Turning to Stone

The Staffordshire market town of Stone is situated on the A34 roughly equidistant between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent; it is also positioned on the A51, the West Coast Main Line railway, the River Trent and the Trent & Mersey Canal. A population of around 16,000 people means a lot of chimneypots in Britain Beermat parlance, so the town was deemed a suitable destination for an opportunistic outing with the Beardsmores...

- Desiro at Stone Station -

Friday 13th March 2020 and coronavirus is certainly dominating the headlines at the moment. We're not in a lockdown scenario just yet so the trip goes ahead as planned, hence I join Stephen and John at Wolverhampton in advance of the 10:40 train. The outward journey takes 26 minutes via Stafford, and we alight to admire Stone's elegant Jacobean-styled station. The building was designed by Sir Arthur Henry Hunt and a blue plaque tells us it first opened in May 1849; the station sits on the junction of lines from Norton Bridge and Colwich although the latter side no longer has any operational platforms. 

- Peeping at the Priory School -

Getting our bearings, we venture along Station Road past the Talbot pub and soon discover St Dominic's Priory School, part of a wider Catholic complex that includes a convent and the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Stephen takes a peek through priory doorways before Newcastle Street connects us to the Trent & Mersey Canal, a waterway with which Stone has a proud historic association (the town having served as the company headquarters of the Grand Trunk as it was originally known). Mileage markers confirm the distances to the canal's extremities at Preston Brook and Shardlow. 

- Star Lock (No. 27) -

Heading out of town to begin with, we have a look at Stone Top Lock (No. 30) where Mr B Senior is impressed by the dry dock's crane equipment. We briefly flirt with Newcastle Road, spotting a Tennis & Squash Club while Dave Fox Cars has some vintage motors on display - Stephen reliably informs me that one lime green classic is a Lotus Esprit. Back on the canal, the Crown Wharf development is nearing completion and will see Joule's Brewery making their rightful return to the town. Workhouse Bridge precedes some visitor moorings then Stone Bottom Lock (No. 27) is immediately adjacent to the Star public house.

- Keeping abreast of Wetherspoons matters -

Mentioning the Star, it's a higgledy-piggledy Marston's establishment arranged across several different floor levels and certainly fits the bill as a traditional canalside boozer. After respective halves of Sunbeam and Pedigree, we swoop over the road to see what the Swan can tempt us with. Rainbow Trout from the Izaak Walton Brewhouse is the result, a zesty number that Mr B Senior heartily approves of (he is fond of the fishes at the best of times). Our lunchtime location is the Poste of Stone Wetherspoons at Granville Square, fittingly furnished with a pillar box-themed carpet as a nod to the building's post office heritage. 

- Ruminating in the Red Lion -

Managing to avoid the sharpest afternoon showers, we investigate Stone's pedestrianised High Street. Key landmarks here include the Crown Hotel coaching inn (an example of Henry Holland's 18th century architectural prowess), the town library and some banks, while the Falcon Hotel is now a Thai restaurant having been a flagship for the now-defunct Bents Brewery. Church Street unsurprisingly is where we find the parish church of St Michael and St Wulfad, the second of whom was a legendary local martyr said to have been murdered by his father for converting to Christianity. Thankfully there are happier familial relations on show in the Red Lion as the Beardsmores pose obligingly when keeping tabs on the Cheltenham Gold Cup action - Al Boum Photo was the winning horse. 

- A Titanic Time awaits -

Our final port of call hopefully won't give us any sinking feelings given we're targeting a Titanic tipple in the Royal Exchange. A definite Paul pub this, nicely done out by Burslem's finest and the Raspberry Wheat is on tip-top fruity form with a pinkish tinge. Stephen meanwhile grapples some purple peril (a.k.a. lemonade and blackcurrant) whereas Mr B Senior successfully straddles an Iceberg. Glasses drained, we troop back to the station and time our arrival perfectly to coincide with the incoming 16:34 departure, getting home to Wolverhampton just after 5pm - cheers!

It remains to be seen just how much of an impact coronavirus is going to have on the country, but at this stage it seems fair to assume that scope for outings is likely to be somewhat reduced over the next few weeks/months. I'll still try and get out and about whenever possible - whilst of course taking all necessary precautions - so we'll see how it goes. For now though, look after yourselves and stay healthy!

Stafford Strikes Again!

A solo visit to Stafford is rapidly becoming a mainstay of my March schedules as this is the third year in succession that I've completed such an outing. 2018 set the ball rolling with Marston Road and Parkside, then 2019 stepped up to the mark with Wildwood, Walton and Weeping Cross, meaning 2020 has a tough act to follow. Could Rickerscote and Highfields provide some exceptional exploring? Let's find out...

- St Austin's Primary School -

Saturday 7th March 2020 is the date in question as the 10:14 Manchester train gets me to Stafford in little over ten minutes. For snapshot starters I've earmarked the stretch of A449 Wolverhampton Road where it leaves the town centre behind; alas it's too early for me to sample the Good Beer Guide-listed Star & Garter but the surrounding residential roads are narrow and interesting with hints of heritage. Garden Street offers neighbouring primary schools, St Austin's being of the Catholic persuasion while St Paul's is Church of England. 

- Saint Peter's, Rickerscote -

Back on the main road, I cross above the railway into Rowley Bank then branch off bound for Rickerscote. The Rising Brook as a watercourse passes through a rather desolate children's play area before Merrivale Road has me detecting a shed-like community centre off Thirlmere Way. In common with most council estates, it isn't particularly pretty around here and the 75A bus splutters along almost apologetically. I presume I've reached the centre of Rickerscote when I spot Saint Peter's Parish Church on the horizon - a fairly typical suburban place of worship as it goes.

- Site of the Rickerscote Arms -

There doesn't seem to be much else in terms of local facilities - Silkmore Lane has a chip shop and that's about it, so I figure there must have been a pub somewhere in the vicinity. Indeed there was, right next to the church in fact, but the land is now being given over to housing. For the record, the Rickerscote Arms was a Bass-branded roadhouse that opened in 1940, ceased trading in 2015 and ultimately got bulldozed in 2018. The continuation of Rickerscote Road starts to take on more of a countryside character thanks to farmers fields and riding stables, plus the inescapable scent of manure.

- Burton Square Shopping Precinct -

School Lane doesn't actually offer any glimpses of a school (unless I somehow missed it?) though there is the Post Office Sports & Social Club to keep the camera ticking over. Rejoining the A449, I can renew my knowledge of Rising Brook as the only segment of today's circuit that I'd covered previously. Stafford Manor High School and a community fire station supplement my more customary targets of the local branch library and Burton Square precinct; I'm pleased to see that Postman Pat still holds court in the post office window.

- Entering Highfields -

Next up is the Highfields estate with West Way providing my means of access. The number 9 bus is doing the rounds as Barnes Road showcases some startlingly yellow maisonettes and a squelchy football pitch - the flats at least look more inviting than the Highfields Social Club, although I understand the latter might be subject to redevelopment in the near(ish) future. Using the sequence of bus stops as my guide, I proceed into Western Downs where the modern shopping parade on Cape Road includes a Spar store and King Cod takeaway. 

- The Oxleathers -

The local boozer for this part of Highfields is the Oxleathers, a 1980s Banks's number that has a really commendable community focus. I'm more than a little apprehensive as I venture inside but some well-maintained window boxes tell me this isn't going to be a rank dive. Far from it, there's a warm welcome to be had and some football to watch (Liverpool coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1). The pub pets are the stars of the show though, a cheeky green budgie and a waddling dog ensuring bonus points for personality. Marston's Smooth, a cob and a packet of crisps has lunch easily sorted!

- A Rugby-Related Ruin? -

Some of the roads have a poetic theme (Milton, Wordsworth, Chaucer) as I twist and turn past Castlechurch Primary School to eventually exit onto Newport Road. The King's Horse stands out as a recent Greene King/Hungry Horse chain establishment situated beside the former home of Stafford Rugby Club - it's eerie to see the pitch and stands all abandoned since the club moved to a new base near Doxey Marshes. I survey the boarded-up clubhouse, leftover sponsorship hoardings and spectator terrace before making tracks for the railway station and my train home to Wolverhampton. A very worthwhile few hours!

D9 Goes Clubbing!

Another week, another storm or so it seems given the wild weather recently. Wolverhampton has gotten off lightly compared to other areas of the Midlands (and indeed the country as a whole), but the Hub Marketing Board still need to don their waterproofs when preparing for whatever Jorge might throw our way...

- Electrical excitement? -

Friday 28th February 2020 and the rain is already bucketing down as members meet at Wolverhampton St George's tram stop. The foul conditions can't dampen our enthusiasm though as this is a day dedicated to clubbing, albeit not of the rave-cum-dancefloor variety (the Chairman had a full head of hair the last time he did that kind of thing). No, we'll be acting our age by seeking out some of the local social club establishments we'd never got round to visiting, starting down Chapel Ash with the Electric Club on St Mark's Road. 

- A Meldrew moment on the dartboard -

Having its roots in the Electricity Department at Wolverhampton Council, the club has been based at this site since 1946 and is represented in many local sporting leagues (snooker, darts and dominoes among others). Visitors are asked to put 50p in an honesty box so we happily oblige before taking to the oche ourselves. Armed with quality pints of Holden's Golden Glow, we share the opening two legs with Chairman D9 exclaiming "I don't believe it!" when his treble 11 goes in. Unfortunately for the Destroyer that's as good as it gets because WME Whirlwind summons up a deadly double 17 checkout to take a narrow 2-1 victory. 

- Literally an Old School hub photo -

Pubby possibilities in the Chapel Ash area include the Clarendon Hotel, the Combermere Arms and even the Grill House (though that's more of a restaurant these days). We however test the robustness of the route 1 bus timetable by heading across town to the Dudley Road, Secretary WME wanting to cash in a sleeve hub at the former schoolhouse. The multicultural nature of Blakenhall is very apparent with a range of sari stores and Indian sweet shops, whereas the Old Ash Tree is a throwback Banks's boozer near the Fighting Cocks junction. 

- The Secretary after a dodgy pint? -

Still on the Dudley Road, we note that the British Queen (on the corner with Chapel Street) has been gutted with a view to redevelopment - another pub bites the dust perhaps? Back towards town, the New Bar & Lounge (previously Billa's) was historically known as the Ship & Rainbow, a famous music nightspot in its time having hosted the likes of Raymond Froggatt, Alexis Korner and the Spencer Davis Group during the 1960s. A quick Carling helps us pay homage to this musical heritage and then a soggy trudge through Graiseley gives us some street art to admire - no that isn't a WME self portrait!

- Poised for Pennfields -

At Lea Road a wait for the 2 means we linger by the spot where the Midland Counties dairy once stood; a true Wolverhampton landmark, the dairy was demolished in 1988 and ignominiously replaced by a drive-thru McDonalds - apparently you used to be able to see the milk bottles whizzing around on conveyor belts. Onwards we go to our second club of the day, Pennfields Bowling & Social off Coalway Road. This turns out to be a real treat, sitting in an atmospheric hut looking out over two crown greens with St Philip's Church for a backdrop. Holden's Bitter and Samuel Smith's Taddy Lager are our tipples of choice here, very enjoyable indeed.

- Penn Bowling & Social Club -

A suburban evening stroll through semi-detached Penn gives the Chairman chance to hone his shooting skills on a discarded table football set. Penn Road has a clutch of shops and takeaways, plus the Roebuck as a Banks's roadhouse, then our final clubbing call is the Penn Bowling & Social Club on Manor Road. Immaculate facilities and excellent ales make a stonking first impression with Castle Rock's Snow White pale drinking very nicely - only bettered in fact by the hefty cheese, onion and black pudding cobs. So concludes possibly one of the most restrained clubbing sessions on record - cheers!

WME Flickr Focus - February 2020

Calculators out folks, it's time for your monthly maths lesson courtesy of the WME Flickr photostream. Don't worry, we're not talking algebra, trigonometry or calculus here, just a few straightforward sums and a tallying up of running totals...

The general pattern established over recent years is for there to be on average 30 new additions (give or take) each month. That rule was certainly borne out in February thanks to 32 arrivals, although you might not expect WME Warwickshire to be heading the update charts. It does so after the collective input of Kenilworth (the Lion pub and a 'Walter Scott was here' plaque), Leamington (the Somerville Arms plus the New Inn) and Long Itchington (two similar sightings of the Buck & Bell). 

Crunching the numbers, we can also see reasonable accumulation from WME Dudley and WME Staffordshire. Dudley drops Kingswinford - specifically the British Oak - into the equation while Staffordshire does likewise with Horninglow and Lower Penn (the former through mileage markers and fishing permits, the latter through canine street art). Not to be outdone, WME Telford samples St Leonard's Church in Malinslee whereas WME Coventry tries to figure out the square root of Lentons Lane.

Arithmetically speaking, WME Wolverhampton usually accounts for a higher proportion of my published pictures. It has maintained this ratio by summoning forth snapshots of the Harp at Horseley Fields, the Yew Tree at Merridale and a meeting hall peek inside Long Knowle Community Centre. The Mander Centre meanwhile supplies some multiplication of its own with a sequence of artistic angles showcasing one of the mall's murals.

Finally from February, those cumulative totals I promised: Wolverhampton (777 photos), Walsall (314), Birmingham (537), Dudley (397), Sandwell (290), Coventry (116), Solihull (130), Staffordshire (491), Worcestershire (176), Telford & Wrekin (151), Warwickshire (132), Shropshire (168) and everywhere else (Exploration Extra at 619). All of which mounts up to the not insignificant number of 4,298 with hopefully many more to come, starting in March...