Bruce at the Beacon - and Other Stories...

Having spent much of my last few trips seemingly obsessed with taking photos of local pubs, I thought it was about time I actually stepped foot inside a few. Last Saturday therefore saw Rog join me for a Black Country pubcrawl, and we were ably accompanied by Bruce the Bear and (somewhat disturbingly!) Edd the Duck...

• Our first port of call was The Giffard in Wolverhampton, where we could admire the gothic decor and coffin tables and Bruce even got to sit in an impressive carved throne.
• Next was The Beacon Hotel near Sedgley, a proper old-fashioned pub serving its own beer. We enjoyed our pint so much we couldn't resist getting another half in for good measure. The pub was a delight, full of local characters chewing the fat and taking a shine to Bruce.
• A walk through Woodsetton then took us to The Park Inn, the brewery tap for Holden's. Here we sampled the Special Bitter whilst Bruce and Edd attempted a rather bizarre game of table tennis. Not sure who won as both were as useless as each other!
• The 126 provided our Dudley connection, where we got a bite to eat before having a coke in The Fellows. Here, Rog got a Welsh lesson from some bloke who liked his coat whilst I discovered Wolves had beaten Charlton 2-1 at Molineux - the day just gets better...
• From Dudley we were aiming to head into Netherton, but the 276 bus caught our eye and we ended up in Darby End at The Gate Hangs Well. This proved to be an excellent choice, based on the recommendation of a friendly bus driver. Bruce certainly made himself at home with the regulars and even perched himself behind the bar, whilst Rog and I enjoyed a pint of Banks's each and watched a bit of football as Birmingham went in front against Doncaster.
• Having dragged Bruce away from his new admirers, we made our way to Windmill End to sample the delights of the Dry Dock and the Wheatsheaf. I quite liked The Dry Dock, especially the narrowboat bar and the selection of traditional tiled signs, whilst The Wheatsheaf did us nicely for a quick half.
• The pubs and the pints were now stacking up, so it was time to head across to Stourbridge to finish off the evening. A combination of the 258 and 276 sufficed, although there was some drama at Merry Hill when one bus on layover caught fire! Bruce found another addition to his fan club on the 276, he always gets the girls!
• Our final port of call was The Rock Station, where we could catch up with Woody and enjoy Chris's DJ repertoire. A great end to a good day, with Blade on the prowl and plans afoot for future outings.

All good stuff then, a proper Black Country day out and I hope others will follow. Saturday wasn't the end of my exploration though, as Sunday saw Dad and I enjoying a walk around Wombourne, the highlight of which was the discovery of Ebstree Lock. Just for good measure, I even squeaked a look around Bilston yesterday, having a spot of lunch by Grapes Pool and venturing around Stowlawn and the Villiers estate. A three-in-a-row to savour there.

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With all this exploring, you'd expect that the site would have gone quiet and it has to some extent - although there have been some developments. Hitting the headlines this time is WME Walsall, which has crashed resoundingly through the 150 photos barrier thanks to a new Exploring Leamore collection featuring the local shops and the Crown, Black Horse and Railway pubs. WME Walsall does get left behind compared to the other main WME galleries, but this is an encouraging development all the same.

Elsewhere, there's good news too from WME Dudley with Brierley Hill Road Lock joining the Stourbridge Canal, and bus additions including the 248A and 251 at Stourbridge and a look at the 210 calling at Halesowen during its last day in service. WME Wolverhampton gets in on the act, whereby I offer you shots of Northycote Lane bridleway (a rural hint on Exploring Bushbury) and the Murco Filling Station at Claregate Island. Completing the catch-up is WME Sandwell with two New Birmingham Main Line photos covering Factory Junction and Galton Tunnel.

And there we have it, you're bang up to date again and I must admit I've been quite pleased with recent progress. The challenge as always is to maintain the momentum, and hopefully I'll have some more news to report in due course...