Dudley to Sedgley by 229 bus

Our first journey on the Diamond 229 bus was from the Black Country Living Museum (BCLM) to Woodsetton with a circular tour of Tipton's Victoria Park and a glimpse of Mad O'Rourkes Pie Factory en route. On Sunday 26 May we needed protection from the rain to reach the bus stop from the 'Dudley Town Centre' Travelodge.

The Park Inn, the tap for Holden's Brewery was our destination and thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we got off the bus.

The front rooms were busy at the pub so we found a table in the extended part of the building which has a roof light and views of the bar to the front and the conservatory and garden to the side.

A simple choice of drinks included Celtic Marches Abrahall's AV Vintage cider and three Holden's beers.

Tim's Black Country Bitter and Meg's Golden Glow were served sparkled and in lovely condition and were as pale as usual for beers from the Black Country. With the 229 bus an hourly service on Sundays we had less than an hour in the Park Inn before returning to the stop for the next 229 bus to Sedgley.

A short walk brought us to Mount Pleasant, featuring a hotchpotch of building styles that extends backwards for quite a distance. The entrance looked well worn and we decided to sit in the quiet front bar area as the bar behind sounded quite noisy. 

The Stump is the local name for Mount Pleasant. A blackboard at the bar lists details of the cask ale range with a good range of beer styles. Tim's half of Butty Bach was served in a Hobsons glass.

There's an interesting selection of bottled fruit wines under the blackboard.

Like many Black Country pubs, there are cobs behind the bar to satisfy anyone with an appetite. An interesting collection of ceramic tankards was ranged above the line of spirits bottles. Since January 2024, the pub is managed by Tracey Arenare, the former barmaid.

A visit to the toilets at the rear gave an opportunity to see the extent of the pub which has multiple rooms.

With the Beacon Hotel opening at 7pm on Sundays, we were soon on our way to get there in case it got busier later. Now out of sync with the 229 bus that stops outside, we walked along tree lined back streets instead. There were still several free tables in the long back room and it was nice to sit in familiar surroundings for the first time this evening.

Dark Ruby, Surprise and Pale Amber were the three Sarah Hughes ales available from the small bar area between front and back rooms. Tim relished his half of the award winning 6% ABV Dark Ruby mild on this short visit. Once again out of sync with the 229 bus, we walked downhill to our fourth and final pub earmarked for serving food later than most other establishments.

The Clifton (J D Wetherspoon) was once Sedgley's cinema. We enjoyed pints of Salopian Crash & Burn pale ale with our meals.

There was still some light in the sky as we returned to our Dudley hotel via Woodsetton and Tipton on the 229 bus.

JD Wetherspoon pubs are shown in blue in the rough map above. 

Black Country Living Museum

On Tuesday 28 May, it was a short walk from our hotel to the Black Country Living Museum (BCLM). We met up with Mark Geeson and CAMRA friends at the entrance after their journey from Wolverhampton. With the benefit of advance planning we used pre-printed vouchers combined with rail or bus tickets to get admission discounts. 

There are now two relocated pubs at the BCLM and we visited the Bottle & Glass Inn, the original one first. 

It stocks beers from Black Country Ales and we enjoyed the Citra Sublime pale ale in the room on the right with a real coal fire in the grate.

There are several other rooms with sawdust on the floors and candles on the tables. 

After our beers we left the cosy pub and walked the short distance in the rain to the 2022 addition, the Elephant & Castle. 

Originally built in 1905 in Wolverhampton and knocked down in 2001, it is now set in the 1960s and serves Banks's beers and Westons Rosie's Pig cider. 

By now the pub was busy with people of all ages sheltering from the rain, including children who amused themselves by repeatedly playing the piano in the main bar room despite our attempts to deter this by closing the lid!

Leuven - Spring 2024

For a three night visit in March 2024, we stayed at the historic Hotel Industrie which is well located close to Leuven railway and bus stations.

The city's best beer cafe bars are within easy walking distance and, on Saturdays, a visit to Hof ten Dormaal farmhouse brewery is possible with a choice of bus routes followed by a flat walk. Over this stay, Tim enjoyed showing Meg some of his favourite places, previously featured in posts on this blog, including: 

Metafoor (on Parijsstraat, a street down from Oudemarkt, passed by a couple of times until we found it uncrowded on a Sunday lunchtime); 

De Blauwe Kater (on a corner of Vismarkt, blues music on Mondays (live) and on the sound system at other times); 

STUK Cafe (occasional live music events in a spacious high ceilinged room with big windows);

and Hof ten Dormaal farmhouse brewery (cosy taproom for their own bottled beers and the chance to meet brewer Jef Janssens);

Establishments visited for the first time on this trip and recommended are: Brasserie Gambrinus; MALZ and Het Strand.

Brasserie Gambrinus

On Grote Markt, facing the cathedral and near the Gothic town hall (included in photo above), Brasserie Gambrinus has an interesting history explained in Regula Ysewijn's book Belgian Cafe Culture. Originally named 'Au Duc de Brabant' with the appearance of a Viennese brasserie, it was renamed in 1896 when the family Van Mechelen bought it. With Germanic decorative themes, the precious interior of Gambrinus survived WWI and moved to a building commissioned in 1932.

We visited on Friday and were directed to one of the few free tables. It is closed on Sundays. While female staff serve beer and wash glasses behind the bar, male staff with starched overalls stand in front of the bar and deal with customers both inside and on the seats outside.

MALZ

Situated just across the bridge over the river Dyle, on the corner of Brusselsestraat and picturesque Predikherenstraat, is MALZ, a newcomer since my previous visit to Leuven.

The Craft Beer bar and shop has 12 taps for draught beers from Belgium and beyond, including Anspach & Hobday London Black.

There is also a wide selection of bottles and cans including a large range of cider and mead.

The bar was busy when we visited on a Saturday night. The hard seating is set around standard height tables and there are high stools at the bar. Locally produced meats and cheeses can be served.

Het Strand

On Sunday night we dined at Het Strand, an informal bar / vegetarian restaurant hidden away in the new Vesalius development with ZED cinema off Tiensestraat, which runs south east from the city centre. 

Located above street level, there are windows on two sides of the long space with plenty of green plants.

A blackboard at the far end lists a short selection of dishes with an international slant.

Tim enjoyed his Taiwanese noodle soup!

The long bar offers five beers on tap and 26 bottled or canned beers including several from Brussels Beer Project.

Antwerp - Spring 2024

For a three night visit in March 2024, we stayed at the recently renovated Hotel National which is well located within easy walking distance of Groenplaats and its metro station, served by several tram routes from Antwerp Centraal station environs.

Many of the city's best beer cafe bars are within easy walking distance. Over this stay, Tim enjoyed showing Meg some of his favourites, previously featured in posts on this blog, including: 

De Ware Jacob (run by Guy Dockx with Brasserie Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux on draught and bottles / cans of beers from all the Antwerp area breweries); 

Het Souke (run by Jacob Gouka with well chosen music and beers); 

Kulminator (run by Dirk and Leen with classical music playing but a bit chilly inside on this occasion. NB Cash only, give purpose of visit as to taste beer and not just drink it!);

De Vagant  

De Vagant (run by Bart Daems with high ceiling, a good choice of beers and jenevers);

Pelikaan (on a Melkmarkt corner, decorated with enamel signs on the outside and neon signs inside).

De Muze

Opposite Pelikaan on Melkmarkt, it was a pleasant surprise to visit De Muze, for the first time, after spotting on the bar's Facebook page that it features live jazz music every night.

On our first visit we found a 'railway carriage style' private table with a view of the side of the stage. 

De Muze 5 featuring a pianist, double bass, drums, sax and trumpet sounded great. There's no admission charge but a 50 cent supplement per drink is applied when live music is on, usually after 9pm.

There's a good draught beer menu (photo above) and a further two dozen bottled beers to choose from.

With dim lighting, high ceilings and interesting decor, De Muze has a lot of character and we revisited the following night for more jazz and beer!

Cafe Scaldis

Tim has visited many of Antwerp's traditional beer cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's book 'Belgian Cafe Culture'. On this stay his mission was to visit Cafe Scaldis, Cadixstraat1 in Eilandje neighbourhood, once the heart of docklands but now surrounded by new residential housing developments.

As Regula Ysewijn writes 'Cafe Scaldis was founded in 1946 by the parents of current landlady Jose. The wooden bar comes from a 1920s cafe which makes cafe Scaldis look a lot older than it is'. 

A visit needs to be planned carefully as it is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 12 noon until midnight. Note also that cash payment is expected.

After a visit to nearby Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), on a bright afternoon, with a cold east wind blowing, we opted to sit inside cafe Scaldis. As the only customers seated inside, for some of the time, it was a pleasure to chat with Jose and to be photographed with her before leaving.

Stella Artois is the only beer on tap but bottled beers are also available. When it's busier the barrel tables in front of the bar allow groups to sit together at the bar. Jose mentioned that her regular customers usually visit later in the day.

More revisits + Cafe Hopper + Chatleroi

With time to spare between leaving Cafe Scaldis and 4pm when the Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie taproom opens on a Thursday in March, we walked further north to view the architecturally impressive Antwerp Port House / Havenhuis. The old fire station is topped by the new Zaha Hadid Architects' structure. It is situated at the northern end of the 24 tram route. 

Also of architectural interest is the Straatsburgbrug (Strasbourg Bridge) 'traction station' brick building nearby which the tram circles before returning to the city. The oval-shaped building includes external steps to allow elevated viewpoints for the public and was designed by Van Belle & Medina as part of the Brabo 2 project. 

It's always a pleasure to visit the Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie taproom. The soundtrack was a mixed bag on this afternoon but it was nice to hear Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Tim left an Ullage magazine (Autumn 2023) which included a feature on the taproom for its founder, Johan Van Dyck, who had kindly provided our group with an impromptu brewery tour in June 2023.

Also visited in June 2023, Dr Beer was our next destination, also quite near to MAS. It was busy for a Thursday afternoon but we found a good table (near hanging cane chairs and an anatomical model!) in the cosy surroundings and were expertly assisted in choosing beers by Jeroen Peeters who was happy to provide Meg with a sample of De Mortselarij Miss-T to taste from a stemmed black glass.

Before leaving, Jeroen was pleased to be given a West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine (Autumn 2023) with a mention of Dr Beer and he had soon featured a photo of us with it on the bar and shop's instagram account realdrbeer.

On our last morning in Antwerp we visited the renovated Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) which is recommended for art and design lovers. There were special exhibits about James Ensor and Rik Wouters. Remember to allow enough time to get maximum value from the 20 euro admission charge.

It's situated in the Zuid neighbourhood, even further south from the cathedral than Dansing Chocola, where we dined on the night we arrived. 

Although impressed by the art and interiors, we decided against refreshments at the cafe at KMSKA and instead headed to the roundabout at the southern end of Leopold de Waelplaats, the space in front of the museum. There are several cafes in this vicinity including Chatleroi, Wijnbistro Patine and Cafe Hopper. A blackboard outside Chatleroi (closed until 4pm) lists dates when the cafe hosts concerts and DJs. 

We were happy with our eventual choice of Cafe Hopper where most tables were taken. Some customers were reading from a supply of newspapers on top of a grand piano and good music was playing. While Meg had a cappuccino, Tim finally ordered his first Bolleke De Koninck of the visit (normally the first beer ordered, when in the city where it's brewed, rather than the last!).