I don’t come across that many new unspoilt gems on my travels; if they’re that unchanged they’ve normally been stuck on an Historic Inventory or Grand CAMRA Tour before.
The Anchor in Anchor in Salop was my last discovery that would have graced Mr Coe’s list, and the Lion O’Morfe also comes from our most beguiling of counties.
The Lion is in Upper Farmcote, which I suspect even Duncan was surprised to see appear in the Beer Guide last September. Very few Guide entries in the farmlands and bucolic villages east of Bridgnorth, right the way up to Albrighton and David Austin’s roses.
Very few people too; I could have stood in the middle of the road for 20 minutes without getting run over (not advised).
The OS extract makes a vain attempt to grab our attention with names like Burf Castle, Gags Rock, and the hilarious “Barnsley”, but mainly it’s Morfes and Farms.
Not as hilly as it looks, and hardly the sort of place to attract you out from Bridgnorth, which makes the fact it’s “bustling” (per What Pub) at 3pm in midweek worthy of note.
Comparable isolated pubs in farming areas that spring to mind are the Cross Keys in Selattyn, which some of you will know, and the Red Lion in Breachwood Green, which you won’t.
Unlike the Cross Keys, the Lion appears to be open all day, which these days takes you aback a little.
And no-one is here eating anything other than cheese and onion rolls.
A dozen folk, by no means all older than me, spread over two rooms and seemingly settled in for the duration. I picked the small table in the corner of the chatty room, and immediately knock over a footstool. Footstools make few appearances in my Ember Inn reports.
I’ll be blunt; the banter was a bit shocking by Cambridge standards. “Male privilege doesn’t exist. Prove me wrong” being one gem that would have stirred Mrs RM into action.
The beer range isn’t a shock though.
Reminding us how dangerously close we are to the Welsh border, they also have Worthington Whoosh.
What else ?
Top reading matter, a change from Shropshire Life anyway.
Crockery that Stoke would be proud of.
And outside toilets (sadly, there’s inside ones too). Enjoy this gem while you can.
retiredmartin 
Were there Trump poster around the pub?
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No. This was a very outspoken youngster (Young Tory Farmer) expressing his views on the Great Issues. I suspect you’ve heard worse.
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We just ended up with John Bolton again. Yes, we have heard worse…
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You tease!!! The title had me worried that you were off to sample the delights of a Farmhouse Inn like The Cherry Tree Farm in WIllington! However, “A picture of contentment” proves it is a proper pub.
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I think I’ll claim the title was ironic then !
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Always take credit!!!!!
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“Spot the Lion”
Aha! Slightly southeast of Ironbridg(e)north. 🙂
“I could have stood in the middle of the road for 20 minutes without getting run over”
There are places in northern BC (British Columbia) where you could probably do that for 20 days.
“Fields – very exciting heh ?”
It’s ‘eh’, not ‘heh’. Heh means chuckle; ‘eh’ is Canadian for the British ‘what’. 😉
“but mainly it’s Morfes and Farms.”
I give up. How can I top that on the OS?
“Bass mirror alert”
And you didn’t mention the Guinness or Newcastle Brown mirrors… tsk, tsk. 🙂
“Beers you’ve heard of”
Did you have the Enfield bee thingy again?
“What no Ale Cry ?”
Of course, in that photo, I read “The Best of the Big Guns” as “The Best of the Bigguns” (rolls eyes).
“And outside toilets ”
From that photo I’m assuming you “do # 2” in the back of the pickup truck so they can use it for fertilizer? 😉
Cheers!
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We say heh ? I’ll fight ya 😉
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Strictly Bass man me, Russ.
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“after an enjoyable, but rather hectic day out.”
Yep. That was a bit of leg pulling on my part. 🙂
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But does that include keg Bass in the brave new world?
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Ah yes non Cambridge banter. That would be the Red Lion at Breachwood Green (Luton builders stopover on the way back from working for Harpenden toffs).
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Show-off ! I bet it gets more tradesmen than ever now the Offley pubs are gastro, but the Red Lion was very farmer when I lived in Hitchin in the ’90s.
It also served the best Greene King IPA anywhere in the Beer Guide.
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I didn’t realise Worthingtons was still a cask beer. Saw it a lot in keg form in Stoke in the early 90’s when I was a student at the Poly there, but didn’t drink it as the city’s pubs had plenty of cask beers to choose from (Banks’s, Bass, Pedi).
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Still a stock beer in many parts of mid/west Wales, though largely keg now. Most recently seen on cask in Newtown, very good too.
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It does seem to be very much a Welsh favourite, but when I was down there in 2015 there was quite a lot about in cask form.
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Looking at the breweries section in the GBG, I see that it’s now contract-brewed by Brains in Cardiff.
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Ah yes, remember now.
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“I see that it’s now contract-brewed by Brains in Cardiff.”
I didn’t think there were any brains in Cardiff. (ducks runs away!) 😉
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I think the Red Lion, Romping Cat, at Dayhills still has Worthington Cask.
Also Worthington Cask was recently a guest beer, yes a guest beer, in Stafford’s Bird in Hand, one of thirty Black Country Ales pubs.
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The Dayhills pub I can understand, it’s a bit like finding a rural pub persevering with 6X or Ruddles. But a guest beer ? Good grief.
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I spent quite a while looking at the OS map you included -no idea where it was but I love poring over these things ! We are off to Shropshire in May -never been to that area,but given the amount of pubs in Shrewsbury I suspect that we will not get deep into the lovely countryside
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I wouldn’t blame you if you never left Shrewsbury, a real favourite of mine (and Pub Curmudgeon).
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But Shropshire also has some beautiful scenery and some of the nicest small towns in Britain. Probably, all things considered, my favourite county.
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Have you heard the Railway is closing down?
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No, that’s a real shame, though I guess pubs like that rely on their owner, and they were close to retirement. The slow death of the (Welsh) boozer.
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I knew some of the franchises were in trouble, but I didn’t know it was that bad. Will I get a rebate on my railcard?
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So was Tony Hart a previous landlord here?
A bit surprising a rural pub like that keeping 6 beers on though.
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Six too many, particularly when they’re nearly all pale. They were selling well, mind.
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Thanks for taking that photo of all the tractor-related reading material– says so much about what part of the country you were in. Love that the tractor magazine is crowing about being the “original and still the best.” Don’t fall for the glitz and glitter of all those new copy-cat tractor magazines!
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Hard to resist those, and I think they’re genuine, unlike the “books by the yard” in dining pubs. This is tractor country.
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It’s been a while, but I used to sometimes listen to this BBC radio show called “Farming Today,” just for a little peek into the world of farmers in England. I certainly heard some delightful accents!
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I used to listen to “Farming Today” as a teenager. My dad was a market gardener and would have it playing on a portable radio on a tractor at 6am when I helped on the fields.
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Yes, this one certainly didn’t disappoint, although it should be pointed out that on the left-hand side there is an extensive dining area and conservatory, so it’s not just an unspoilt rural classic. Had some superb Enville Ale which really did remind me why cask at its best is so much worth drinking (see latest blogpost). No Worthington on my visit.
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Good to hear that. I don’t mind separate rooms that don’t spoil the character. Reminds me, another great pub near Bridgnorth.
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Additional “separate rooms that don’t spoil the character” reminds me of the late Mabel Mudge’s Drewe Arms at Drewstainton.
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Is that one I should know about, or one that I might not be aware of?
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I’m not sure but it’s a proper heritage pub.
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No, I was asking Martin. I’ve been to the Drewe Arms many years ago.
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This is all getting very confusing.
I expect separate rooms if I’m in a hotel, especially in Morcambe, but not if I’m in a Youth Hostel.
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Sorry, sloppy English, typing while walking. I just meant the Lion is another good reason to vote for Bridgnorth ( I know it’s a few miles out of town).
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