Riding around Redditch with Mr D9

This Eastertime episode from the Hub Marketing Board sees Chairman D9 and Secretary WME unleashed upon the estates of Redditch, armed with a Diamond Daysaver and a thirst for flat-roofed finds...

- A Brum-based bald spot -

It's Good Friday 2019 (19th April to be precise) and there are blue skies all the way from West Bromwich to Worcestershire as our quest gets underway. A Midland Metro starter sees us safely to New Street for our Cross City connection, the train journey then being enlivened by a pop chart challenge - how many hit songs and artistes can we name from this very week in 1966 and 1980? Mr D9 is still racking his brains when we linger briefly at Longbridge, hence the bald spot is left unattended on platform two.

- Where are we again? -

We'll be checking our musical answers during the rail ride home, thus ensuring we can give Redditch our full focus from the moment we arrive. The town grew rapidly from the 1960s as an overspill area for Birmingham but does have a proud needlemaking heritage plus hints of history among the model housing estates. A station mural is on hand to greet us and we keep things train-themed a while longer by seeking out the Railway on Hewell Road, scene for an opening Carling and some dubious darts prowess. The pub is located in a small district known as Enfield, named in reference to the former Royal Enfield bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers which used to be a major local employer.

- Set for steering on the 67 -

Redditch Bus Station is positioned beneath the Kingfisher shopping malls (complete with its own hub) and is where we catch the 67. A Diamond day ticket costs a mere £2.80 so the Chairman has a saving to celebrate when strapping himself in for driving duty. The route covers Lakeside, Greenlands, Woodrow and Studley although we're only going as far as the Mayfly, an older estate pub on the Studley Road that has a 1930s look about it. Greenlands Post Office is next door and the afternoon sunshine entices us into a stroll, exchanging Russ Abbott and George Formby silly songs while heading for Woodrow.

- The wonders of the Woodrow -

We've done some places in our time but Woodrow really does take the biscuit, possibly making me feel the most nervous I've ever been when trying to take photos. There's no getting away from it, the architecture here is grim and the precinct has an offputting air of menace. The eponymous boozer is about as stark as you can get, buried underneath some maisonettes with only a narrow strip of windows by way of natural light. We go in undaunted (probably due to bladder necessity) and partake of more Carling while watching the Sheffield Utd v Notts Forest match from Bramall Lane. I doubt this one will be troubling any future editions of the Good Beer Guide but there is a true sense of community so it's not all bad.

- Matchborough Centre -

Woodrow Centre also includes a Costcutter store and a branch library as part of the main square, and the bus service is certainly regular as confirmed when we test out the turn-up-and-go (TUAG) credentials of the 57 circular. Our next target is Matchborough for further flat roof fun, alighting by Christ Church and the Latham School of Dance. The shops wouldn't win any awards for artistic merit but do seem more approachable than where we'd just been; among the units are a pharmacy, McColls convenience store, Piccolo Pizza and the Golden Carp Chippy.

- That's what I call a Sticky Wicket -

Matchborough's box boozer is the Old Sticky Wicket, positioned on one end of the aforementioned shopping parade. The initial bar area is busy but friendly as the Chairman gets the round, sticking with lager but opting for Fosters on account of the £2.40 pricetag (Secretary WME forgives these attempts at discount skulduggery because the John Smith's would've been even cheaper). Mr D9 is also quids in on the dartboard, turning his existing Railway advantage into a 5-0 lead before WME Whirlwind finally summons up a leg or three to stave off the threat of a whitewash. We pause a moment to visit Matchborough Pool, a nearby wildlife haven where a moody swan takes exception to a certain bald spot.

- The Winyate -

Not wanting to risk a pecking, we hurry back to the bus stop for a quick blast on the 57. It isn't far into Winyates and the sight of yet another precinct pub means we can complete our trio of horizontally-topped taverns. The Winyate isn't especially remarkable in truth, most of the regulars are keeping tabs on the Villa commentary versus Bolton although the Secretary is not as enthusiastic about Jack Grealish's opening goal. Redditch town centre now beckons (making use of the 57 again, via Church Hill) whereby Mr WME is determined to find some cask ale to counterbalance all the bleach he's been subjected to. Luckily the Black Tap can come to the rescue with the nectar that is Backyard Blonde, hurrah!

- A D9 doppelganger? -

It's been a lot of fun getting to grips with some of Redditch's constituent areas so our reward on the way home is a Stirchley nightcap, plus the tallying up of our chart conundrum task (we did better on 1966 than 1980 but missed out on naming the likes of Liquid Gold, the Lambrettas and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich). For a moment on the Pershore Road, WME thought the Chairman had clambered onto the rooftops until realising he'd actually only spotted a King Kong figurine. Plum Porter in the British Oak (a classic Brummie roadhouse that's seemingly undergone a student invasion) precedes an Attic finale, supping Stout in the brewery's own bar barely a stone's throw from Bournville Station. Cheers to an epic Easter extravaganza!