Kingswinford, Lawnswood and Wordsley

The news has been awash with talk of second spikes and local lockdowns lately, creating a backdrop of continuing Covid uncertainty against which I intend to keep my exploration bandwagon rolling as best I can. To that end, Friday 18th September saw me undertaking a cautious circuit of Kingswinford in search of pints and pictures...

- The Cross rekindled -

Catching the number 15 bus out from the Merry Hill district of Wolverhampton, I alight in Kingswinford on Moss Grove where the old police station has been turned into the 'Learning Journey' day nursery. It's not the only building to have gained a new lease of life this year as next door the Cross Inn has recently reopened as a JD Wetherspoon's free house - judging by the popularity of the beer garden, it's already going down a storm with local residents. 

- Summerhill School -

Swerving the prospect of an immediate drink, I'm intrigued to see more of Summerhill as one of my lesser-explored sections of Kingswinford. The Royal British Legion club soon declares its presence, followed by Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and a doctor's surgery. The road then morphs into Lodge Lane as it heads for Staffordshire, although Summerhill Secondary School still manages to squeeze within the West Midlands county boundary. The school like so many facilities is having to put extra measures in place to combat the pandemic.

- The Park Tavern -

Satisfied with having seen the school, I retrace my steps back to Swindon Road/Cot Lane junction where a Travelodge stands next to the Summerhill House Harvester restaurant. Cot Lane itself invites me to renew acquaintances with the Park Tavern, nowadays a Greene King establishment that nonetheless retains a respectable guest ale line-up. The Golden Glow is absolutely pristine - possibly the best pint I've had post-lockdown - so I simply must stay for a second selection, in which case the Wye Valley HPA is equally as exemplary. 

- Looking around Lawnswood -

Buoyed by that commendable beer quality, I press on into the Lawnswood estate via Mount Pleasant. You could say the residential aspect here is pleasant by name, pleasant by nature with cloudless blue skies helping the suburban scene to sparkle. Neat gardens and dormer bungalows accompany me out to Lawnswood Road where the eponymous flat-roof pub (one for Mr D9 perhaps?) adjoins a shopping precinct that comprises Holbeache Travel, Sir Winston's chip shop, a Spar store and a vintage Washeteria coin-operated laundry. 

- Richardson Hall, Wordsley -

Lawnswood Road is then tasked with leading me on into Wordsley, a place that is no stranger to the WME blog of course but it's always good to put a fresh photographic spin on things. King George V Park looks pretty in the autumn sunshine but my camera concentrates on the Mere Education Centre, a musical facility based in a 1910 schoolhouse. Another prime target is the Richardson Hall which originally opened in 1884 as a Drill Hall for the South Staffordshire Regiment before being presented to the people of Wordsley in 1907 when William Haden Richardson gifted it in memory of his late sister Martha.

- Time for an ex-hospital landmark? -

The New Inn (Bathams) and the Queens Head (Black Country Ales) are tempting as I proceed towards Stream Road for a wander around the former Wordsley Hospital site, now repurposed for housing after closing in 2005. The clock tower still stands tall among the apartments of Marshall Crescent, and a couple of other heritage buildings have been retained too. Finally I come full circle (or rectangle to be more geometrically accurate) back to Kingswinford and conclude matters with a swift Banks's Amber in the Swan - cheers!