Bacon, Beer and Bruce

Saturday 26th April, and an eventful West Midlands local as I join Rog and Bruce for a bit of a pubcrawl...

• I begin with the 256 from Wolverhampton to Stourbridge, an uneventful journey to begin with until the bus is invaded by the Wombourne Girl Guides who proceed to treat us to their full repertoire songs. I was almost tempted to join in with the rendition of 'She'll be coming round the mountain'...
• Arrive in Stourbridge, with Rog disappointed that the brownies had alighted at Amblecote - he was quite looking forward to a singalong. We decide upon a spot of breakfast and pop into the Bus Stop Cafe for a bacon buttie, and very nice it was too. Despite visiting Stourbridge regularly for years, this was my first visit to the cafe, and it will be a shame if it disappears when Stourbridge Bus Station is redeveloped.
• Next up, the 242 to Halesowen, reviving memories of the old 247 and 248 routes with a ride through Oldswinford, Pedmore, Fatherless Barn and Hasbury. This section of the route is due to be withdrawn soon, with Diamond set to provide a new 142 route as a replacement.
• Halesowen, and my first look at the new bus station. It is a nice well-designed facility, but it echoes Wednesbury and West Bromwich in offering very little scope for bus photos. Elsewhere, Rog still can't find his grave in the churchyard, I think he was looking forward to saying "Yes, I'm dead"!
• After a walk around Hawne for photos of the Yeltz ground and the Hawne Tavern, we settle in at the Loyal Lodge to watch the F1 qualifying - the Toyotas of Trulli and Glock took the first two positions, although Jenson Button came through in fine style to win the race itself, an excellent victory for Rog's favourite.
• Qualifying over, its off up Coombs Road for a pint in The Lighthouse. The pub seems to have gone for an upmarket trendy vibe with comfy leather sofas creating a bistro atmosphere in which we sampled some Enville Ale. We then grab a spot of lunch before walking down past the Boat to investigate the Dudley No. 2 Canal near Old Hill Station.
• The pubcrawl is now well and truly underway, and our third pub was a real gem. The Waterfall on Waterfall Lane is a classic Black Country pub, friendly and traditional with a hint of quirkiness as it perches on a steep hill. Although the Holden's was tempting, an array of mysterious sounding beers were on offer and we plumped for the Maypole Mayhem, an intensely dark pint that went down a treat. The pub had a great atmosphere with cheese and biscuits on the bar, and Bruce almost got to meet his namesake amongst the regulars but came over all shy, bless him!
  
• We were well ahead of schedule so I decided to give Rog a bonus pub to enjoy. We hopped on the Central Connect 123, with Rog getting increasingly concerned as we toured the unfamiliar territory of Hurst Green and Causeway Green. He was even more worried when we alighted at Bristnall Fields, although he soon calmed down when we found the Plough pub and had a pint of Jennings' Cumberland Ale in the beer garden.
• After that diversion, the 128 got us back on track with a ride into Langley where I introduced Rog to the Model at the bottom end of the village. Rog hadn't come across the pub before but soon felt at home, especially when given the chance to select some playing cards to get a discount off his round. 45p off was the result, and Rog convinced me to have an extra pint of Banks's so I could have a go. My first card was only for 5p, but the next was 50p so I got the cheaper round (much to Rog's annoyance), and I had further reason to celebrate when news filtered through that Wolves had won the Championship by drawing 1-1 at Barnsley.
• A quick drink in the Bridge gave Bruce the chance to make some new friends and even appear behind the bar, and then it was back into Stourbridge to finish off at the Old Crispin and the Rock Station, where Woody joined us for my final drink of the day.

A very enjoyable (and occasionally bizarre) day out then, sampling some fine beers and visiting some great pubs. I'd definitely return to the Waterfall, and I think Rog has his eye on further discounts in the Model too. Bruce got a few cuddles, and there was even a little bit of exploration in there with photos of Hawne, Coombswood and Bristnall Fields. Another outing draws to a close then, but by way of an encore here's a final reflection on that earlier singalong - feel free to join in...

An Austrian went yodelling on a mountaintop high,
When along came an avalanche interrupting his cry:
Yo -oh -oh.....
Yo - del - ay - dee,
Yo - del - ay - dee (ssh-ssh)
Yo - del - ay - dee,
Yo - del - ay - dee (ssh-ssh)
Yo - del - ay - dee,
Yo - del - ay - dee - Yo!

See you next time...