retiredmartin

December 2023. Birmingham and Stourbridge.

I’d arrived at New Street at 11:30, and arrived back there at 14:15 with two ticks in the bag, but the toughest couple were yet to come.

The trick in Brum is not to dawdle in the centre admiring the Edwardian architecture,

taking random photos for your blog,

but just stride the 10 minutes from New Street to Snow Hill and catch the first train towards Worcestershire.

Half an hour later, jump off at Stourbridge Junction (note station cat at 25:00 on the video, thanks Mudgie),

and walk the 20 minutes into town.

Walk ? Well, I normally do,

But today the little train was waiting to take me the 0.8 miles (US: too far to walk), and I hopped on board,

headed for the Hop Vaults. Shortest rail line in Europe, fact fans.

Actually, I probably could have beat the train and its half dozen passengers to the pub on foot, but then I wouldn’t have a blog, because the Hop Vault just is too nice.

It’s also, by a distance, the smartest looking place in (a frankly scruffy) town; it wouldn’t look out of place on Manchester’s Thomas Street or Bristol’s King Street.

They had Fairytale of Brew York on cask, but the guy with the cap had a beer as dark as Dudley underpass and I had to have it.

Even though it was a teeny tiny bit carbonated.

Still gorgeous, as was the psychedelic soundtrack.

No my sort of seating, perhaps, but my sort of atmosphere, with mums and dads and little uns having a bostin* Saturday afternoon working through the card, and everyone was so polite.

Bound to be something to bring me back to Stourbridge in the autumn, so next time I’ll go cask. Drinking keg on top of a tummy full of Batham is a bad idea.

*^{Yes I know many will dispute you can use bostin in Stourbridge. But do I care ?}