Happy New Year everyone, and as the celebratory bongs of Big Ben and the strains of Auld Lang Syne start to dissipate, I'll swoop in with my statutory retrospective piece reflecting on the twelve months just gone. On a personal and explorational level there was much to enjoy over the course of 2025...
January: Hanley was the headliner as the year commenced with a chilly checking of the Caldon Canal, tiptoeing along the frozen towpath via Bedford Street Locks and the Ivy House Lift Bridge. The pubs were worth enduring the cold, especially the chance to revisit both the Golden Cup and the Coachmakers Arms, although the remnants of industrial history live long in my mind too. In other wintry news, Stephen and I were on the lookout for reindeer in Harborne (with a guest appearance from Paddington Bear), then the Chip Foundation were likewise on the Birmingham beat taking a fancy to Flight Club's carousel horses. Still with the Second City, HRH and Mr D9 joined forces in the Jewellery Quarter, investigating the Indian Brewery before playing Connect 4 in the Barrel Store, and there was time enough for Jane and I to indulge in 'Black Country tapas' over in Brierley Hill - the Delph and the Waterfront were the stand-out locations that day.
February: two Shropshire snoopings register strongly for February, with Miss Woolf again featuring for the National Trust nugget that is Attingham Park; it was fascinating to peruse the stately rooms, gaining a sense of life above and below stairs while the beer in the Mytton & Mermaid was worthy of note too. That was followed by a special afternoon in Shrewsbury, ticking off a few of Abbey Foregate's old alehouses as well as the White Horse for a jovial slice of Joules hospitality. Attingham was not the only heritage location to be covered during the shortest month for Stephen and I had the pleasure of bounding around Boscobel and White Ladies Priory, Mr Beardsmore recreating his Friar Tuck role from his brief acting career...
March: into March and the memorable combination of Jane, Nick, the Bartons Arms and Digbeth takes some beating. Spectacular terracotta and tiling is one thing but the sight of a Woolf wielding a bowling ball with menaces is difficult to forget! My yearly Saturday in Stafford yielded a Tixall Road tickle, culminating in the Knot & Plough and a couple of Black Country Ales outlets - I was attempting their trail at the time, a challenge that also took me and Dad over to Shifnal and Albrighton for the likes of the Anvil or the Harp Hotel. The Hub Marketing Board visited the old Paul patch of North Wolverhampton where the Chairman threatened to drive a JCB digger instead of his normal bus, whereas the Chip Foundation encountered extortionate prices along Birmingham's Broad Street. Away from the pubs, Pelsall gained a Stephen stroll mingling North Common footpaths and canal content, then Jane traded ten pin tendencies for putting prowess (or lack thereof) at Perton's Dinosaur Golf where yours truly nailed a stunning hole-in-one.
April: a trip full of the joys of spring saw me Shropshire-bound for Market Drayton, admiring St Mary's Church and the Berrisford Aqueduct among other things, the Salopian Star being one of my favourite finds of the year (helped by the presence of New Brew's Plum Porter). Jane and I were in tandem when the Black Country Ales tour took us to Halesowen while the Chip Foundation staged our now-seminal Black Country Classics afternoon, returning to both the Beacon Hotel and the Trumpet in marking the anniversary of Nick's retirement. April heralded the start of another County Cricket season with one of Warwickshire's early fixtures being a Durham clash away at Chester-le-Street; Stephen and I were there to witness an excellent if nailbiting victory on a week when the weather and ice cream gods smiled very kindly on us.
May: the Bears on Tour bandwagon extended to three days in Worcester, catching up with Dave and Denise only for pesky rain to deprive us of a likely win. Bookworm Bygrave was on hand to introduce me to Birmingham Botanical Gardens which looked utterly gorgeous when in full bloom, and the Hub Marketing Board availed themselves of Aston during a North Brum extravaganza that tasted Tyburn and bothered Boldmere. Two Warwickshire wanderings merit a mention, Nick's local expertise coming to the fore with a Slaughterhouse tap surprise in the county town before my Birthday Bash in Chip Foundation company covered the realms of Rugby, educating ourselves on the origins of the oval-balled sport.
June: summer comes a-calling courtesy of a Rail Rover centrepiece, most notably including Ledbury (where HRH dutifully adores the Prince of Wales, he likes to be on brand), Knighton (a magical morsel from the Heart of Wales Line), and Chester. Emily brings the excitement of Moseley Old Hall - I need to improve my quoits technique - and Knowle Locks whereas Jane had to cope with gushings of Gornal but got to sample some rather nice ciders. Cricketing matters mean Stephen and I base ourselves in genteel Worthing whilst Warwickshire take on Sussex at Hove; the match largely peters out to end as a tame draw but the presence of Mr Whippy's 99 flakes was much appreciated in the scorching sunshine.
July: Chairman D9 and Secretary WME work through a variety of evening engagements - the Penn Road Push, Conquering Castlecroft, the Wednesfield Workout - with the latter adding a soupcon of Ashmore Park into the mix. Birmingham becomes beset by bull sculptures so Emily and I make the acquaintance of 'Cadbully', resembling a partially unwrapped bar of Dairy Milk chocolate although I might gloss over my darting performance at Flight Club. A Saturday Solo around Stourbridge scores well, gaining the Glassboys Bar as a new haunt, but it's the wonders of Wales that shine through the most. The Low Hill Community Coach jolly to Rhyl was great, bringing the sights and sounds of the seaside, and how can I overlook that wonderful weekend in Aberystwyth with Miss Woolf. Green cocktails, playing pool (badly) on the pier, tentative paddling and castle ruins - those few days had it all!
August: pride of place goes to Packwood here, with the exquisite house interior largely being down to the efforts of the industrialist Graham Baron Ash. Emily and I enjoy exploring the wider grounds too, especially the Hungry Caterpillar-themed characters in the Kitchen Garden; the Bookworm had also demonstrated her bibliophile habits during an earlier bimble around Bridgnorth, pausing for pizza in the Bassa Villa. It was the Chip Foundations's turn to get a bit bullish (bidding fond greetings to JC Beef, Deliverabull and Moo-seley), and a Bank Holiday walk along the South Staffs Railway Line to Pensnett paid dividends in the form of Bathams Bitter at the Fox & Grapes. Alewise such nectar is hard to top although the tipples on offer at the Great British Beer Festival gave us plenty to ponder over at the NEC. Harvey's Prince of Denmark was simply stunning, albeit the day will be mostly remembered for silly pig hats, game crisps, table football and boxes-upon-boxes of historic beermats - I was in heaven!
September: not quite so divine but nonetheless superb was our Kenilworth crawl for Nick's birthday, cramming in the Ale Rooms and the recently-opened Dictum Wetherspoons as well as perambulating across the Abbey Fields. Further exercise was encountered during Mr D9's Greensforge Gallop, tracking the Staffs & Worcs Canal through Swindon and Hinksford, then we had the small matter of the Tamworth Beer Festival that united Jane and Nick in a shared appreciation of frickles. The cricket season concluded with the Bears firmly in mid-table, albeit my efforts to see any additional action were thwarted by iffy weather affecting both Edgbaston and Nottingham (not that a Beardsmore Billesley day wasn't adequate consolation). Oh, and I mustn't overlook my family holiday in Kent, dabbling with Dymchurch and honouring Hythe - the sunkissed seafront walk I undertook to New Romney was utterly glorious!
October: talking of holidays, October was notable for a Daish's getaway down to Devon for Mr B's 61st. We stayed in the Devonshire Hotel atop a somewhat notorious hill but managed to conquer the steepness with trips out to Teignmouth, Brixham and Newton Abbot (where I was mesmerised by Ye Olde Cider Bar, a totally timeless discovery). A Hub Marketing hat trick gave us Wet Wombourne, a Darlaston doorstep and the estate boozers of Telford - the Mallard at Brookside being the kind of place that makes D9 drool - whilst Miss Woolf was tempted by Tipton, or more accurately the promise of pudding in the Pie Factory. Yum yum!
November: autumnal assignations in the eleventh month of the year always insist on Dudley Winter Ales attendance, 2025 being no exception. Cult of Oak's 1138 Matildine Mild wins the overblown tasting notes award for invoking the spirit of medieval sieges, although the Charlton House potentially had us wishing for reinforcements afterwards. Burslem beckoned for the Chip cohort on a drab Potteries Saturday, dodging Port Vale fans in search of Draught Bass, and there was plenty of porcelain when Emily and I called in on the Coalport China Museum (the subsequent roast dinner at the Woodbridge Inn was the definition of delicious). November was momentous for me moving house, a relocation that would lend itself to a Pattingham and Perton evening returning to the scene of Andy's bus shelter butchery.
December: all of which brings us to the festive season whereby my recent roamings have encompassed the likes of Sedgley and Upper Gornal (for a rare sighting of a Stripey Oss), Newport (a family day with Miss Bygrave) and Kenilworth (the 2025 Festive Forage when Nick and I tackled the Tiltyard and graced the Gauntlet). Fans of Rock & Roll hairpieces would be delighted with the Coventry Quiffmas, the Chairman on top form as regards Whitmore Park and Longford longings supplemented by a cracking breakfast at the New Stadium Cafe. The icing on top of the Christmas cake came care of Baddesley Clinton and its Snowman Trail, where the Bookworm and I met leaping lords and drumming mice. Excellent!
It wouldn't be a WME Review of the Year if I didn't say a huge thank you to all those crazy suckers - sorry, marvellous companions - who have helped make this year extra special. My eternal gratitude therefore goes to Andy (Mr D9), Nick (HRH), Stephen (Mr B), Ken, Jane (The Woolf), Emily (Bookworm Bygrave), plus my family, for putting up with all the Cheers photos, street sign obsessions and general explorational randomness I inflict upon you. It means a huge amount to me, so here's to more of the same in 2026. Cheers!
