Saturday 16th January provided the first trip of the New Year as Woody, Andy and I descended upon Worcestershire to begin 2010 in style...
A 8am start sees me make my way to Stourbridge Junction via Smethwick Galton Bridge, arriving just in time to startle Mr Wood who wasn't expecting to see me so early. We then join Andy on the 9.17 train down to Kidderminster, with Woody bringing us up to speed with developments in the Masters Snooker from Wembley. From Kiddy its onto the first First of the day, a short X3 ride over to Bromsgrove, alighting at the rather damp bus station.
It had been quite a while since I'd been to Bromsgrove, and the interchange has had a bit of a makeover in the interim. They must have heard Andy was visiting because a 24 hour toilet has been installed, presumably to combat his notorious bladder. Amongst the routes on display were the 007 Midland Rider to Halesowen, a Red Diamond 144E to Rubery and a Black Diamond 202, all of which proved handy for a few test photos as I put my replacement camera through its paces. I also make a quick dash into town to top up on beer money and sneak a shot or two of the Queen's Head, scene of an infamous recovery pint following that legendary hike to 'Bromsgrove' Station.
Banishing that particular memory from my mind once more, its onto the 144 to Droitwich courtesy of an unexpected First Trident double-decker. I'm pleased to say the rain had relented upon arrival, giving us chance to explore more of the town. Photo-wise, my eye was taken by Victoria Square (with its 'hub' bus shelter), the local library and the impressive black and white timber-framed frontage of the Raven Hotel. Elsewhere, we located a selection of pubs including the Talbot, the Hop Pole and the Star & Garter - all useful information for future reference I'm sure!
As tempting as those pubs were, we had a prior engagement with Stoke Prior (bad pun alert!!) so we track down Diamond's 141 service for a little wiggle through Wychbold. As we alight, Andy and Woody have a chat with the driver whilst I attempt a sneaky bus photo - an act that didn't go unnoticed as the driver then enquired whether I had a 'bus fetish'!! I wasn't quite sure how to answer that one, but I have a feeling the quote will provide much amusement for years to come.
It was now time for our long awaited first pint of the year, which came courtesy of the Bowling Green pub, a nice homely local on the edge of the village where we waited outside for the place to open. My Banks's Bitter certainly hit the spot, and the drinks set us up well for a rather treacherous return walk along the towpath of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal - I was pleased to investigate Bridge 41 and Astwood Top Lock, even if the underfoot conditions were precariously icy.
A 8am start sees me make my way to Stourbridge Junction via Smethwick Galton Bridge, arriving just in time to startle Mr Wood who wasn't expecting to see me so early. We then join Andy on the 9.17 train down to Kidderminster, with Woody bringing us up to speed with developments in the Masters Snooker from Wembley. From Kiddy its onto the first First of the day, a short X3 ride over to Bromsgrove, alighting at the rather damp bus station.
It had been quite a while since I'd been to Bromsgrove, and the interchange has had a bit of a makeover in the interim. They must have heard Andy was visiting because a 24 hour toilet has been installed, presumably to combat his notorious bladder. Amongst the routes on display were the 007 Midland Rider to Halesowen, a Red Diamond 144E to Rubery and a Black Diamond 202, all of which proved handy for a few test photos as I put my replacement camera through its paces. I also make a quick dash into town to top up on beer money and sneak a shot or two of the Queen's Head, scene of an infamous recovery pint following that legendary hike to 'Bromsgrove' Station.
Banishing that particular memory from my mind once more, its onto the 144 to Droitwich courtesy of an unexpected First Trident double-decker. I'm pleased to say the rain had relented upon arrival, giving us chance to explore more of the town. Photo-wise, my eye was taken by Victoria Square (with its 'hub' bus shelter), the local library and the impressive black and white timber-framed frontage of the Raven Hotel. Elsewhere, we located a selection of pubs including the Talbot, the Hop Pole and the Star & Garter - all useful information for future reference I'm sure!
As tempting as those pubs were, we had a prior engagement with Stoke Prior (bad pun alert!!) so we track down Diamond's 141 service for a little wiggle through Wychbold. As we alight, Andy and Woody have a chat with the driver whilst I attempt a sneaky bus photo - an act that didn't go unnoticed as the driver then enquired whether I had a 'bus fetish'!! I wasn't quite sure how to answer that one, but I have a feeling the quote will provide much amusement for years to come.
It was now time for our long awaited first pint of the year, which came courtesy of the Bowling Green pub, a nice homely local on the edge of the village where we waited outside for the place to open. My Banks's Bitter certainly hit the spot, and the drinks set us up well for a rather treacherous return walk along the towpath of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal - I was pleased to investigate Bridge 41 and Astwood Top Lock, even if the underfoot conditions were precariously icy.
Lunch was beckoning so we call into our second Stoke Prior pub, the Boat and Railway. This was a real cracker, with a roaring open fire and more Banks's Bitter to savour. Having ordered our baguettes, we then attempt the customary Cheers photos but these proved quite a challenge, especially when trying to master the timer on Andy's camera! The food proved worth waiting for, a tasty baguette with some chips at a reasonable price can't be bad, and we finished just in time to catch the 141 back to Droitwich with the same wisecracking driver as before.
By this stage we're running ahead of schedule, so we decide to head off plan with a ride on the 133 direct to Kidderminster via Cutnall Green and Chaddesley Corbett. This allows us to connect straight onto the 3 down to Areley Kings, with Andy demonstrating the kind of buses Mr Wood used to drive in his previous existence. Our bonus pub is the Kings Arms and it proved to be well worth a visit, particularly as we got to see the closing frames of the epic snooker semi-final clash between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams. With Ronnie completing victory, we head outside and straight onto the 3 back to Kiddy - no missing buses this time around.
Its now starting to get dark and news filters through that Wolves are losing at home to Wigan. Our final port of call is Bewdley, sampling a little First Optare Solo on the 2 via Habberley. We dodge the roadworks on Load Street to enter the George Hotel, a historic 17th century building now owned by Wetherspoon's. Tea for me arrives in the form of a gourmet burger washed down with a pint of Bath Ales' Dark Hare, a decent drink. We still have a bit of time to kill, so we make the unwise decision to sample the less-than-angelic Angel. The cardboard cut-out ladies in the window set the alarm bells ringing for starters, and then we unwittingly participated in some kind of comedy sketch where seemingly every beer we tried to order was unavailable - it would have been funny if it hadn't been so depressing. Needless to say, we didn't stay long, prefering instead to wait in the pouring rain for the 292 back to Kidderminster Station. A final flourish arrives with a quick drink in the Severn Valley Station pub, and then its the train back home.
What an eventful day that was! Good exploring, great pubs and many memorable moments to set 2010 off to the best of starts. My thanks as ever go to Woody and Andy for their excellent company - lets hope the rest of the year proves just as enjoyable...
What an eventful day that was! Good exploring, great pubs and many memorable moments to set 2010 off to the best of starts. My thanks as ever go to Woody and Andy for their excellent company - lets hope the rest of the year proves just as enjoyable...
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