Windmill Lane to Warley

Friday 14th May: After my recent Rail Rover gallivanting it was time to return to the day job with a proper West Midlands local trip. Normal service was therefore resumed courtesy of a Sandwell stroll incorporating Cape Hill, Smethwick, Londonderry and Bearwood...

• My starting point for this adventure was Smethwick Rolfe Street, from whence I make my way round to Windmill Lane spotting the Falcon (on the corner of Messenger Road) on the way.
• At the top of Windmill Lane is a busy roundabout with other routes such as Grove Lane and Cranford Street radiating out. The island is home to two pubs - the London Apprentice (the usual boring stock design M&B small pub, apparently up for sale) and the Moilliet Arms (a much more interesting taller house that looked quite traditional).
  
• Windmill Lane itself leads me down into Cape Hill. St Matthews Church is a nice feature whilst the CAP centre also caught my eye as a new facility. Suffrage Street offers access to Victoria Park along with photos of the Robin (an intriguing backstreet local), whilst Windmills Shopping is a modern retail park that includes Asda, Matalan and an indoor market.
  
• Cape Hill itself is a place I covered only recently, but I pause briefly for a handful of shots of the Seven Stars and the Waterloo. I also track down the 438 route loading outside the main entrance to the Windmills Centre, a useful bus bonus there.
  
• Wandering round into Smethwick I can enjoy a further look at Victoria Park. There are nice views to be had of mature trees now heavy with leaves and the occasional hint of blossom, with a backdrop of railings and the lower end of High Street. Further along I find the Park Hotel, a once fine building that now looks sad having become yet another pub casualty. Given its prominent location on a one-way system opposite the park, I hope the closure is only temporary as we can't keep losing such landmarks.
  
• My Smethwick tour continues with shots of the Heritage Centre, war memorial and the grand Council House (with musical accompaniment from the chiming clock tower) before I branch off down Arden Road for another look at the Old Chapel next to the Church. The Uplands leads me to the Hollybush (another for the M&B collection) and round by the cricket club as I enter the mysterious world of Londonderry.
• A brace of pubs keep me busy here - the Londonderry and the Queens Head are both large and distinctive buildings, with the latter also paid homage to by several of the local shop names. In days gone by there might have been three to investigate judging by the cleared area on the corner of Queens Road and William Road.
• Pottery Road brings me into what could be defined as Warley, although its an area I've always struggled to pin down. The George is a chain pub chasing the casual diner, whereas the Plough on George Road is a cottagey little local that Rog and I visited last year. The local fish bar round here is called the Warley Whale, a name that made me smile although I haven't checked the size of their fish portions just yet.
• My next little mission is to track down the Wernley on the Wolverhampton Road before sampling the Dickensian-sounding Bleakhouse area. Despite the name it comes across as a pleasant enough estate, and I was particularly pleased to find the local branch library. The facility here has recently reopened after a makeover and I was very impressed by what they've done with the place - it's clean, bright and inviting inside so I hope the new Wednesfield library meets a similar standard. Note to self: remember the button for the automatic door in future!
  
• More from Pottery Road brings me to the Pheasant pub and onwards to Warley Woods. The area of open space here comprises a public park and a golf course, again with pretty blossoms very much in evidence. A non-pub landmark for a change is the famous (?) Warley Water Tower, a turreted relic off Harborne Road that I can well remember featuring during rides on the 448 bus.
• Lightwoods Hill and Lightwoods Park convey me safely to Bearwood, where I linger at the bus station admiring the floral displays whilst waiting for the 447 bus. I'm on the homeward stretch now as the route takes me back through the day's conquests heading for Smethwick and West Bromwich - it seems I managed to avoid the Ivy House (ex-Holden's) pub during my walk so that will have to wait for a future engagement.
• My final act is to alight on Spon Lane where the Metro awaits me at Trinity Way. There's just time for a brief collision with the Flower Pot (no Bill and Ben though?) before catching my tram home.

Sandwell has become a favourite hunting ground recently, what with the Winson Green, Tividale and Titford trips, and this was further evidence that the borough can offer some genuinely fascinating explorations. I'm glad I tidied up my knowledge of Windmill Lane and now feel I know the Cape Hill area better, whilst Warley was long overdue some attention. I'd actually been keen for some time to investigate the area that gave its name to a wider county borough prior to the creation of Sandwell, and I only hope I did it justice.