A great night came to an unexpectedly brilliant end at the Chapel House in Lower Gornal. I’ve marked the Beacon Hotel for you below as well, to help you get your bostin’ bearings. When I started GBG pubbing, the Gornals were one of the “must visits” areas in the UK. Eight Guide pubs, including the… Continue reading THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
Month: April 2019
THE ROAD TO LOWER GORNAL
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed I didn’t score the Batham’s in the wonderful Vine. Don’t read anything into that; it was Good (NBSS 3+), fully deserving of its GBG place. It’s just the beer next door was even better. I doubt you’ll be following me to the Black Horse though. A friendly, modernised, opened-out fun… Continue reading THE ROAD TO LOWER GORNAL
BULL & BLADDERED
There. Got your attention now. An official “Classic Pub” that no-one will argue with. The walk there from Dudley town centre won’t feature on many “classic walks” though. It’s easy to romanticise the Black Country, but the A4036 is not a road for the romantic. A succession of industrial estates and power tool outlets, it’s… Continue reading BULL & BLADDERED
SPLASHING THE CASH IN DUDLEY
You’ll like the next few posts. Unless of course you live in Maidenhead and dream of a new Brunning & Price opening. I was coming to the end of my West Midlands adventure for GBG19, and splashed out on a boutique hotel in Delightful Dudley (my term, not theirs). Grand staircases, decor evocative of a… Continue reading SPLASHING THE CASH IN DUDLEY
HOP TWISTERS IN HALESOWEN
More short posts you can read over your teatime pint. I feel like I’ve done Halesowen to death, so I can’t be bothered to give you another cultural analysis of the “Jewel on the A456“. The big question, of course, is this; “Is Halesowen in the Black Country ?” The pubs certainly have that… Continue reading HOP TWISTERS IN HALESOWEN
BABY WE WERE (HAR)BORNE TO RUN
If you folks only knew the effort that goes into these blog titles. I bet you think I just buy BRAPA cast-offs or something. I notice that I’ve just got a Twitter follower from Maidenhead. In the event they can read, I’d like to welcome them to the blog and draw their attention to the… Continue reading BABY WE WERE (HAR)BORNE TO RUN
A MICRO ROLE MODEL IN OLDBURY
Back to pubbing on the Friday, as two days were enough to “clear the West Midlands“. After the Bennets and the Bow Bars, my first newbie doesn’t look all that, does it ? The Old Dispensary looks better in the photo on WhatPub, which otherwise seems a bit keen to tell me just how many… Continue reading A MICRO ROLE MODEL IN OLDBURY
COUNTING CYCLISTS IN NORTHSTOWE
You left me on the 15:30 out of Waverley Station, waving as I passed Berwick. Back home, it was time for a week off from pubs. But I know how much some of you love to read about Greater Waterbeach, so here’s a walk I did with James, home from Sheffield to be fed… Continue reading COUNTING CYCLISTS IN NORTHSTOWE
FLESHMARKET CLOSE
Like you, I’m getting a bit bored of these Scottish posts now. The problem is the pubs are all photogenic and you can’t just lump half a dozen together like you can in, ooh, Maidenhead. Along with the Aberdeen trip last month these reports now make up 85.7% of my blog this year (FACT), and… Continue reading FLESHMARKET CLOSE
EVEN BETTER IN THE BOW BAR
As I said, I should have had lunch in Cloisters. Five pubs since that bacon roll in Cupar, and 2pm come and gone. But there’s still pubs that’ll serve you in Edinburgh in the afternoon, just like in proper cities. Oh look, it’s that Bow Bar. Somewhere on West Bow, anyway. Never sure exactly where… Continue reading EVEN BETTER IN THE BOW BAR
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