A Dose of Good Caldmore

Friday 5th March: The outings have been coming thick and fast recently, with my latest adventure involving a combination of unchartered Birmingham and a long overdue return to Walsall. Here are a few selected highlights...

• 549: a new bus route, operated by Midland (formerly Choice Travel) that connects Wolverhampton and Walsall via New Cross and Manor Hospitals along with Wednesfield, Perry Hall, Pool Hayes and Bentley. Nice ride although I feel it may need a few more passengers to be viable in the long term.
• Manor Hospital: Alight on Moat Road for a look at the Belle Vue pub and the Manor Hospital. The hospital always looked dark and foreboding whenever I've passed it before, so I'm impressed to see the site being redeveloped into a new state of the art facility. The Forge & Fettle and Forge Hammer pubs add further interest, even if the latter is an abandoned eyesore.
  
• Birchills: the pub photos continue thanks to the Orange Tree (closed on the corner of Hollyhedge Lane), the Four Ways (overlooking Bentley Lane junction), the Rose and Crown (spruced up as a Black Country Ales house) and the New Navigation (on the side of the Walsall Canal).
  
• Stafford Street: even more pub shots, this time featuring the White Horse (a small Green Lane Banks's, also shut), then John Street where the British Oak and the rather charming New Inns (a.k.a the Pretty Bricks) are practically next door to each other. Stafford Street itself contributes the Sportsman, the Prince and the Cuckoo Bell.
• Walsall Town Centre: a bit of a shock as I discover that the main Walsall College of Art and Technology building has been demolished. I recover with bus station photos of the 331, 329E and 377 before tracking down the Wheatsheaf, an elegant Birmingham Street townhouse pub that has been a recent winner of the Walsall CAMRA pub of the year award.
  
• Caldmore: a compact and vibrant multicultural area that offers several nice landmarks and is locally pronounced 'karma' - hence the appalling pun in the title of this post!! Caldmore Green is a neatly landscaped feature overlooked by some shops, whilst the White Hart is an impressive old manor house type pub. The Crown & Anchor and the White Lion are both equally striking, and I also catch a quick glimpse of St Michael's Church.
  
• Highgate: bonus exploring here as I seek out a few shots of the Highgate Brewery, standing proud at one end of Sandymount Road as the scent of hops hung heavy in the air. The area is barely a stone's throw from Caldmore but feels altogether more refined, genteel even.
• Bescot: after a brief look at South Walsall Library, its off to Bescot Station to wait for my 12:04 train whilst attempting some scary self-portrait photos!
  
• Perry Barr: beginning the Brum leg of the day with prized views of the greyhound stadium and bus garage. I was hoping to locate the temporary Birchfield Library on Trinity Road, but inexplicably failed to spot a sign on the wall of the neighbourhood office despite taking a photo of the building. My powers of observation obviously aren't what they used to be!
• Aston: I console myself with a trio of Aston gems. Villa Park is a footballing monument, with the Holte End and Holte pub particularly iconic. Aston Hall is simply glorious looking out over the surrounding parkland, with an inspiring frontage featuring lawns and a stately clock turret, whereas Aston Library isn't quite as grand but still dominates the corner of Albert Road and Witton Road.
• Stockland Green: a momentary flirtation with the 11C Outer Circle brings me to Stockland Green, where I enjoy lunch in the shadow of the Gala Bingo and reacquaint myself with the former Stockland pub, now masquerading as the Modern China oriental buffet.
• Erdington: the final act sees Marsh Lane introduce me to the Royal Oak and the Red Lion. I sneak past the station, then its Orphanage Road for a combination of the local library, leisure centre and town square. A couple of markets bring the curtain down - Wilton Market looking understated compared to the garish pink signs of Erdington Market opposite the Charlie Hall Wetherspoon's.

Well well well - that's March out of the starting blocks with a bang! After a couple of recent away days it was good to be back investigating closer to home, reminding myself that there is still plenty of the West Midlands waiting to be discovered. Saying that, I do hope for a few more adventures further afield before the month is out. As always, I'll try and keep you posted...