Saturday in Soggy Sandwell

Things have been a bit quiet site-wise since I returned from my Great Yarmouth holiday, but I can at least report back on an outing last Saturday when Rog and I braved the drizzle and set off to explore the delights of Sandwell - here are the highlights...

• West Bromwich - we caught the Metro up from Wolverhampton to pay our first joint visit to West Bromwich. Got a few photos at West Bromwich Central, then had a look around the town. With the weather being as it was, there weren't many Albion shirts on display so Rog was able to just about restrain himself. Rog was also able to introduce me to the inspiration for his beard, thanks to a visit to WH Smith to hunt magazines featuring Metallica photos.
• We then had a walk to West Bromwich Garage, calling in at Lodge Road Metro Stop on the way - a nice little bonus adding to our Metro photos. I was pleased with our garage visit, there wasn't much to see but it satisfied my curiosity and meant I'd ventured into Greets Green in the process.
• 414 - back to West Brom to wait for the 406H initially, but when the driver failed to show we ended up on the 414 instead. We started off on the short section down to Europa Village (just an average housing estate with not much to photograph), then stayed on the bus to go through to Morrisons near Walsall. The ride provided a look at Carters Green, Stone Cross and Friar Park before taking us past Junction 9 and into Pleck. I'm not sure the route usually goes past the Brown Lion and down Bescot Crescent, but we arrived on Wallows Lane eventually and I even got a sneaky photo as the bus headed back off towards West Bromwich.
• It was getting on for 1 o'clock so Rog was pining for his first pub of the day. We called in at the King George V pub just up the road from Morrisons - the pub was quiet for a Saturday lunchtime, with a couple of dogs on the prowl and the cricket on the TV. I was pleased to discover England had bowled India out for 201, and we enjoyed a nice pint of cider before heading outside where we were soon joined by more of the smoking fraternity, sheltering under the awning as the drizzle continued to come down.
• Lunch was next on our agenda, so we caught the 311 down through Wednesbury and into Princes End. We then found a chip shop for a mini-fish special, complete with very orange chips - tasted good mind...
• The afternoon was spent doing a local walk around Moxley and Bradley, starting with the Gospel Oak and then having a look at the old Bradley Locks leading up to Moorcroft Junction with the Walsall Canal - a nice bit of waterways investigation which Rog quite seemed to enjoy too. Then it was up to the Fiery Holes and onto Bradley Lane Metro Stop to continue our photographic survey of the line.
• Rocket Pool - one of the few corners of Wolverhampton I had never visited, a situation I am pleased to say has now been rectified. Its a good place to explore actually, with the pool itself making for some intriguing photo potential, not to mention the Rocket Pools pub and the 530 bus terminus. We got our photos of the 530 before heading into the pub, where the locals were really friendly and Rog got some useful beard advice from a bloke known as Santa. Pint downed, we had a walk around the pool, got glared at by a Banga Bus driver who seems to have it in for me, and then headed back up to Bradley Lane for our tram back into Wolverhampton.
• To the evening then, and the plan was to head off to either Penn or Tettenhall to do a couple of pubs and explore more of local Wolverhampton. In the end we got waylaid by a lyrics programme on the TV, so we stuck to some more local pubs by visiting the Moreton and the Moseley Park down in Fordhouses - made for a good night actually, I particularly liked the Moreton, a good local with a bit of a Wolves flavour. The evening was topped off with a walk back through Northwood Park, trying not to squash snails in the dark, and giving Rog chance to recreate his famous IT HelpDesk Rog Files scene.

A good little outing there, I particularly enjoyed Rocket Pool, the 414 and visiting the King George to watch a bit of cricket. The weather wasn't perfect but we both got a good selection of photos, with the Metro featuring quite prominently for a change. My challenge now is to get the site moving again, and to continue with more exploration - I wonder where I'll end up next?