- All Aboard The 70 -
Mr D9 will be my accomplice this week so we decide to make a proper Hub Marketing day of it, starting with the Chaserider number 70 route from Wolverhampton. The bus arrives late but this actually works in our favour because the cheaper Duo group ticket is available after 9am, and the Chairman soon revs up his engines to make up for lost time. Fallings Park, Westcroft and Featherstone are all encountered before Cheslyn Hay ensures a full loading through into Cannock town centre. We alight at Longford so as to explore a little of Avon Road, playing our silly song selections in the process - these involve Lenny Henry performing a David Bellamy rap while 'Up Je T'aime' sees a snoring Frankie Howerd trying to fend off June Whitfield's amorous advances!
- Breakfast beckons for the Bald Spot -
Hub Marketing members are known to be partial to the occasional greasy spoon breakfast and boy do we have a treat in store this morning. The Truckers Rest is a classic transport cafe situated on the A5 trunk road near Four Crosses - it opens 24 hours a day and has the kind of churned-up car park that tells you it attracts considerable HGV patronage. Knowing we have an epic ale afternoon to come, we line our stomachs with a large Full English that includes fried bread, black pudding, mushrooms and probably the kitchen sink as well. The steady stream of lorry drivers gravitating here speaks for itself and the kitchen staff are kept busy barking out order numbers with metronomic regularity.
- Hatherton Canal at Catsbridge Lane -
Eager for a little bit of exercise to offset that calorific indulgence, we have a nose around Hatherton by getting pictures of the Parish Rooms and the Four Crosses Inn - sadly the latter looks semi-abandoned and probably hasn't traded for several years. Catsbridge Lane acts as our link into Wedges Mills and makes for a pleasant walk, passing over part of the former Hatherton Canal branch which forms an important wildlife habitat as it increasingly reverts back to nature. The waterway used to link Calf Heath with Churchbridge Locks but only the western half of its old course is still traceable.
- Wedges Mills Village Hall -
Wedges Mills is a small community based around the A4601 Wolverhampton Road just over a mile south-west of Cannock town centre. Mr D9 has vivid memories of visiting the area back in the late 80s/early 90s when the local boozer was called the Winking Frog, although he won't fully admit to what kind of illicit liaisons he may or may not have got up to there. These days the pub is called the Chase Gate and is part of the Hungry Horse chain, hence the risk of any romantic entanglements is relatively low. We spot the village hall and the Saredon Brook before gradually strolling back along Avon Road via busy Longford Island.
- The Chairman Goes All Imperial -
This year's edition of the Cannock Beer Festival is actually the first to be held since 2019 and the Prince of Wales Theatre is resuming hosting duties after the Covid-enforced hiatus. Armed with our £10 token cards, we get straight into beer business care of Froth Blowers 'Cloudburst Porter' and Bristol Beer Factory's 'Around the World' respectively, solid starters both. As usual, Secretary WME seeks out his favoured darker ales (Ashover 'Coffin Lane Stout' among them) while Mr D9 earmarks the strongest stuff on the menu - East London Brewing's 'Imperial Stout' is a must for him in that case, a mere 9.5%-er which prompts a "that's powerful" exclamation.
- A Very Pink Prize -
Sitting by the main stage next to a large speaker unit, we enjoy 1950s tunes from the likes of Fats Domino, Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney as the room exudes a very relaxed vibe. More ales are accounted for, the Secretary's favourite being 'Spingo Special' all the way from Cornwall - this would later be voted Beer of the Festival so it isn't just Mr WME who's partial to that one. The Chairman meanwhile has spotted a 10% brew in the programme and promptly furnishes himself with Wimbledon's 'XXXK Vintage Ale', a drop of liquid velvet apparently. We must try our collective luck on the tombola and come up trumps by winning a rugby shirt each, albeit mine is an XL-sized shocking pink specimen - strangely the volunteers don't seem to think Mr D9 will have any problems fitting inside his burgundy-toned example.
- Five Ways Inn, Heath Hayes -
Tokens pretty much spent save for a charitable donation, we proceed into our intended post-festival agenda by catching the number 60 bus to Heath Hayes, a village that grew out of the mining industry. Amenities on Hednesford Road include a post office, the Bourne Methodist Church and a local library plus there are two pubs vying for our attention. The Talbot proves very lively with an elderly pet pooch waddling about; one quick Carling later and we relocate to the Five Ways which is arguably the area's defining landmark, overlooking the roundabout where - surprise surprise - five roads converge. The M&B Mild here can't live up to the stellar stuff we'd drank at the festival but the pub does make a good impression, friendly and busy just the way community boozers should be.
- Norton Canes Memorial -
Having tackled Heath Hayes it makes sense for us to carry on the mile or so along the B4154 into neighbouring Norton Canes, itself a place with a proud colliery heritage (and very handy for Chasewater Country Park). Passing the Millennium Garden with its memorial tablet, we nip into the Yew Tree on Jerome Road to partake of a refreshing Theakston's Lightfoot. This pub has a 1960s/1970s look about it whereas the Railway Tavern on Norton Green Lane feels older. A couple of legs of darts result in an honourable draw as we bring quaffing matters to a close, and a lengthy stroll via Norton Hall Lane and Blakeney Way ultimately gets us onto a Walsall-bound X51 by way of our bus ride home. The festival had been huge fun and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing more Cannock Chase localities too - cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment