Rail Rover Week 2026

June is turning into a monumental month for summertime exploration. Hot on the heels of Dudmaston, Droitwich and Scarborough comes my annual assessment of the Heart of England railway network. Rail Rover Week 2026 is go! 

- Trinity College -

Day One: Tuesday 16th June 2026 and I still feel as though I've got that North Yorkshire sea breeze gusting through my hair as I join forces with Bookworm Bygrave for an Oxford outing, the 'City of Dreaming Spires' being ours for the taking once we've endured an exceedingly full CrossCountry Trains journey down from Birmingham. Bee-themed murals and honeyed stone help us acclimatise to the august academic architecture, picking our way through streets busy with students and bicycles. You can almost sense yourself absorbing centuries of education simply by being close to famous seats of learning such as Brasenose and Trinity Colleges.

- Ancient Egypt in the Ashmolean -

As ever, Emily's excitement is piqued by visiting bookshops in which case Blackwell's is one of the most prestigious booksellers in the entire country having been operating from their Broad Street site since 1879. Their flagship store occupies several units but with a pub in the middle (the White Horse); naturally I approve of such an arrangement although said inn is not on our hitlist. A craving for culture leads us to the Ashmolean Museum to see their curated collections of art and antiquities. There are five floors taking you from ancient civilisations to the modern day, far too much to see in the time we'd allocated but we make sure to include the Egyptian exhibitions with their engraved stone tablets and mummified relics. At one stage I become wildly enthusiastic about a massive pot so Miss B has been teasing me about it ever since.

- Oxford Trinity in the Rose & Crown -

We might have declined the White Horse but there are other Oxford alehouses on the agenda, most notably the Royal Blenheim as a Titanic Brewery exponent tucked away along St Ebbe's Street. The Raspberry Pale here proves much to my liking, boasting a slight rosy tinge but will get upstaged in the pinkishness stakes by the external appearance of the Rose & Crown on North Parade Avenue. Listed on CAMRA's Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, this place has been operated by the same licensees for over 40 years and hosts weekly Sunday jazz nights; my pint of Oxford Trinity in a dimpled glass is a winner. In between times we also called in at the White Rabbit on Friars Entry, enjoying its playful nod to the Alice In Wonderland stories.

- Long Eaton Library -

Day Two: Wednesday 17th June has me in the mood for East Midlands exploration, picking an intermediary stop on the line between Nottingham and Derby. Long Eaton gets the nod, many years after I first set foot there on the original Rail Rover of 2006. I didn't really get anywhere near the actual town centre back then so this time around I'm determined to tackle Tamworth Road, discovering a glorious library frontage illuminated with Pax Lux lettering. The central mosaic tympanum in my picture above depicts the classical figure of Learning against a golden sunburst backdrop. Impressive stuff indeed! 

- Trent Lock -

Long Eaton High Street reminds me of some you may find in the Black Country, slightly scruffy despite separate sections being cordoned off for public realm works. I could just as easily be in Bilston or Darlaston given the types of discount shops on show, although one lovely find is Rowells Drinking Emporium, a converted drapers store with a keen eye for ephemera. 'Hex Marks The Spot' is a Wilde Child stout that tantalises my tastebuds with caramel sensations, perched next to a stained glass peacock. Happily refreshed, I revert back via Tamworth Road to join the towpath of the Erewash Canal. The navigation in full links to the Cromford Canal at Langley Mill But I'll merely cover the shortish stretch to Trent Lock where it meets the river.

- Sawley Village Sign -

Trent Lock is a waterways location of some significance it seems, with boaters having the pick of an elegant lockhouse tearooms or two pubs if they be in need of sustenance. I didn't think any pub could rival Rowells for sheer novelty today but the Steamboat comes very close - it's not every day you meet a red Dalek, read old Beano comics or encounter a carousel horse called Bella. A steady walk into the nearby village of Sawley has me approaching Long Eaton Station from the south, photographing a totem sign en route. I've left myself just enough time to pop into the Sawley Junction micropub (overlooking the roundabout just beyond the station car park) for my fix of railwayana and more excellent beer. Britain Beermat would be proud!

- Prees Village Stores -

Day Three: having skipped a day on account of having evening Hub Marketing commitments, my story resumes on Friday 19th June over a slice of rural Shropshire. Prees is a request halt served by the Shrewsbury to Crewe local stopping service, so I ask the conductor for the train to set down there. At first glance I could be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farmers fields with just the occasional tractor for company, but a mile-long stroll down hedgerow-lined lanes brings me into a small settlement to the north of Hawkstone Park. The Prees Village Stores (otherwise known as Jackie's) is a charming yet essential amenity, housing the local post office and supplying general grocery provisions to residents of the adjacent streets.

- A Wem Welcome -

Prees lies just off the A49 and is roughly equidistant between the towns of Whitchurch and Wem. I could go to either for my afternoon activities but pick the latter because I'd not been there for years, plus it has two Joule's pubs to keep me out of mischief if required. Wem's railway station is slightly more substantial than that at Prees - if not by much - but has now been shorn of its signalbox, replaced by remote working of the level crossing. I manage to obtain a few pictures of the Castle Hotel before the skies cloud over then mostly concentrate on its Joule's counterpart the White Lion which carries all of the attention to detail I'd expect from the Market Drayton-based brewery. A surprise discovery with an amusing name is the Warbling Tit down by St Peter & St Paul's Parish Church; it loosely follows the micropub model albeit with less of an emphasis on cask ales. A wall of Famous Wemmers keeps me entertained, recognising Greg Davies, Sybil Ruscoe and the essayist William Hazlitt.

- The Cross House Tavern -

Day Four: at the risk of rovering fatigue starting to set in, I summon up the energy to give good old Gloucestershire a whirl on Saturday 20th June. This time my chief accomplice will be none other than his Royal Highness himself, Nick being as keen as I to get a taste of Tewkesbury. The closest station is at Ashchurch but its infrequent direct links to Birmingham require us to change at Cheltenham first. This does seem to work well, especially with the 71 bus being punctual to take us the last couple of miles into Tewkesbury town centre. We've just begun to marvel at the main street's many timbered properties when the Cross House Tavern blows us away with a fantastic selection of real cider - cue Yarlington Mill for HRH and Severn Medium Perry for yours truly. The interior has a mind-boggling display of vintage breweriana from Toby jugs to cider flagons to walls plastered top to toe in decades-old beermats. Pub heaven!

- The Riverside Royal -

We're not just here for the pubs - there's also Tewkesbury Abbey demanding a full inspection.  Originally a Norman structure utilised for Benedictine worship prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Abbey has been functioning as Tewkesbury's Parish Church ever since 1540, hence parts of the building would have been in situ when the Battle of Tewkesbury was fought during the Wars of the Roses. Highlights include a ceiling quire representing the House of York (victors in said 1471 skirmish) along with the Milton Organ and the Denny Windows, the latter being two amazing modern stained glass creations made to mark the 900th anniversary of when the monks first moved here from Dorset. Having had our history fix, we take a stroll beside the Mill Avon, crossing onto the floodplain meadows of the Severn Ham.

- All over at Ashchurch -

Tewkesbury is famously sited on the confluence of the Severn and the Avon, regularly hitting the headlines at times of rising waters. There's little danger of that today so we reach the Olde Black Bear safely; this terrific timbered townhouse claims to be Gloster's oldest inn, reputedly dating back to 1308. Uley's Black Bear Bitter is obtained from a very busy bar, although it's the jam-packed beer garden stretching down to the river which is really pulling the punters in. The Berkeley Arms entices our custom too for a wedge of Wadworth's hospitality, then we finish off at Ashchurch Station with me making the most of some belated sunshine for pictures of the zigzag footbridge ramps and numerous running-in boards. I've therefore travelled north, south, east and west in the finest of rovering traditions and can't wait to do something similar in 2027.

World Cup Fever in Wednesbury

The FIFA World Cup is underway in North America with 48 teams vying to lift the trophy. England are in with a decent chance - assuming they play well - so across the nation, our public houses are getting firmly behind Thomas Tuchel, Harry Kane and the team. Mr D9 and I offered our own form of assistance by raising a few Wednesbury glasses in the squad's honour...

- Walk This Way -

Trip Log: Thursday 18th June 2026 and this outing serves as a Rail Rover intermission for the Secretary, who has otherwise been busy investigating Oxfordshire and Derbyshire so far this week. Sandwell slams itself into the mix care of an evening sprint around fair Wednesbury, Mr WME making sure to position himself in Moxley ready for the Chairman's impending arrival. As is Hub custom and practice, Mr D9 is slightly delayed in getting himself to Bradley Lane tram stop, but once in position the day's topical silly song can be announced. Given current footballing happenings, it is highly appropriate to select Peter Dean's 1986 Cockney-inspired classic 'I Can't Get A Ticket For The World Cup' although neither of our Hub Marketing members can comment on seeing the Taj Mahal or the pyramids of Egypt, please note.

- Railway Reflections with the Bald Spot -

Having endured that paean to the tournament held in Mexico forty years ago, we limber up for the current iteration by progressing to Wednesbury Great Western Street. The Midland Metro calls here now but the site has railway heritage, especially when you consider the presence of the former goods shed which remains visible near the junction with Potters Lane. It's a JCB digger and bulldozer storage site these days but it's easy enough to envisage how the lines towards Darlaston and Dudley used to pass through here. There actually used to be two separate stations in this vicinity: Wednesbury Town and Wednesbury Central.

- Beer in the Bellwether -

With the bald spot having staged its own kind of nostalgic homage to lost branches, we're free to get down to beery business. Our first port of call is the Bellwether, a Wetherspoons outlet on Walsall Street opposite the derelict Walker's Bingo Hall. The Chairman has been known to frequent this place of a Thursday afternoon, usually sitting at his adopted beer terrace tables ordering two pints at a time on the JDW app. Upholding the mantra that if it ain't broke don't fix it, we partake of Stan the Man, a seasonal 4.2% ale with tropical flavours brewed by Gadds' of Ramsgate. This proves a suitably quenching start to our mini-tour, although the constant traffic vrooming towards High Bullen isn't perhaps the most desirable of quaffing companions.

- A Turks Head Tribute -

Declaring the 'Belly' as having duly been bagged, the Chairman leads a foot-to-the-pedal full throttle circuit of three taverns scattered around the Market Place (but only after confirming that Churchill's - the renamed Conservative Club - doesn't open on Thursdays). Our second calling point is therefore the Turks Head on Lower High Street, a place that's also been known as both Seven and the Tavern in recent memory. Large St George's flags leave us in no doubt regarding England allegiances while Mr D9 is in his element clutching Carling in loud, brash surroundings. The punters here are certainly intent on having a good time!

- Going for Goals in the Golden Cross -

Hoping that our traumatised eardrums will recover at some point, we nimbly relocate to the Golden Cross which some readers might remember being called the Pig & Trumpet. It has a distinctively rounded protruding front bay appearance and is part of the Craft Union stable, meaning drinks promotions and sport are to the fore. More Carling and more flags echo our Turks Head experience albeit the noise levels are positively soothing by comparison, hence Secretary WME takes his turn providing a Cheers pose with a St George's Cross backdrop.

- A Royal Sideline? -

The third of this speedy trilogy is the William Archer (previously the George) as located on the corner of Union Street and Upper High Street - I would say in all its flat-roofed angular glory but the frontage is buried beneath a heap of scaffolding at the moment. It is open despite the ongoing repair works and what's more delivers us a welcome discount, £2.95 on your Amstel continental lager. A wall-length internal frieze depicting Wednesbury in the 1960s is a pleasing aspect, sitting in the lower room facing out towards Nick's News - has our resident royal given up his majesterial duties in favour of selling scratchcards and bus passes? The Market Clock then mournfully ticks around to 7pm to indicate that our frivolous fun must end so back to Great Western Street for the tram we go. Cheers... and Come on England!

Bears on Tour: Scarborough

The cricket season has been up and running for a couple of months with Warwickshire solidly in the mix for County Championship honours (albeit making a complete hash of their T20 Blast campaign). Next up is the away fixture against Yorkshire which gives Mr B and I our long awaited chance to experience seaside cricket at Scarborough...

- Scholar's Bar -

To say this is bucket list territory and then some is quite an understatement - Stephen and I have coveted outground cricket in Scarborough for many years, and were infamously denied in 2020 by a small matter of the COVID pandemic. Thankfully there aren't any global health emergencies to stop us this year, although there is heavy Wolverhampton rain to contend with while we wait for our coach to arrive. The journey north involves battling plumes of motorway spray and a soggy stop at Tibshelf Services but Scarborough itself seems drier. We check in, polish off our evening meals and then see about getting a drink or two around the town centre. As such, the Scholars Bar is an itch that needs to be scratched at the earliest opportunity on account of being the reigning three time local Pub of the Year winner. One glance at the range of handpulls and you can see why; Five Towns Black Crunchie Stout has a honeycomb hit hailing from Wakefield as we admire a fine selection of non-league footballing scarves.

- First glimpses of North Marine Road -

The main cricketing action commences on the morning of Friday 12th June at North Marine Road, a venue which has been hosting fixtures since 1863. The ticket office is squeezed between a line of tall guesthouses and the playing field is in a dip below benched terraces - quite a sight for the outground enthusiast. It's filling up rapidly but we navigate the turnstiles, take a seat at the Trafalgar Square End and delightedly note that there are two ice cream vans in attendance. Warwickshire win the toss and elect to field but meaningful breakthroughs are hard to come by. Yorkshire openers Lyth and Luxton seem well set in putting on 102 for the first wicket before the former is despatched for 29, caught behind off Barnard.

- Stephen stakes out the Ice Cream Van -

Almost as important as what's happening on the pitch is the prospect of treats awaiting us at the boundary's edge. Beacon Farm's twin purveyors of dairy delights will see us partaking of their wares each lunchtime, Mr B sticking to his tried and tested vanilla remit while I dabble with flavours of either rum and raisin or cinder toffee. We need the sweetness because it is proving a testing day for the Bears bowling attack; the home side progress to a healthy 386 for 6 by the close, underpinned by a magnificent 167 from Will Luxton (his maiden first class century no less, although on this evidence he'll surely make many more). Handy contributions elsewhere come from Whiteman 55 and Revis 40 while a certain Jonny Bairstow has 49*; followers of the England test side in recent years will know how destructive he can be.

- Chocolate Orange Porter -

As the players head back off to the pavilion, we exit the ground in search of Good Beer Guide plunder although the North Riding Brew Pub is being swarmed by eager topers so we swerve it for now and see what else we can find. Scarborough Borough Council Employees Welfare Club on Dean Road is the kind of timewarp place I dream about discovering and originally was established in 1935 as a bolthole from the local council offices. The sound of snooker balls being potted rivals a BBC Look North news bulletin as I partake of a nice Chocolate Orange Porter, my liking for the dark side unaffected by being away from home. We're not sure how lively Scarborough might get on a Friday night but manage to dodge any party crowds by following up with relaxed drinks in the Scarborough Arms (Peculier Assassin registering as a collaboration between Theakstons and Roosters) and the Golden Ball, Samuel Smith's operating the latter with gorgeous views of the harbour.

- Harbourside Winch -

Talking of the quayside, it is in my sights on the morning of Saturday 13th June whereby blue skies entice me out towards the lighthouse, spotting craft such as 'Puffin' and 'Diana' bobbing about at their berths. Marine Drive takes me around the headland to North Bay although I'd miscalculated how steep the climb would be at the other end. Somewhat breathlessly, I meet Mr B to retake our cricketing seats and watch Yorkshire reach 469 all out. Mr Bairstow makes a bullish 68 and is ably supported by lower order hitting from George Hill and Hasan Ali; as for the Warwickshire bowling attack, there were three wickets apiece for Barnard, Bamber and Manav Suthar, an Indian spinner parachuted in to cover this game and the match at Taunton.

- Breezy and Bracing -

The Warwickshire reply begins with Alex Davies and Dan Mousley both chopping onto their own stumps, things looking wobbly at 38/2. Rob Yates and Sam Hain help steady the ship a little until White Rose pace bowler Jack White busily extracts Hain and Webster in very quick succession: 92/4. Having basked in warm sunshine for most of Friday, suddenly Scarborough takes on a different nature as leaden grey skies and a biting wind match the attritional aspects to the Bears' batting - I'm glad I've got all of my layers on while some other members of the crowd resort to wearing gloves, yes, in the middle of June! Wickets seem to be tumbling in clusters of two today for Yates and Malik succumb to the wiles of Dom Bess's offspin for 65 and 0 respectively. Yates hasn't looked at his fluent best but still grinds out a valuable half century, a feat being matched by captain Barnard who is 60 not out come the close of play.

- North Riding Biscoff Stout -

225 for 7 means Warwickshire are very much in arrears and have it all to do to avoid defeat. Scavenging seagulls swoop in for leftover chips once the spectators drift off home, although a fair few of our fellow sporting enthusiasts have the same idea as us and drift off to the North Riding Brew Pub instead. It isn't quite as packed as it was on Friday night hence we give it a whirl, rewarded with a tasty slurp of Biscoff Stout which carries implied hints of caramelised biscuit brands. Some of the ales sold here are brewed on the premises whereas others are brought over from North Riding's main base in Snainton, you can't get much more local than that! It's too busy to fully appreciate the building's 1930s hotel flourishes but I am impressed, and the same applies when we track down the Alma, a superb backstreet boozer which is the sister establishment to the Frigate micropub. One peek inside and I'm hooked by 1970s style square furniture, full length Magnet Ales advertising panels, a bumpy old floor trodden over by countless shoes, and a cask ale range that excites me, resulting in a great glass of Maxim's Sansom Ale referencing a Vaux Sunderland mainstay. Top quaffing!

- South Cliff Gardens -

Sunday 14th June will be our last day at the cricket, our coach itinerary meaning we won't see the end of the game. My morning constitutional takes me by way of South Cliff Gardens and the elegance of Scarborough's Spa suite, a theatre and conferencing venue which had hosted the Trefoil Guild's annual meeting for former Girl Guides, some of whom have been staying in our hotel. Trooping back across to North Marine Road once more, Stephen is hopeful that the Bears can mount a rearguard action albeit Warwickshire are only able to add another 38 runs before being dismissed for 263. Ed Barnard held the second half of the innings together well, ending on an undefeated 83*, but Hasan Ali (3/50) and the accurate George Hill (2/47) were able to mop up the tail without too much bother.

- Mr Beardsmore surveys the outfield -

Despite engineering a first innings lead of 206 runs, Yorkshire prefer to bat again themselves rather than enforcing the follow on. Will Luxton certainly cashes in, making a flowing 69 to add to his earlier feastings, but there are bowling inroads too. At one stage the score is 115/5 after Oliver Hannon-Dalby finds his stump radar, only for Bairstow and Hill to combine with forceful strokeplay that cements the home side's ascendancy. A declaration at 246/6 sets a nominal target of 453 for Warwickshire to win but survival is really the object now; Yates and Davies are going steadily second time around until the former perishes, edging Hill to slip. The game is in the balance at 44/1 as we relocate to the Albert, keeping half an eye on the Germany v Curacao FIFA World Cup happenings. Our Monday journey home is uneventfully smooth, Mr B undertaking regular scorechecks as Warwickshire graft out the day to secure a hard-fought draw. This maintains mine and Stephen's record of never being beaten in Yorkshire. Cheers!

A June Jumble

Are 'birthday weeks' even a thing now? If so, mine has been a very busy one. Besides deviating to Droitwich with the Chip Foundation as previously documented, there are National Trust nuggets, library-related museum musings and a beer festival over in Shakespeare Country to tell you all about...

- Bookworm Bygrave enjoys the Rose Border -

My birthday itself occurred on Monday 1st June and was spent in the company of Bookworm Bygrave at Dudmaston Hall, a National Trust property near Bridgnorth. The estate has been home to the same family for over 900 years, albeit the lineage hasn't always been especially direct over that time. We begin in the Kitchen Garden perusing species of potato, beetroot and quince, then enjoy a lakeside walk. Perhaps the most spectacular feature at this time of year is the Rose Border, comprising 38 different rose varieties layered up to give a gorgeous riot of colour and perfume. Some of the floral names are tributes to royalty or the great and good of high society - I don't know what he's done to deserve it but Thomas a Becket has two roses in his honour while Gertrude Jekyll and Abraham Darby are namechecked horticulturally too.

- Coquettish Fan Fun -

In echoes of last year's visit to Moseley Old Hall, Emily holds the edge when it comes to quoits by proving rather adept at hurling her hoops across the lawn - an unexpected talent perhaps?Licking my wounds (again), we see what secrets the big house is in the mood to reveal, and it is very much apparent that it remains an active family home. There's an informality to some of the current photographs dotted around that contrasts with the assembled historical portraiture, and we particularly enjoy mooching around the Library with its learned tomes on themes of nature, environmental conservation and country sports. The upper floor also hosts important modern art collections featuring pieces by Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Twentyman and Henry Moore. The 'Fanology: Objects of Beauty' exhibition allows my hitherto rarely-seen flirtatious streak to come out, although I perhaps haven't mastered all of the subtle gestures quite yet!

- Mitchells & Butlers Dray Lorry -

To Tuesday 2nd June and we're still fixing our eyes firmly upon yesteryear with a return to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. More of the 1940s to 1960s New Town has opened since I last came and a vehicular addition is a lovely 1949 M&B blue delivery truck loaded with Cape Hill barrels; this was transferred from the National Brewery Heritage Trust for ongoing preservation last year. Elsewhere, the showpiece Semi Detached Houses are more developed now hence veg patch gardens with runner bean poles and a salvaged shed containing hobby printing equipment. You can go upstairs for Liverpool and West Brom football squad photos, plus handbags and wardrobes - I love the reproduction packaging from brands such as Heinz and Cadburys. A 1968 FA Cup Final programme is tucked behind a mantelpiece carriage clock and the costumed character owner clutches a tobacco pipe as part of getting into his role.

- Those New-Fangled Paperbacks -

Today's star attraction (as far as Emily and I are concerned) is now operational having been painstakingly moved brick by brick from Holly Hall. Woodside Library is set in 1963 when mass market paperbacks were becoming a thing. Disclaimers inside books advise that items might offend modern sensibilities but it is important not to airbrush certain topics or authors out of history completely. Nearly 7,000 donations were received when stocking up the library which a) far exceeded expectations and b) means that there's a lot of work to be done cataloguing these on old-fashioned index cards. Highlights are Leisure Corner, green period table lamps and a dedicated children's room showcasing Sooty annuals. The museum's two pubs then earn themselves a visit each - Miss Bygrave being rather taken by sawdust sprinklings at the Bottle & Glass - before we get a glimpse into 1940s grocery habits courtesy of the Halesowen & Hasbury Co-op Store; this is based on a shop which once stood on Stourbridge Road and is pitched at a time when self-service was a retail innovation. Household brands such as Rinso, Horlicks or Kellogg's feel familiar and I’ve even spotted a plate of mock chocolate eclair cakes that look rather tempting - grab a basket and pick out ingredients for Granny's sponge recipe. 

- The Woolf meets a Black Dragon -

Did someone mention a Beer Festival? Ah yes, that would be the Stratford-upon-Avon one as held at the town's racecourse which saw Emily, Jane and I attending for some Shakespearean supping on Saturday 6th June. The ales actually take a back seat for me this time around in favour of joining Miss Woolf in her cider scrutineering, resulting in highly appealing halves of 'Ark' (hailing from the Fleece in Bretforton) and 'Malvern Gold', both of which are classed as medium dry. Two local Warwickshire ciders also require my considered analysis with Hogan's supplying the tannic punch of 'French Revelation' - I like this a lot - while Siblings 'Jiminee Dry' comes from a Snitterfield-based producer I'd not encountered previously. Miss Bygrave is our nominal designated driver, availing herself of Apple Tango, whereas Jane concentrates mostly on her personal favourites such as Gwynt y Ddraig's Black Dragon and Lilley's Bee Sting.

- The Dirty Duck -

After the festival fun, a steady Evesham Road stroll brings us into Stratford town centre where the local bookshops are on high alert for potential custom. Jane's delight at discovering a Star Trek Klingon phrasebook is very much evident while the Bookworm lives up to her nickname care of a Bygrave bargain buy - even I get in on the act by picking out an Alton Douglas title, 'Memories of Coventry'. The Fourteas brasserie on Sheep Street is a delightful place at which to partake of cake and listen to evocative sound of Glenn Miller, revelling in the 1940s theme. Two prime Stratford pubs with theatrical connections bring the metaphorical curtain down on the week: the Dirty Duck can be found on Waterside and has an Actor's Bar crammed with the portraits of RSC thespians, then the Garrick is reputedly the oldest watering hole in town. A pint in each - Brightside Pale Ale and North Cotswold Stretton Striker - seals the deal. Cheers!