it wasn't a great pub. I am glad that I visited it again relatively recently but the beer and service were dreadful and access was via a grim fly-tipped lane, rather reminiscent of today's walk.

Not long out of Gornal and I am picking up a disused Pensnett railway. Should I be scared? It certainly looked like a good place to dispose of a body. Other items had been disposed of.

Suzuki Jimny?

If I hadn't have been earphone engrossed in a discussion on whether Anora was a worthy oscar winner or soft-core porn, I would have heard the machinations of the nearby scrap yards. According to the podcast, both. I am awaiting my son's return so he can explain to his mother why he recommended it for family viewing.

I have completed my research pre-walk and this proved worthwhile. Holbeche House can be included into the walk and this has some meaningful history.

Holbeche House, near Kingswinford, was the final refuge of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators after their plan to blow up Parliament in 1605 failed. As they fled London, the group, including ringleader Robert Catesby, took shelter there and tried to dry out damp gunpowder in front of the fire—causing an explosion that injured several. Days later, the house was surrounded, and a gunfight broke out in which Catesby and others were killed. Bullet holes from the battle can still be seen in the walls. The surviving plotters were captured, taken to London, and brutally executed for treason.

Former nursing home, all boarded up now.

What happens when you dry gunpowder in front of the fire

Kingswinford (Kings Pig Crossing?) reached at Wall heath and a little like Amblecote, a triangle of Good Beer Guide 2025 ticks await. Unlike Amblecote, the pubs are disappointing and the best, not included in the bible.

The Bridge a Black Country Ales take-over first licenced in 1845. 

All smart enough

I think I've shared my thoughts enough about the uniformity of BCA Pubs eough. Sat in front of the standardised TV Screen menu, I couldn't help but yawn at such a similar beer offering and again, ask myself why?

Golden, amber, golden, golden, blonde, golden, golden, golden, pale, stout, cider, tramp juice.

The Cottage next. My research suggesting not to eat there. A recent reopening after environmental health found dead mice and fresh droppings in the kitchen and closed it down. I guess environmental health not too great at finding live mice.

I'm not here for the food (scracthings excepted), so felt safe but after the choice available at the BCA, I now get to moan about the sole cask on offer. Wye Valley HPA.

Star Taverns looking for new owners?

A community local, I was greeted with a perfect Black Country "Hello My Mon!" on arrival and there was a lovely Chesterfield to enjoy the HPA in. 

An odd choice for the Good Beer Guide, I thought. But certainly better than the Ale Hub.

Walked passed it twice without noticing it

These are part of a chain springing up around the Midlands - usually in unloved corners of urbanisation, where they will be next to a Spar Local and a Chinese restaurant.

For me, converted shop Micros have to offer unusual beers to make the experience of drinking in a soulless space worthwhile. Ale Hub does not do this - and when my Oakham Bishops Farewell was a short measure, I properly disliked the brightly lit place before I had even sat down. Couldn't even be bothered to argue. I'll just moan on a blog.

I appreciate this has been a little downbeat on pubs and you could think I don't even like them. With 20 minutes (turned out to be 40) to wait for the 17 bus to take me back to Stourbridge, I couldn't resist waiting in the bus stop adjacent Cross Inn. A packed to point of bursting Wetherspoons, where cask Jaipur is just £2.29.

Pint of the day and pub of the day in a place deemed unspecial by the CAMRAs. 

Walk Details

Distance - 4.5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Best Pub Walks in The Black County, Walk 19

Geocaches - 0

17/07/25 - Saltwells to The Bull and Bladder, Home of the Bathams

Blessing of your heart: You brew good ale

The Ramblers Meetup Invitation had me at "and then we will visit the Bathams Brewery Tap".

I failed to notice distance, walk type, where we would be going or indeed, who I would be going with.

Let's answer the questions in turn....

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Type - Planned as linear, with the bus for the last 1.5 miles back to Cradley Heath Station. I was too tight to pay the £3, having more time at my disposal than funds.

Where We are Going - a walk through Saltwells Country Park - visiting the quarry and a reservoir. Then along the Dudley 2 Canal, including the nine locks. Walk leader then "abandons" his flock and says "time for the pub, I will you show you the bus stop, but I plan to stop for a session. You are welcome to join me or make your own way back.

Who I would be walking with - Its the Ramblers. You are never sure who will turn up. But I probably didnt expect a gentleman in Chelsea boots who then commented on the Meetup Page post walk that he "thought the lady who patted me on the train was lovely, but they were all very nice". I have no idea what he assumed this type of group would be. Once again, I was the youngest - but only by two years. Reminiscing about the hot summer of '76 always provides the necessary data to make deductions.

Photos:

Doulton's Quarry - Zoom in to the rock-face for a giant dragonfly

Nine Locks down to Delph Road

The walk leader was correct to make it an "every person for themselves". He had done his work and only gone wrong twice. Some stayed for one. Some drank cider, coke or Stella. Most had a Bathams. I stopped for three and left the hardcore for their afternoon session. Complicated rounds were starting to form and I didn't want to leave in a pensioner's debt.

Always keen to find something new - I noticed that the pub used to be a lodge for the Buffs. See the RAOB glass above the door.

The beer, as good as always.

RAOB

Bathams in the Garden

The horrified bar man recovering from 15 ramblers, paying separately. 

The classic frontage through rush hour traffic

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 5

14/07/25 - Slow Way/Rail Trail - Hagley to Stourbridge

Happy Black Country Day

The Wyre Forest Rail Trail came to an abrupt end at Hagley. Yet there are plenty of Black Country stations to explore of the same line - with rail trail routes becoming available once you enter Warwickshire. Slow Ways coming up with an alternative resource to inspire a short route from Hagley to Stourbridge.

Seems fitting that I reach the South Western edge of the Black Country on the day that flags with red and black chains are all over social media pronouncing "Happy Black Country Day!"

A simple walk - the Monarch's Way providing some countryside and up and over Wychbury Hill. Will the obelisk still have the graffiti pronouncing "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?"

“Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?” is a mysterious graffiti phrase linked to the 1943 discovery of a woman’s skeleton hidden inside a wych elm tree in Hagley Wood, near Stourbridge. The body was never identified, but the name “Bella” emerged after the graffiti appeared in nearby Birmingham in 1944, sparking decades of speculation. Theories range from espionage—suggesting she was a Nazi spy—to occult murder or a local crime. No one has ever claimed responsibility for the graffiti, which has reappeared intermittently over the years, keeping the unsolved case alive in British folklore and true crime lore.

Climbing Wychbury Hill on the Monarch's Way

The Obelisk

The Graffitti

Black Country Views

Stourbridge is entered from the south, passing the Seven Stars too early.

But on the final day of the second 2025 heatwave, who could resist cask Jaipur at £2.45 in an Air-conditioned 'Spoons?  Not me.

Long may the month-long (into its third month) promotion live!

15th Jaipur, 1st branded glass.

Walk Details

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 3

Walk Inspiration - Slow Ways

Previous Slows Ways - Birmingham to Blackheath, Blackheath to Halesowen, Halesowen to Stourbridge, Stourbridge to Kinver, Kinver to Highley, Highley to Bridgnorth, Bridgnorth to Much Wenlock

Previous Stage on the Wyre Valley Line - Worcester to Droitwich, Droitwich to Hartlebury, Hartlebury to Kidderminster, Kidderminster to Hagley

29/05/25 - Amblecote's Golden Triangle

Finding one of Quinno's Top 200 Pubs

Amblecote - slightly north of Stourbridge and a rich seam of previously undiscovered Good Beer Guide Ticks around Brettell Lane. That many, I actually miss one.

A revisit will be no hardship.

First the walk. An easy, linear walk from the Stewponey at Stourton along the Stourbridge Canal. Navigation.... no problem, although the keen eyed will notice from the map that I got off the bus one stop too early. Always an embarrassment when the bus is stuck in traffic and you overtake it on foot.

The Stourbridge Canal

A Proud Family from "The Junction"

My guide book would like me to use a pub called the Moorings. Now renamed "The Old Wharf". I've walked past it a few times but never seen it open. Maybe I am just unlucky, as google suggests it has very reasonable opening times. One for another day, I'm walking up the hill.

The Red Lion is first up. Strategically positioned opposite a new bus route from Kidderminster. Yes, you heard correctly, something improving on public transport. Notes made for my return.

Partly owned by the Salopian Brewery although you wouldn't necessarily tell that from the range of sixish different brewery options on cask. I cannot recall all of them, but untappd reminded me that I had a Buxton Brewery Wangdoodle. 

Trad Number 1

Nice comfy seating inside, even if a shade too brown. A glimpse of a lovely beer garden, that surely would have been used if it wasn't for the need to steal their 'leccy for a mobile phone that contains my all important bus ticket.

Everything's Gone Brown

Better planned pub tickers would have been pre-armed with the knowledge that the Swan, a touch further uphill, is their sister pub and also in the Good Beer Guide. I ignored my on the ground instincts and marched on up the hill for the Starving Rascal.

There was always going to be a Black Country Ales pub. Whilst taking my Kinver Ale May Bug to the uniform tartan bench seating and another couple came in. Eavesdropping, it was easy to determine they were taking advantage of the extra weeks amnesty to tick off up to 25 of the chain's pubs to win (quite generous) prizes. Clothing and free beer.

This couple were hardcore. In the hope of getting a ticket to the golden ball - last year held at the Black Country Museum - they were going for a full coupon. I had to enquire if they didn't just find them all the same.

Yep, was their answer.

BCA - All the Way

Functional, yet underwhelming, I turn the corner and use gravity to take me back to civilisation.

I had completed no research at all into the Robin Hood. But it didn't take me long to realise I was in the company of a stone cold classic.

Gravity was on my side

I would say I am a veteran of around 4000 pub visits. Yet, I cannot think of a beer lineup that has forced me into a more tricky decision.

In Bridgnorth last month, I chose a Three Tuns over a Bathams. Mainly, for the novelty value of not having seen one of my favourite pints for a long time. The same decision needed to be made today. 

But wait, there's also cask Jaipur on. Delightful, but Timbo has been spoiling me with unmatchable value £2.45 pints on Mondays and Wednesdays. A price that Thornbridge should probably be ashamed of allowing. Not that my conscious stopped me supping.

But there.... in the middle.... the lesser spotted but much loved Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild.

Mappiman is Mild in May

What a joy! And a lot of love/agreement on my Twitter feed.

Robin Hood is Top 200 pub IMO

— Sir Quinno Says Bass 🔺️ (@SirQuinno) May 29, 2025

Now if Quinno ever gets around to publishing his top 200, I will start ticking them.

In the meantime, I am planning my return to Amblecote. Where I will tick off the Swan and probably spend the rest of the day in the Robin Hood. 

Working my way, left to right, along the hand-pulls.

Walk Details

Distance - 6 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Best Pub Walks in The Black Country - Walk 22

Geocaches - 4

15/04/25 - The Waterfall, Old Hill

Holdens Hours Lead to BCA Benefit

Mrs M looked rather bemused when I tell her I am off to Old Hill for a walk. Bemusement leads to hilarity and she spies my Urban Explorer outfit. Maybe I'll create a AI Doll so you can join in the mirth.

These gritty urban walks - from a book with handwritten maps published decades ago - can produce real joy. There is nothing wrong with the walk. All green corridors, with the Dudley Number 2 Canal taking me down to Leasowes Park and the Monarch's Way through Coombeswood taking me home to Blackheath.

Feature	Description
Dudley Canal Number 2	The Dudley Number 2 Canal is a historic waterway running through the West Midlands, opened in 1798 to serve the coal and iron industries of the Black Country. It stretches around 11 miles from the Dudley Tunnel at Netherton through places like Old Hill and Halesowen to join the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Selly Oak.
Leasowes Park	​Leasowes Park in Halesowen is a landmark of English landscape gardening, designed by poet William Shenstone between 1743 and 1763. Transforming his inherited farmland, Shenstone created a 'ferme ornée'—a blend of working farm and ornamental garden—that became a model for naturalistic landscape design.

I will make it back to Bumble Hole

The Landscaping in Leasowes Park

Views of the Clent Hills from the Monarchs Way

I was here to tick off a Holdens Pub. The Guide Book recommends the Waterfall as "one of 6 great hostelries in the area". Alas, they don't tell us the other five... only that the Waterfall "offers Hook Norton, Everards and Marstons Beers and is open daily for lunch time and evening service".

Of course things have changed. It now only opens from 4p.m. on weekdays. A dubious Holdens Tick, and although only a short distance from the station, I am unsure whether I would risk the steep walk up the Old Hill.

Black Country Special for another day

Holden's loss is Black Country Ales gain. Two Good Beer Guide Ticks in the immediate area. 

Currently, Black Country Ales are running a promotion to visit the pubs and get stamps in a log book. Coach Trips are offered, as the chain stretches from Herefordshire to Leicestershire and all places in between.

Having visited two sequentially, I'm unsure if I could think of anything more uninspiring, pub-wise. Taken individually, a BCA house offers a traditional experience, with classic pub furniture, doggy filling stations, pub games, cobs you've heard off and beers you probably haven't.

The problem is that they are all the bloody same. I swear the checked seat coverings in the Swan and the Old Bush Revived were identical. The fonts on the toilet doors definitely were. As was the WiFi Password.

The Swan

The Old Bush Revived

In a game of "Spot the Difference", I'd say the beer was better in the Old Swan. Both pints were Citras, with Peerless Citruvian a better pint than Hop Back Citra. 

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Best Pub Walks in the Black Country, Walk 21

Geocaches - 2

24/03/25 - Old Moseley Hall to Wolvo for the Great Western

Great Cathedral of Beer

There's no need to rush Wolverhampton. I had found a 14.5 mile walk in Country Walking Magazine. I may not have much but I 've got plenty of time. Three weeks ago, I made it from town to the National Trust Property, Old Moseley Hall. Now to finish the walk. From Old Moseley Hall, back into the City and hopefully find my way to one of the best pubs in the land.

A walk of two halves - more of the Monarch's Way through some fine Countryside and then picking up the Wyrley and Essington Canal.

Today's Routes

Northycote Manor Farm on the Monarch's Way

The Curly Wyrley

At Wednesfield, an unexpected portal to a secret world was found. Like a budding Pevensie, I found Narnia.

Should I enter?

I had found myself in the Royal Tiger - incredibly busy for a Monday afternoon, even when the sun was shining. I put this down to two reasons, the Cask Jaipur was £2.79 and everyone overhead on mobiles talking about redundancy payouts and being put on gardening leave. Something terrible is happening to capitalism.

My real goal, of course, was the Great Western. A Holdens Pub, where if you have time you can do a taste challenge to determine if Black Country Special is better than Bathams Bitter. Or possibly just different.

I had recently seen it described on a British Pubs Facebook Page as a "Great Cathedral of Beer". Certainly had to disagree.

Under the tracks - ask the pigeons for directions

Only time for a Black Country Special Today - but I will return

Walk Details

Distance - 8 Miles

Geocaches - 5

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine May 2024, Walk 14

Part 1 of Walk