To Orton and Back...

Friday 28th August 2020 and my Bank Holiday weekend is kickstarted courtesy of a satisfying South Staffordshire stroll followed with a pint or three in Penn - here comes the tale of the trip...

- Nuno Knows -

Starting out as I so often do by joining the disused railway line that went from Wolverhampton to Wombourne, I aim for the Staffordshire section today and within no time at all I'm on the outskirts of Lower Penn. The bridges at Market Lane and Langley Road are always a surefire bet for some interesting street art, mainly depicting dog breeds or colourful ladies although one of the latest Graffoflage additions is a tribute to the Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and his magnificent beard!

- The Wilds of South Staffordshire -

Greyhound Lane (Penn Halt) is usually my cue to leave the former railway but on this occasion I fancy extending my horizons a little further. The small hamlet of Orton is the place I have in mind, meaning there are three more bridges for me to negotiate first. Penstone Lane and Blackpit Lane dovetail nicely in allowing a brief road-based detour just to see if I can find anything worth taking pictures of; the junction with Dene Road thereby offers fields, farms and fingerposts to keep my camera busy. 

- Flash Lane Bridge -

The honour of being today's exiting point ultimately falls to Flash Lane just north of Wombourne. I scramble down to the road and then wade through the flood puddle immediately underneath the bridge, thankfully it isn't too deep. Orton itself is soon on the horizon as a disparate collection of cottages and farmsteads, bonfire smoke mingling with the scent of manure to perfume the air. Among the prominent residences are Orton Hall and Orton Grange while Age UK have a day centre at Orton Meadows.

- Orton, Showell Lane -

The centre of the settlement is the crossroads where Orton Lane, Flash Lane and Showell Lane all converge. I take the latter of those as my preferred route into Penn - a sign warns that the road is unsuitable for lorries and I'm not surprised, being as it's very narrow with high hedges and some tight bends when you get up towards Blazebank plantation. Along the way, I recall possibly my only previous Orton encounter whereby a barn and a stile look very familiar from a walk Dad and I did many moons ago.

- The Rose & Crown -

After something of a climb, I reach the residential stretch of Showell Lane that precedes my arrival into Penn. The weather forecast is iffy for the afternoon so I stock up on some suburban streetscapes while the sun is still out - Wynchcombe Avenue, Lytton Avenue and Canterbury Road all feature as I weave my way from Warstones Road to Pinfold Lane before rewarding my endeavours with a long-overdue visit to the Rose & Crown. Situated next to Penn Hospital, this is a Sizzling Pub & Grill I last sampled in June 2008 so my refreshing pint of Strongbow has been a long time coming!

- Wainwright in the Hollybush -

The weather as predicted takes a turn for the worse so I decide to see what the Covid setup entails at a couple more of Penn's pub establishments. Sanitising hands and giving 'track and trace' details is starting to become second nature now as the Hollybush gives me shelter from the worst of the downpours. A well-kept Wainwright later and a break in the rain prompts me to dart to the Spring Hill for the prospect of some excellent Ludlow Gold and a pack of scratchings. Whilst it's always important to bear any virus precautions in mind, it does feel great to be able to support local boozers again during these tough times - cheers!

Lost Pubs from the WME Archives: Part 14

When I began my Lost Pubs series back in April 2019 I thought I might have enough material to put together maybe ten or so blogposts, but here we are with episode 14 and there are still a few pictures in the bank to come. This latest quintet includes representatives from Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Birmingham...

- The Old Bush, Pelsall -

The very first entry in this series was a perished pub from Pelsall (the Red Cow) and I now return to the same vicinity to lament the loss of the Old Bush. Handy for the local cricket club, this boozer overlooked the southern tip of Pelsall Common and lent its name to the adjacent Bush Ground, former home of Pelsall Villa FC. Sadly both the pub and the footballing facility were disused the last time I saw them. 

- Battle of Britain, Penn -

Next up we venture to suburban Wolverhampton and ponder not one but two terminated taverns over in Penn. The Battle of Britain stood on Birchwood Road immediately next to a little run of shops with a rear wing extending along Sandringham Road. A standard M&B estate affair, it retained its original stanchion sign to the very end - the site was cleared in the spring of 2008 to make way for housing. 

- The Fox at Penn -

Our other Penn offering will be a familiar sight to anyone who travels along the A449 with any regularity. The Fox at Penn (historically the Fox & Goose) is still standing as a half-timbered Penn Road landmark but got converted into a restaurant several years ago. Its most recent guise has been as 'Caribba' which specialises in West Indian cuisine. 

- Poets Corner, Pensnett -

Our Dudley contender takes us to Pensnett where the Poets Corner used to be at 240 High Street, practically opposite Russells Hall Hospital. I was never tempted to brave this one as it always looked rather grim, although it had been a Banks's number called the Lion for much of its existence. A Tesco Express store and accompanying Greggs outlet now occupy the site. 

- Hare of the Dog, Perry Barr -

I bet there were some lively party nights in here as we finish by accounting for a student haunt from Perry Barr. Previously known as the Wellhead Tavern, the Hare of the Dog was an integral part of the UCE/BCU experience due to its Franchise Street location but closed along with the university campus as part of plans to create a Commonwealth Games Athletes Village. Sadly that scheme has subsequently been abandoned due to Covid but I understand the wider regeneration project will still go ahead - cheers!

Waterways Walks: Oldbury

Permit me if you will to cast my mind back to December 2009 and a canal stroll that will forever be etched in my memory. The canals of Oldbury aren't the prettiest in the best of conditions but thick fog added a whole new layer of trepidation to a trek that culminated in frozen fingers at Brades Village. I'd always intended to revisit that circuit so it seemed ideal for my first post-lockdown Waterways Walk; Stephen came along too for a spot of exercise, minus any mist this time around...

- Bromford Junction -

Meeting Mr Beardsmore at Wolverhampton in time for the 10:22 stopper train, we proceed with steamed-up spectacles to Sandwell & Dudley (which is what Oldbury Station got renamed as after a 1980s rebuild). Ignoring the Weatherite factory, we join the towpath of the Birmingham New Main Line Canal at Bromford Lane and quickly reach Bromford Stop, a well-known BCN location notable for a pair of roving footbridges forged by the Horseley Ironworks in Tipton. 

- Spon Lane Junction -

The second of those twin turnovers gives us access to the Spon Lane Locks Branch, a short 800 yard link between the Old and New Main Lines. There are three locks for us to investigate along here, albeit the overhanging vegetation does its best to deter us - nothing a bit of waterways gymnastics can't handle! Lock number one heralds our arrival at Spon Lane Junction where the Old Main Line plots a course between motorway support pillars. It's bleak enough already without the derelict Chance Brothers Glassworks adding to the gloom, the site having lain disused since production ceased some forty years or so ago.

- Approaching Oldbury Junction -

We've entered a section that Mr D9 affectionately calls the 'Soviet Swimming Pool' whereby Stephen gamely soaks up the concrete-centric ambience. It's urban architecture at its most gritty yet strangely compelling with the constant drone of M5 traffic overhead. We pass the extensive DPD parcel delivery depot to close in on Oldbury Junction, a place that would never win any canal beauty contests. Metal gantries and a brutalist bridge make this a scene for the purists, although Mr B can detect some aquatic life with little fish fry sending air bubbles to the water's surface.  

- Rounds Green School -

Thankfully we get to leave the bowels of the M5 behind thereafter, with Whimsey Bridge and High Bridge successively leading us through into Rounds Green. A Brades Road detour proves reasonably productive for glimpses of the Brades Tavern (operating as an Indian Bar & Grill) and Kay's Cafe while a traditional sweetshop allows us to stock up on lemon sherbets. I'm particularly pleased to gather some pictures of Rounds Green Primary School; opened in 1910 by the Oldbury Urban District Education Committee, the original separate entrances for girls, boys and infants are still very much evident. 

- Beardsmore Bemusement at Brades Lock -

Retracing our steps to Brades Bridge, the next location of significance is Brades Hall Junction. We leave the Old Main Line here in favour of the Gower Branch, which runs for half a mile in offering another connection to the New Main Line. Locks one and two form a conjoined staircase prior to Brades Hall Bridge with lock three then awaiting further down, not far from the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple. In the heyday of canal haulage the Gower Branch would have been an important shortcut option, saving boats from having to go to either Smethwick or Tipton to switch between the two main lines. 

- Albion Junction -

The Gower Branch terminates at Albion Junction, a setting we've passed on the train countless times so to see it on foot is something of a novelty. The New Main Line can now take us full circle back to Bromford Lane, spotting Pudding Green Junction and the Walsall Canal in the process. Having endured cloudy skies all morning, it's just typical that the sun should put in a belated appearance as we near the end of our walk, albeit we are grudgingly grateful to have avoided the recent heatwave temperatures. Sandwell & Dudley brings the trip to a close care of our 13:51 homeward train and we consider our Oldbury canal circuit to be a job well done - cheers!

Hub Marketing: Pick of the Pubs (The Alternative Chart continued...)

Oh yes, where were we again? Mr D9 was in the process of regaling us with his alternative Pick of the Pubs chart, recounting those establishments we can never forget no matter how hard we might try...

Positions twenty to eleven were revealed in a previous post but for the uninitiated the minor places were filled with the kind of no nonsense stuff our Chairman does cartwheels about - precinct pubs from Kingstanding and Frankley interwoven with back to basics boozers in Brierley Hill as a mere indication. We left you dangling expectantly in Aldridge where the Crown found itself marooned fractionally outside the top ten, so let's see what made the higher reaches of D9's listing.

- The Trident, Shard End -

#10 >>> the guilty party responsible for edging out the aforementioned Crown is none other than the Trident at Shard End, a Brummie box boozer if ever there was one. Patriotic England flags were a precursor to our January 2014 call when M&B Mild was the tipple of choice; later that day, our Domestos-wielding Chairman would disconsolately discover that the Mountfort in Kingshurst had been demolished. 

#9 >>> occupying the number nine berth is a 'splash and dash' (D9's patented terminology) contender from Bloxwich where the Spotted Cow received the briefest of visits in July 2015. Convenient for the Wolverhampton Street bus stops and just a few doors down from the legendary Turf Tavern, our attendance was necessitated by the bald one's misbehaving bladder although a cheeky Worthington's gave us chance to be deafened by the jukebox!

- The British Queen, Oldbury -

#8 >>> to Oldbury we go in order to find our eighth-placed pub, namely the British Queen which judging by the picture above looks about as drab as the nearby M5 motorway. A Desi-style curry and Carling establishment on the corner of Birmingham Road and Popes Lane, we sheltered here during the infamous January 2013 Blizzard outing - the Secretary's hair had frozen solid so we appreciated the chance to thaw out slightly. 

#7 >>> many different criteria have been considered when compiling this chart (Mr D9 takes his duties extremely seriously don't you know) and beer quality or lack of is definitely a key factor. The Devonshire Arms in Hockley probably secures seventh spot on its Guinness alone, such was the indescribable taste that etched itself into hub folklore and left our tastebuds truly traumatised. On the plus side, the pub's Lodge Road location is rather handy for Winson Green Prison...

- The Woodbine, Wolverhampton -

#6 >>> something from the Secretary's former Bushbury doorstep lands itself at number 6 whereby the Woodbine was never a haunt that Mr WME was all that keen to frequent. We took the plunge in February 2014, surviving another example of dubious Guinness and possibly arousing the suspicions of barstaff who thought we were the police. The place shut down completely not long afterwards and has gradually decayed into an absolute eyesore ever since. 

#5 >>> further Oldbury occupation now as the Doll's House sets up at home in the number 5 slot. A double-gabled Banks's number which stood next to a coach depot on Newbury Lane, this was on its last legs when we dropped by in August 2012. Bubblegum machines and cardboard carpeting accompanied a quick Carling in a boozer that would have drawn its clientele mainly from Rounds Green and Lion Farm. Sadly this one has bitten the dust, cleared away to leave a vacant patch of land. 

- The Doll's House, Oldbury -

#4 >>> we're nearing the business end of the chart now and Mr D9 has judged Walsall's Old Bailey to be worthy of fourth position. We happened across this when returning home after the World Cup Great Wyrley trip of July 2018, the Chairman insisting it needed to be done as a matter of urgency. Cue much John Smith's jollity with the regulars in permanent party mood regardless of the footballing situation - England did make the semi-finals to be fair.

#3 >>> the tension mounts as the podium placings await, and what do we find on the lower step but none other than the Coventry Cross. Contraband salmon and crumbling toilet cubicles made for a never-to-be-forgotten encounter back in November 2014, the Chairman procuring himself discounted tins of John West's finest fishy stuff. The dishwater Worthington's was reasonably palatable given that part of the pub resembled a building site. 

- Bar NV, Walsall -

#2 >>> the Chairman informs us that it was the tightest of calls when deciding which pub would walk away with the title. Commiserations therefore go to our noble runner up, Bar NV. A 'highlight' from the Hoot Marketing owlspotting adventure of September 2015, this was a nerve-shredding nightcap destination on Walsall's Bradford Street. The jukebox was in high demand, even eliciting rapturous rounds of applause from one highly enthusiastic chap so it's a good job we didn't unleash any renditions of 'Spanish Eyes'.

#1 >>> so where on earth could have eclipsed Bar NV in claiming the most spectacular of triumphs? It turns out we're sticking with Walsall and the coffin-shaped 'classic' that is the New Inn, a beast of a boozer on Blue Lane West near Birchills. Canned Carling and canine calling cards made this instantly unforgettable, so much so that the Chairman insists on a revisit whenever normal Hub Marketing service resumes. In the meantime my thanks go to Mr D9 for treating us to this alternative Pick of the Pubs chart - cheers!

WME Flickr Focus - July 2020

Given that my photostream additions average usually hovers around the 30 mark (what those of a cricketing persuasion might call Joe Denly nosebleed territory), I seem to have hit a purple patch of late. Matching June's century haul was always going to be a struggle but July has nonetheless occupied the crease long enough to accumulate 70 new arrivals...

Proudly perched atop the batting order is the ever-reliable WME Wolverhampton, which takes the shine off the new ball by snaffling some snapshots of the Mander Centre festive grotto. A couple of canal locks, the new market facility and Kingfisher Narrowboats all feature alongside the Parisian cocktail bar and a general view of West Park. If all of that isn't enough, the street sign quota is bolstered by representatives from Zoar Street in Merridale and Lloyd Street in Whitmore Reans.

Wolverhampton's fellow opening batsman is Exploration Extra which has also been rather prolific of late. Welsh input here comes from Aberystwyth (Gray's Inn Road) and Beaumaris (the Bold Arms and the historic castle) whereas Nottinghamshire nudges in with a Hoodwinked robin sculpture (Ay Up Me Duck) and my umpteenth slice of Sneinton Market. Honourable mentions go to Daventry for the Dun Cow and Trimley St Mary for a nice carved village sign.

The middle order big hitters on this occasion are WME Shropshire and WME Staffordshire. Salop rotates the strike courtesy of Much Wenlock and Worfield, the former supplying an Olympian trail, the latter a Dog Inn waymarker. Staffordshire meanwhile aims for the boundary by depositing Upper Bratch Bridge and Wombourne's Waggon & Horses over the rope, although a slightly gentler scoring touch is applied to Holy Cross Parish Church in Bobbington.

Are you ready for some input from our all-rounders? WMEs Worcestershire and Warwickshire have both been in decent form, Worcs busily bothering Bewdley for a clue about an Old Pal's Shelter and Warks parading about with the peacocks at Warwick Castle. Alcester's church clock should not be overlooked and I hear WME Birmingham has biffed some quick runs thanks to the Yenton, a Winson Green general store and a picture postcard scene from the heart of Yardley. 

That just leaves us with July's tail-enders as WME Sandwell and WME Solihull squabble over the remaining scraps. Sandwell slogs up the Yew Tree Youth Club (with a street art depiction of HM The Queen) and Solihull takes on rabbit duties with Ulverley School near Olton. That brings the innings to a close with a cumulative score of 4,600 runs published pictures, and soon it will be over to August to see if it can muster any more. For now, enjoy the photos!