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28-03-2024, 23:20
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/black-country-walkabout-part-one.html)
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Having set the scene for our Black Country Walkabout, it’snow time for the main event, which of course was visiting the five, classicBlack Country pubs, as originally earmarked by me, then verified and approved byStafford Paul, local expert, and Pub Man extraordinaire. Paul had spent a lotof time tidying up the provisional route that I’d suggested last summer, evento the extent of trying out some of the local buses and finding a much moreworkable alternative to my original idea of starting out from Cradley Heathrail station. This meant some good came out of us postponing the trip, back inAugust, due to COVID – me, rather than Stafford Paul.
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The intention, to begin the tour from Brierley Hill, the mostsoutherly point, remained the same, but this time all we had to do was sit onthe No. 8 bus from Wolverhampton, all the way to the first, and arguably one ofthe best, pubs on the crawl. It took the best part of an hour before the busand ourselves, parted company, just five minutes’ walk from the Vine, andwhilst I had seen many photos of this classic Batham’s pub, I was surprised byits open situation and outlook, across the rolling hills of the Black Country.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNludzrbn22wjmp0QK3jkwwGCCqidQPToJ9YDXAAT6g uL-dW-lWikIPUoHRwuHvhXERKruKPlNEpX3gCFRv-ljHh4JSvFSLXfmrQdxR6udUUbAM4bzTqqaXBjLB6H0KwxP7GsT tYr6jDVVrH1RCMaxi4hE6OVcQPJ6bevR4RZcUrFiy1EeEurLAs dLM0/w225-h400/Vine%20beer%20pumps.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNludzrbn22wjmp0QK3jkwwGCCqidQPToJ9YDXAAT6g uL-dW-lWikIPUoHRwuHvhXERKruKPlNEpX3gCFRv-ljHh4JSvFSLXfmrQdxR6udUUbAM4bzTqqaXBjLB6H0KwxP7GsT tYr6jDVVrH1RCMaxi4hE6OVcQPJ6bevR4RZcUrFiy1EeEurLAs dLM0/s4000/Vine%20beer%20pumps.jpg)
Those hills were first described to me by pioneering beerwriter Frank Baillie (no relation), in his ground-breaking book, "The BeerDrinker’s Companion," although little did, I think after reading those words,that it would take me 50 years to see the pub for myself. And not only visitit, but step inside its hallowed walls and enjoy a couple of pint’s of Batham’sfinest, brewed at the quaintly named, Delph Brewery, behind the pub. Paul hadwarned me that the Vine, also known as the Bull & Bladder, would be busy,and that we would need to get our food order in quick. This was because thefirst half of our tour was governed by a tight schedule, for reasons I shallreveal later. So, after pausing to take a few photos ox the exterior, whilstmaking way for customers eager to get inside, we too passed through the portaland joined the queue that had formed at the serving hatch.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzilnwoL0HYT0v2OVSfocTlA474nZlAhCRMd29iQN0lZ sXBNY49pCIuaDVS3fNO3K892xFeDy4nFbN6hv8wh6rMcO_NEAS gkE9ecINo7ow8lLgKfF2J1-d5s83W0yvFupi9Ry7t4YCLaFrFxXyHBSTYX3FXO6VpqiXs-ZQogzXo8PY3JV4NqOv6t4FCos/s3752/Bathams%20Ales.jpg)
A pint of Batham’sBest Bitter for me and a pint of the brewery’s mild for Paul. Just £2.60 apint, and a couple of the best beers I’ve drank in a long, long time. Smooth, creamy, well-conditioned, clear as a bell and toppedwith a white creamy head that clung to the glass leaving “lacings” as thecontents were eagerly drained by both Paul and me. It was beer heaven, as far as I was concerned, and I know my companion was equally enthusiastic about thismarvellous beer.
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Paul went off to order some food, leaving me at a table, inthe large room to the left of the lobby, which we shared with a couple of otherappreciative Batham’s drinkers. Not long after, our lunchtime meal arrived -steak pie, chips and mushy peas for me, and faggots, gravy, chips, and mushypeas for Paul. Both meals came in at just £5.00 each, which was amazing value.Most of the pub regulars, of which there were many, were eating as well, butwith a large room at the rear, plus a staunchly traditional bar at the front,there was plenty of room for everyone. After finishing our meal, we too movedto the latter room, in order to soak up the atmosphere of this amazinglyunspoilt local, which judging by the queue outside.
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All too soon it was time to move on and so we retraced our footstepsback towards the huge Merry Hill shopping complex, where after a shot wait, weboarded a bus that was travelling in the direction of Dudley.
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This dropped usat Netherton, where we alighted, and crossed the road to the second pub of theday, the legendary Old Swan, known locally as MaPardoe’s. The Old Swan is one of the four surviving home-brew pubs thatwere around at the time that CAMRA was founded, the other three being the BlueAnchor, Helston, Cornwall, the Three Tuns, at Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, andthe All Nations at Madeley, also in Shropshire. The latter is now the only oneof those four historic pubs, that I have not been to.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4o8wtkqBSCw21gTyC4B-VWgCTfL3b9quV7TzZw69wmep3x_fMF7cV1Qem6JLjzgSuNJRzt 4NYFj59iXayrr17EKiV9xMu2HUszYnuGTB8fyUzgi1odgPYrMU h1xSFcp4ZZd79qiB1M8RMUgvYxburpWmUEd_pRxoIccxJqJjh0 1HFL1_lW2wii981SJg/w400-h225/Old%20Swan%20ceiling.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4o8wtkqBSCw21gTyC4B-VWgCTfL3b9quV7TzZw69wmep3x_fMF7cV1Qem6JLjzgSuNJRzt 4NYFj59iXayrr17EKiV9xMu2HUszYnuGTB8fyUzgi1odgPYrMU h1xSFcp4ZZd79qiB1M8RMUgvYxburpWmUEd_pRxoIccxJqJjh0 1HFL1_lW2wii981SJg/s4000/Old%20Swan%20ceiling.jpg)
Last Friday’s visit to Ma Pardoe’s, was another first, andit was definitely worth visiting. As with the other pubs, Stafford Paul haddone his homework, and discovered that the “wonderfully evocative original bar, unchanged since Victorian times” doesn’t open nowadays until 5pm. Tim Newey,who is the long-serving licensee at the Old Swan, told him that “most ofthe bar customers are dead now," although anyone particularly interested cansit in there having bought their pints in the 1980s extension next door. Theexterior of the extension can clearly be seen in the photograph below and lookslike it may have once been a separate building.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gIJFf6Lz04Nh8CImQZJpr_u0pJqpj-nlVMUyZ4grixdb5VUh2NlESnUMt2fZYe4j6qCsPoMkSDPQiaR2 6XKCAhdhtMV5le2QOeCAMiHSFhIyncwWyLlgRUJy55KPLQGScy q4QqPGuwskIaGB_PWzasAotNtEeCud2PN1K-wz5wUbZiVPcEm9xS3fKLs/w400-h225/Old%20Swan%20old%20bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gIJFf6Lz04Nh8CImQZJpr_u0pJqpj-nlVMUyZ4grixdb5VUh2NlESnUMt2fZYe4j6qCsPoMkSDPQiaR2 6XKCAhdhtMV5le2QOeCAMiHSFhIyncwWyLlgRUJy55KPLQGScy q4QqPGuwskIaGB_PWzasAotNtEeCud2PN1K-wz5wUbZiVPcEm9xS3fKLs/s4000/Old%20Swan%20old%20bar.jpg)
We followed Mr Newey’s suggestion and after purchasing ourpints of Olde Swan Original, asked the barman if we could take them through tothe original section of the pub. He escorted us round, and left us to admire theinterior, which is virtually unchanged from Victorian times. It features anornate, enamelled ceiling, with a picture of a Swan, and this gracious birdalso features on a mirror behind the bar. A standalone burner provides the heating.There is a cosy snug, plus a two-room lounge in the newer section of the pub.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiI-y7pP3kcfPZ88piT5pF66HMLRhYjWOiryFTDNk4EFgGLYZtYWw0 hIK8t7co8IFJ7sOFB6PRcooyNvdvi0NbaSxKlxAR4qrYlsH62p yiT0wexW27DNy7vgHGjDs_O_0CinAVK-PdUSP5de-ZI6fLEzg_-UhYz6d-vcPuVsW2jvtq-2iA-br8Td0XAI/w400-h225/Old%20Swan%20pumps.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiI-y7pP3kcfPZ88piT5pF66HMLRhYjWOiryFTDNk4EFgGLYZtYWw0 hIK8t7co8IFJ7sOFB6PRcooyNvdvi0NbaSxKlxAR4qrYlsH62p yiT0wexW27DNy7vgHGjDs_O_0CinAVK-PdUSP5de-ZI6fLEzg_-UhYz6d-vcPuVsW2jvtq-2iA-br8Td0XAI/s4000/Old%20Swan%20pumps.jpg)
Paul and I were just sitting there enjoying our pints, when aWhatsApp message came through from Retired Martin, informing us that he was inthe Swan, but where were we? We put him straight, as to our whereabouts, and he came through anjoined us. He had done well in catching us up, particularly in view of his dislikeof buses, and it was good that he was able to join up with us at Netherton. We enjoyed listening to his various escapades,but regrettably there wasn’t time for a further pint at the Old Swan.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHpfA6f-4nQezRonToGugmnxyS_AOj4NuAG9raVobDCvrJyG3hj_Z-gAQVrfhBJA-HV0FZhU9T8HMbqFz8uvTXgQ209C3GvVa0Mx1cC8PkHTnOdt5ce TrSp10ZQGlYsW6-l4o6qQtEovIbiX6SWLt5zu7vg-ue99SVp6ktc8NgP892K8xENUZp9RwbuA/w400-h225/Beacon%20side.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHpfA6f-4nQezRonToGugmnxyS_AOj4NuAG9raVobDCvrJyG3hj_Z-gAQVrfhBJA-HV0FZhU9T8HMbqFz8uvTXgQ209C3GvVa0Mx1cC8PkHTnOdt5ce TrSp10ZQGlYsW6-l4o6qQtEovIbiX6SWLt5zu7vg-ue99SVp6ktc8NgP892K8xENUZp9RwbuA/s4000/Beacon%20side.jpg)
I mentioned earlier that we were on a tight time schedule,and this was because the Beacon Hotel at Sedgley, the next pub on our itinerarystill keeps old fashioned hours, and closes at 3pm, for an afternoon break. Althoughwe had 75 minutes to reach the Beacon, the journey involved a change of buses inDudley. The traffic was also heavy, after all it was Friday afternoon, butthere were road works as well. With time ticking away, there was a danger wemight not make it to the pub before it closed for the afternoon.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jScub0Ga2qbOQNAWIw_sv96eAIXAstquyft_yvi16s 3Owud-NgEom2uKfjszab0JnLjvjrGdQG66pOHgdD_Y-Y-EdqCWUMk_BxrnO0EztkWVAV1f9vzxEzqWExzPMjy6fie0Ri-3KbVkNBRDDG91UYfBAnOH4SKIMFOXCjthGhAQKcvULVkBlGeqS P8/s320/Sarah%20Hughes%20mild.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jScub0Ga2qbOQNAWIw_sv96eAIXAstquyft_yvi16s 3Owud-NgEom2uKfjszab0JnLjvjrGdQG66pOHgdD_Y-Y-EdqCWUMk_BxrnO0EztkWVAV1f9vzxEzqWExzPMjy6fie0Ri-3KbVkNBRDDG91UYfBAnOH4SKIMFOXCjthGhAQKcvULVkBlGeqS P8/s2306/Sarah%20Hughes%20mild.jpg)
Martin came to the rescue and jumped off the bus a few stopsbefore we reached Sedgley. He then gallantly power-walked to the pub, arriving severalminutes ahead of us. When Paul and I eventually reached the pub, we found Martinwaiting there along with three dimple pint mugs of Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild onthe table. This 6% abv dark mild, was a good beer on which to finish thelunchtime session, although I was admittedly quite taken aback by the strengthof this ale, which is one of several brewed on the premises, at the towerbrewery at the rear of this characterful pub.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIltg4hnUXgwTtoqQIw7TOslQ_Amg9hAZjClwp4mF6A3 GK3bjiFHWtlUlX4_MQp0H1doneg2tg37dw0pTzUj2piI_A3kzB TpHwWaoBPiNTzwEFdan-icuHJuH8KTRqZHfssnhEdycgE32HHqcas3vwHFisUoPCfwvEez CdNf6C4RqmdYlYzf8kuST2sU8/w225-h400/Beacon%20Hatch.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIltg4hnUXgwTtoqQIw7TOslQ_Amg9hAZjClwp4mF6A3 GK3bjiFHWtlUlX4_MQp0H1doneg2tg37dw0pTzUj2piI_A3kzB TpHwWaoBPiNTzwEFdan-icuHJuH8KTRqZHfssnhEdycgE32HHqcas3vwHFisUoPCfwvEez CdNf6C4RqmdYlYzf8kuST2sU8/s4000/Beacon%20Hatch.jpg)
The beers are served from a small central hatchway, completewith leaded windows, and we caught up with our friend in one of the adjoining rooms,which was still busy with drinkers finishing off their pints. When I visitedthe Gents, I noticed a couple of doors marked Brew-House and Fermenting Room,and as you can see from the photo, the brew-house is housed in a substantialred-brick building to the rear of where we were sitting. Sadly, it was time to drink up and say goodbye to theBeacon, and also to Martin, who had an engagement that evening, back home in Sheffield.It was good of him to have taken the time and effort to join us, although it’s apity he wasn’t able to continue the crawl, as there were still two more crackingpubs to go. You can read about these inthe next, and final post from this Black Country Walkabout. Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/black-country-walkabout-part-one.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8anKFqBcUVSjmdYeV1jTFG_NZvtzcoZ9tHdJgEauvrfcpCMSyD LmbslzAbNk6KBg3wcbnPUSQsp1KaaItPJtSxLpFL9gItBw9-E99_xeNvikBLFVuTNhuOWxO0sjVm14APJgiBjIfzMPJFk8kZZo K3WeLvCrRSyllTe5K8TjkSO-BOSfGi2mFETJX8o/w400-h220/Vine%20front%20view.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8anKFqBcUVSjmdYeV1jTFG_NZvtzcoZ9tHdJgEauvrfcpCMSyD LmbslzAbNk6KBg3wcbnPUSQsp1KaaItPJtSxLpFL9gItBw9-E99_xeNvikBLFVuTNhuOWxO0sjVm14APJgiBjIfzMPJFk8kZZo K3WeLvCrRSyllTe5K8TjkSO-BOSfGi2mFETJX8o/s3605/Vine%20front%20view.jpg)
Having set the scene for our Black Country Walkabout, it’snow time for the main event, which of course was visiting the five, classicBlack Country pubs, as originally earmarked by me, then verified and approved byStafford Paul, local expert, and Pub Man extraordinaire. Paul had spent a lotof time tidying up the provisional route that I’d suggested last summer, evento the extent of trying out some of the local buses and finding a much moreworkable alternative to my original idea of starting out from Cradley Heathrail station. This meant some good came out of us postponing the trip, back inAugust, due to COVID – me, rather than Stafford Paul.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8MEILLefqCC9ZkJqD0Hml4d1ly99on3NE3W5diahaC-0qSzKlUMOg29v_rGCJioq3MaKdQdvqegifaOx7uGtSAJ8VksTe 8A8LZ2Oeoch-lZRPDNXhbYn4cRUhYeed8CMWKezGrHFxTuGtY7cziPbmB3mwl2 SB8cUvDDPK64JaJo_Coj-8tsPRuV4cTk/w400-h226/Vine%20Ext%20detail.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8MEILLefqCC9ZkJqD0Hml4d1ly99on3NE3W5diahaC-0qSzKlUMOg29v_rGCJioq3MaKdQdvqegifaOx7uGtSAJ8VksTe 8A8LZ2Oeoch-lZRPDNXhbYn4cRUhYeed8CMWKezGrHFxTuGtY7cziPbmB3mwl2 SB8cUvDDPK64JaJo_Coj-8tsPRuV4cTk/s3901/Vine%20Ext%20detail.jpg)
The intention, to begin the tour from Brierley Hill, the mostsoutherly point, remained the same, but this time all we had to do was sit onthe No. 8 bus from Wolverhampton, all the way to the first, and arguably one ofthe best, pubs on the crawl. It took the best part of an hour before the busand ourselves, parted company, just five minutes’ walk from the Vine, andwhilst I had seen many photos of this classic Batham’s pub, I was surprised byits open situation and outlook, across the rolling hills of the Black Country.
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Those hills were first described to me by pioneering beerwriter Frank Baillie (no relation), in his ground-breaking book, "The BeerDrinker’s Companion," although little did, I think after reading those words,that it would take me 50 years to see the pub for myself. And not only visitit, but step inside its hallowed walls and enjoy a couple of pint’s of Batham’sfinest, brewed at the quaintly named, Delph Brewery, behind the pub. Paul hadwarned me that the Vine, also known as the Bull & Bladder, would be busy,and that we would need to get our food order in quick. This was because thefirst half of our tour was governed by a tight schedule, for reasons I shallreveal later. So, after pausing to take a few photos ox the exterior, whilstmaking way for customers eager to get inside, we too passed through the portaland joined the queue that had formed at the serving hatch.
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A pint of Batham’sBest Bitter for me and a pint of the brewery’s mild for Paul. Just £2.60 apint, and a couple of the best beers I’ve drank in a long, long time. Smooth, creamy, well-conditioned, clear as a bell and toppedwith a white creamy head that clung to the glass leaving “lacings” as thecontents were eagerly drained by both Paul and me. It was beer heaven, as far as I was concerned, and I know my companion was equally enthusiastic about thismarvellous beer.
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Paul went off to order some food, leaving me at a table, inthe large room to the left of the lobby, which we shared with a couple of otherappreciative Batham’s drinkers. Not long after, our lunchtime meal arrived -steak pie, chips and mushy peas for me, and faggots, gravy, chips, and mushypeas for Paul. Both meals came in at just £5.00 each, which was amazing value.Most of the pub regulars, of which there were many, were eating as well, butwith a large room at the rear, plus a staunchly traditional bar at the front,there was plenty of room for everyone. After finishing our meal, we too movedto the latter room, in order to soak up the atmosphere of this amazinglyunspoilt local, which judging by the queue outside.
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All too soon it was time to move on and so we retraced our footstepsback towards the huge Merry Hill shopping complex, where after a shot wait, weboarded a bus that was travelling in the direction of Dudley.
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This dropped usat Netherton, where we alighted, and crossed the road to the second pub of theday, the legendary Old Swan, known locally as MaPardoe’s. The Old Swan is one of the four surviving home-brew pubs thatwere around at the time that CAMRA was founded, the other three being the BlueAnchor, Helston, Cornwall, the Three Tuns, at Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, andthe All Nations at Madeley, also in Shropshire. The latter is now the only oneof those four historic pubs, that I have not been to.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4o8wtkqBSCw21gTyC4B-VWgCTfL3b9quV7TzZw69wmep3x_fMF7cV1Qem6JLjzgSuNJRzt 4NYFj59iXayrr17EKiV9xMu2HUszYnuGTB8fyUzgi1odgPYrMU h1xSFcp4ZZd79qiB1M8RMUgvYxburpWmUEd_pRxoIccxJqJjh0 1HFL1_lW2wii981SJg/w400-h225/Old%20Swan%20ceiling.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4o8wtkqBSCw21gTyC4B-VWgCTfL3b9quV7TzZw69wmep3x_fMF7cV1Qem6JLjzgSuNJRzt 4NYFj59iXayrr17EKiV9xMu2HUszYnuGTB8fyUzgi1odgPYrMU h1xSFcp4ZZd79qiB1M8RMUgvYxburpWmUEd_pRxoIccxJqJjh0 1HFL1_lW2wii981SJg/s4000/Old%20Swan%20ceiling.jpg)
Last Friday’s visit to Ma Pardoe’s, was another first, andit was definitely worth visiting. As with the other pubs, Stafford Paul haddone his homework, and discovered that the “wonderfully evocative original bar, unchanged since Victorian times” doesn’t open nowadays until 5pm. Tim Newey,who is the long-serving licensee at the Old Swan, told him that “most ofthe bar customers are dead now," although anyone particularly interested cansit in there having bought their pints in the 1980s extension next door. Theexterior of the extension can clearly be seen in the photograph below and lookslike it may have once been a separate building.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gIJFf6Lz04Nh8CImQZJpr_u0pJqpj-nlVMUyZ4grixdb5VUh2NlESnUMt2fZYe4j6qCsPoMkSDPQiaR2 6XKCAhdhtMV5le2QOeCAMiHSFhIyncwWyLlgRUJy55KPLQGScy q4QqPGuwskIaGB_PWzasAotNtEeCud2PN1K-wz5wUbZiVPcEm9xS3fKLs/w400-h225/Old%20Swan%20old%20bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gIJFf6Lz04Nh8CImQZJpr_u0pJqpj-nlVMUyZ4grixdb5VUh2NlESnUMt2fZYe4j6qCsPoMkSDPQiaR2 6XKCAhdhtMV5le2QOeCAMiHSFhIyncwWyLlgRUJy55KPLQGScy q4QqPGuwskIaGB_PWzasAotNtEeCud2PN1K-wz5wUbZiVPcEm9xS3fKLs/s4000/Old%20Swan%20old%20bar.jpg)
We followed Mr Newey’s suggestion and after purchasing ourpints of Olde Swan Original, asked the barman if we could take them through tothe original section of the pub. He escorted us round, and left us to admire theinterior, which is virtually unchanged from Victorian times. It features anornate, enamelled ceiling, with a picture of a Swan, and this gracious birdalso features on a mirror behind the bar. A standalone burner provides the heating.There is a cosy snug, plus a two-room lounge in the newer section of the pub.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiI-y7pP3kcfPZ88piT5pF66HMLRhYjWOiryFTDNk4EFgGLYZtYWw0 hIK8t7co8IFJ7sOFB6PRcooyNvdvi0NbaSxKlxAR4qrYlsH62p yiT0wexW27DNy7vgHGjDs_O_0CinAVK-PdUSP5de-ZI6fLEzg_-UhYz6d-vcPuVsW2jvtq-2iA-br8Td0XAI/w400-h225/Old%20Swan%20pumps.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiI-y7pP3kcfPZ88piT5pF66HMLRhYjWOiryFTDNk4EFgGLYZtYWw0 hIK8t7co8IFJ7sOFB6PRcooyNvdvi0NbaSxKlxAR4qrYlsH62p yiT0wexW27DNy7vgHGjDs_O_0CinAVK-PdUSP5de-ZI6fLEzg_-UhYz6d-vcPuVsW2jvtq-2iA-br8Td0XAI/s4000/Old%20Swan%20pumps.jpg)
Paul and I were just sitting there enjoying our pints, when aWhatsApp message came through from Retired Martin, informing us that he was inthe Swan, but where were we? We put him straight, as to our whereabouts, and he came through anjoined us. He had done well in catching us up, particularly in view of his dislikeof buses, and it was good that he was able to join up with us at Netherton. We enjoyed listening to his various escapades,but regrettably there wasn’t time for a further pint at the Old Swan.
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I mentioned earlier that we were on a tight time schedule,and this was because the Beacon Hotel at Sedgley, the next pub on our itinerarystill keeps old fashioned hours, and closes at 3pm, for an afternoon break. Althoughwe had 75 minutes to reach the Beacon, the journey involved a change of buses inDudley. The traffic was also heavy, after all it was Friday afternoon, butthere were road works as well. With time ticking away, there was a danger wemight not make it to the pub before it closed for the afternoon.
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Martin came to the rescue and jumped off the bus a few stopsbefore we reached Sedgley. He then gallantly power-walked to the pub, arriving severalminutes ahead of us. When Paul and I eventually reached the pub, we found Martinwaiting there along with three dimple pint mugs of Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild onthe table. This 6% abv dark mild, was a good beer on which to finish thelunchtime session, although I was admittedly quite taken aback by the strengthof this ale, which is one of several brewed on the premises, at the towerbrewery at the rear of this characterful pub.
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The beers are served from a small central hatchway, completewith leaded windows, and we caught up with our friend in one of the adjoining rooms,which was still busy with drinkers finishing off their pints. When I visitedthe Gents, I noticed a couple of doors marked Brew-House and Fermenting Room,and as you can see from the photo, the brew-house is housed in a substantialred-brick building to the rear of where we were sitting. Sadly, it was time to drink up and say goodbye to theBeacon, and also to Martin, who had an engagement that evening, back home in Sheffield.It was good of him to have taken the time and effort to join us, although it’s apity he wasn’t able to continue the crawl, as there were still two more crackingpubs to go. You can read about these inthe next, and final post from this Black Country Walkabout. Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
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