Newbridge, Wergs and Wightwick

The exploration bandwagon is firmly off and running in 2009 now, thanks to a local special last Friday (the 9th) that focused upon the Tettenhall area of Wolverhampton. Here is the tale of the trip...

• Having paid a brief visit to Paget Road campus of Wolverhampton College, the photos begin in earnest with shots of the Halfway House pub on Tettenhall Road. The pub is currently closed but will hopefully find a new lease of life before too long.
• Next, to Riches Street for a look at the old school building and the Newhampton pub - a nice corner local on the junction with Sweetman Street and thankfully still open. The same can't be said for the Summer House on Newhampton Road, which was sadly all boarded up with uncertain prospects for the future.
• Newbridge next, with photos of the local shops and the Newbridge pub (still drawing a decent trade through its lunchtime carveries). I branch off down Newbridge Crescent and feel myself almost stepping back in time sampling the rather genteel surroundings, with a selection of impressive buildings that included the headquarters of the Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club.
• I then pop down to the canal for a look at Tettenhall Old Bridge before investigating the recently refurbished Tettenhall Station nearby. The station building itself certainly looked neat and tidy, the old platforms were in good order and it was pleasing to see that a couple of associated railway buildings had also been brought back into use. The complex should hopefully provide an excellent hub for people exploring the Smestow Valley in future, as well as providing a valuable educational resource.
• From the station, I dart across Henwood Road and hike it up Old Hill for a shot of the Rock Hotel. I have family connections with the pub and I'm hoping the photo will be good enough to include as part of my Nan's 2010 calendar.
• From the Rock Hotel its a stone's throw into the centre of Tettenhall. I busy myself with a variety of views of the Green, focusing on the frozen pool and some wintry-looking trees. The Green also provides the perfect setting for a spot of lunch, with my chips proving useful handwarmers if nothing else!
• Next up, I venture into the local estates of Tettenhall, strolling down Regis Road to renew my acquaintance with the Kingswood pub and the fire station. The Kingswood was another addition to my list of closed pubs, although I believe the problems here are more longstanding and the pub has been shut for some considerable time following issues with antisocial behaviour.
  
• Redhouse Road and Yew Tree Lane lead me to The Wergs on the very fringes of the West Midlands county. I know the area fairly well but this was my first attempt at taking photos here - hopefully my shots of the Crown pub and the nearby Wergs Garage (a former car dealership that's now - you guessed it - closed down too) will provide some excellent starting content for a new WME collection at some point.
• The Wergs is quite an exclusive, desirable area and there were certainly some impressive properties to be admired as I made my way back along Woodthorne Road en route to the top end of Tettenhall Wood. My target here was that old WME favourite the Bird in Hand pub - not sure whether its still open or not, its never seemed that busy whenever I've passed through anyway.
  
• The walk by this stage was becoming something of an epic, but with the sun shining brightly I press on towards Wightwick. Here I track down the Fieldhouse pub, a charming little local tucked away on Perton Road, before braving Wightwick Bank, a bit of a squeeze with no footpath in places and some scary bends. Wightwick Manor was closed for winter, so I consoled myself with a couple of shots of the Mermaid pub (apparently this was a favourite haunt for Wolves players in years gone by, according to my Dad at least).
• For a final flourish I take a little detour into the Castlecroft estate before catching the 543 back into Wolverhampton, reflecting on a few memories of pubs such as the Firs and the Chestnut Tree and visits to Bantock Park.

I'd been promising myself a proper go at Tettenhall and I think this outing certainly delivered. It was also interesting to see how places are changing in difficult economic circumstances, as epitomised with the local pub becoming an endangered species. I have felt a growing sense lately that local history is taking place right before my eyes at an ever increasing pace, and I hope that 2009 will yield more trips like this one where I can at least attempt to record some of the changes as they happen.