Perton and Pattingham with Mr D9

Here's a strange little puzzle for you: Mr D9 and Secretary WME have been at this Hub Marketing lark for nearly 15 years now, covering all manner of places around the West Midlands and beyond yet not once had we visited Perton or Pattingham. Somehow this little corner of South Staffordshire had evaded the Board's inspections until one gusty Monday evening at the tail end of 2025...

- Perton is Primed -

The Secretary is no stranger to Perton of course, having taken photos of the still-expanding estate several times over the years; in fact, following a recent house move, Mr WME should be getting to know the area even better in future. That said, it is worth repeating that Perton occupies the site of a former RAF airfield initially set up during the First World War and then re-established with three runways between 1940/41 and 1946. Housing took over from the 1970s onwards and current developments such as that underway at Wrottesley Village mean the local population is set to grow further. Anders Square is at the heart of things with the Civic Centre, the Church at Perton, a Sainsbury's store and other shopping provision based here.

- Oxford Gold in the Wrottesley Arms -

This is a Hub Marketing summary and this means there must be pubs. The Wrottesley Arms takes on the role of our rendezvous location, Mr D9 eagerly getting himself into position circa 4pm ready to be joined by the Secretary once he's finished his shift. Brakspear Oxford Gold is a satisfactory start to drinking dispatches although it's the £2.70 Happy Hour price that really has the Chairman grinning. The bar room is a lively place with groups of chaps watching a replay of Leeds v Aston Villa on the Sky Sports screens while other folks play pool. A huge inflatable Christmas tree is another standout feature while Mr WME approves of the framed promotional covers of hockey club publications.

- Shropshire Sun in the Ale Hub -

After giving the Wrott a big thumbs up we decamp next door where a micropub can be found as part of the Anders Square precinct. Any establishment called the Ale Hub definitely requires our attention and this does not disappoint, proving a relaxing setting for a refreshing pint of Hobson's Shropshire Sun whilst sat on chunky Chesterfield-styled sofas. The Chairman gets himself a new canine chum when stroking the Staffie loitering by the bar, the scent of his own chihuahuas likely causing the surge of interest. We can't stay long because we've got a bus to catch, so we scramble over by Sainsbury's to intercept the 10A beside the petrol garage.

- Totem at Twilight? -

It takes little over ten minutes to reach Pattingham, although negotiating the dark lanes of Nurton and Great Moor isn't much fun in the dark. An attractive and affluent village based around St Chad's Church, Pattingham has had its fair share of previous blog entries although always during daylight hours whenever Mr WME has dropped by before. The bus terminates outside a small run of shops just shy of the Pigot Arms, and by the Chairman's calculations we've got roughly half an hour to do two pubs plus gather any required photographic content. The totem by the village hall is duly snaffled, as is Patshull Road and a Burnhill Green sign.

- The Pigot Arms -

A brace of boozers at rapid pace - no problem! We dash straight into the Crown, tucked away on High Street just down from St Chad's lych gate and my is it busy! Standing room only on a Monday night is impressive going for a pub out in the sticks, but the quality of the ale is a clue as to why it might be so popular - the Plum Porter is outstanding. We seek brief refuge in the back room near the dartboard, noting neat mining lamps as added wall decor, then switch to the Pigot Arms for Timothy Taylor's Landlord and a bus-watching brief from the front window. It's quieter in here, but by no means dead, and the beer is perfectly acceptable too so we can easily envisage paying Pattingham a longer visit in the not-too-distant future.

- Would you let this man loose near your bus shelter? -

Our haste has been necessitated by not wanting to be stranded without a return bus, albeit Mr D9 gets very nervous standing by an oak shelter that was the subject of complaints when a timetable case was erected! Our desired 10A doesn't let us down and the ride is enlivened by two Ronnie Corbett silly songs ('Fanny' and 'Big Man'), not to mention a hedgerow-dodging steering demonstration from the Chairman. Progress has been such that we've enough time for a Pear & Partridge nightcap back in Perton, sampling more Plum Porter as well as Wye Valley Butty Bach; again this proves encouragingly busy with 1970s Wolves programmes providing some of the Molineux-themed decoration. Cheers!

Perton then Pensnett

To steal a phrase from a famous advertising slogan... p-p-p-pick up a Perton, and whilst you're at it, p-p-p-pick up a Pensnett too. Biscuity chocolate bars might not otherwise be involved in this particular posting but you are getting two trips for the price of one as I attempt some Easter(ish) exploring...

- Spring has sprung on Redhouse Road -

Let's begin with Easter Tuesday (is that even a thing?) - also known as the 2nd April 2024 - and a terrific Tettenhall morning en route to Perton. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I've got the whole day all to myself for indulging in photography plus a couple of pints. Woodfield Heights has an alleyway link onto College Road comprising several sets of steps before Tettenhall Library and the Peter James estate agents earn their latest archive snaps. I'm rather taken with a ceremonial water fountain I don't think I'd ever captured on camera previously; it is late Victorian in origin and has a prime spot overlooking Upper Green. By contrast, I'm always partial to getting pictures of blossoms so the white-petalled specimens awaiting me on Redhouse Road and Wrottesley Road West are duly documented, lovely.

- A Perton Pony -

After a Cranmere Avenue detour just to satisfy a lingering curiosity, I take Westcroft Road and the crusty old tracks of Dippons Lane to edge closer to Perton, a 1970s overspill settlement built on what used to be the RAF Perton airbase (mainly operational during the Second World War). Pony paddocks give me a rare slice of wildlife action, not that the steeds concerned look remotely impressed by me showering them with attention, then Mercia Drive spits me out onto The Parkway which effectively functions as the estate's main loop road. Two lakes, a selection of schools and a flatpack church are among the various amenities while Sainsburys are the anchor supermarket within the Anders Square shopping precinct. 

- The Pear & Partridge -

In terms of Perton pub provision, I've mentioned both the Pear & Partridge (Greene King) and the Wrottesley Arms (Marston's) on earlier bloggings, although it's encouraging that both are still very much trading and seemingly enticing in grey pound lunchtime diners on a Tuesday afternoon. This established duo has latterly been complemented by the Ale Hub as situated within an Anders Square shopfront; as with the similar outlets at Mere Green, Shirley and Dickens Heath, it offers real ales, craft beer and select spirits in welcoming surroundings. Green Duck's Session Pale is in fine fettle as I relax in a comfortable sofa below 'It's Gin O'Clock' stencillings. Steering clear of mother's ruin myself, I stick around to partake of a Moreton Mild (North Cotswold Brewery, very nice) before catching the number 10 home.

- St Mark's Church -

Fast forward three days to Friday 5th April and my second 'P' destination of the week will be the Dudley district of Pensnett. Again I'm blessed with agreeable weather (give or take some blustery gusts) as the 15 bus deposits me on Tiled House Lane just shy of the busy High Oak crossroads. The local High Street has a derelict relic of a chemists store - H.L. Myers, sadly shorn of its vintage Max Factor appendage - followed by St Mark's C of E Primary School as linked to the parish church of the same name. A funeral service is just drawing to a close when I venture along Vicarage Road but I can nip respectfully through the churchyard to inspect the 1849 cruciform architecture complete with proud clock tower. 

- Barrow Hill Cross -

Vicarage Road also serves as my access point for the Barrow Hill Nature Reserve, one of Dudley's most significant areas of grassland and ancient woodland in terms of geology and biodiversity. Apparently part of the site was once an active volcano so I'm hoping to steer clear of any eruptions today! Burial chambers thought to date back to the Bronze Age help give the reserve its name, and a large metallic cross helps emphasise this resting place provenance as well as marking the hill's summit. On clear days such as this, there are impressive panoramas to enjoy looking out towards The Wrekin, Worcestershire, the Clent Hills and Brown Clee.

- Russells Hall Shops -

Proceeding further along the Barrow Hill footpaths, I emerge into Russells Hall via Merryfield Road. Although I know the estate quite well from rides on the former 222 bus route down the years, it had largely escaped my camera's gaze until now. Making up for lost time, I pounce upon the main block of shops on Middlepark Road corner, noting a Spar store, a post office and Taylor's family butchers (not forgetting the Living Hope Church, previously known as St Barnabas's). Further shops - including the Blue Submarine Fish Bar - can be found at the junction with Overfield Road beyond some playing fields and a nursing home.

- A Feathery Co-op? -

Russells Hall used to be served by two watering holes, neither of which have survived. On Corbyn Road there used to be the Old Park with its very triangular pointy roof but that got replaced by apartments, whereas Overfield Road opposite the primary school is where you would have found the Plume of Feathers. This latter establishment is at least still standing, nowadays fulfilling a communal function as a Co-op store albeit with a shape that very much has the hallmarks of a lost Banks's boozer. 

- Pens Ale Prospects -

Any quest for pints in the vicinity must therefore bring me back to Pensnett, where that trusty favourite the Fox & Grapes once again delivers on my Bathams Bitter + cheese and onion cob remit. I park myself in the main bar for a change, thinking it quite quiet early doors until some hi-vis workmen claim their regular positions and get the banter properly flowing - Friday pm knocking-off time, you can't beat it! The Pens Ale micropub at 81a High Street (next door to the chip shop that used to be the Four Furnaces) has earned Good Beer Guide recognition in recent years, so the slightest hint that my intended Holden's Golden Glow is off means I'm swiftly furnished with an impeccable Oakham Inferno replacement. Cheers!