Dudley South by Southwest

On Bank Holiday Monday 27 May a rendezvous with Mark Geeson and other CAMRA friends took over the long back room at The Vine Inn, Brierley Hill, the home of Batham's Beers.

Meg and Tim arrived by bus from Dudley, passing Russels Hall hospital at the same time as Mark's group arrived by bus from Wolverhampton. We all enjoyed pints of Batham's beers and many also bought a sizeable and well filled cob to eat sooner and / or later.

The front rooms have more character but those tables were already occupied by locals at our 12.30pm arrival time.

The Vine is known locally as the Bull and Bladder and there are bull motifs on the interior tiled walls and vinyl floor.

Mark's group were determined to revisit Roberto's Bar in Halesowen next, before the Old Swan Inn in Netherton. Meg and Tim opted for a local walk to explore Delph Locks before a second rendezvous at the Old Swan.

Turning right outside the Vine Inn, we had a better view of of Batham's brewery before walking down Delph Road as far as the Tenth Lock, with a short break for shelter from the rain just outside the Black Horse.

There were Canada Geese with chicks by the canal and a heron, on the opposite bank, seemed to follow us as we walked up the towpath beside the Delph locks (seen perched on railings in the photo above). The Black Country does seem to have a lot of green spaces.

JD Wetherspoon pubs shown in blue above

From the top of Delph Locks we followed a signpost to Merry Hill to catch a bus to Netherton.

The bus stopped opposite the Old Swan Inn. The entrance on the right was closed but thankfully the one on the left was open. There's a model of the RMS Titanic with a green background in the window to the right of the door.

The etched glass on the window to the left of the door shows Mrs Pardoes Bar and the Old Swan is known locally as Ma Pardoes.

Locals were gathered near the back of the bar and we found a nice sunny spot to sit by a window in the smaller front room.

An interesting collection of old bottles above the bar included a beer brewed here at the Olde Swan brewery named Bumblehole named after the local Bumble Hole nature reserve, another example of the Black Country's green spaces. 

We followed Mark's progress c/o Google Maps sharing location on the bus from Halesowen. We couldn't work out how he was where we were but nowhere to be seen. Eventually we were advised that Mark's group was next door in the part of the Old Swan that had opened later! Instead of taking our beers out of the door we found a way through the labyrinth that is the two adjacent properties into the front room on the other side of the dividing wall! It seems that the Old Swan is a 'Tardis'! Perhaps the Old Swan should provide a map for visitors?

This room also has an enamel ceiling, a steam whistle and a nice collection of pewter tankards above the bar.

CAMRA has recognised the importance of the historic interior of the Old Swan and it is listed in the national inventory of historic pub interiors.

The Olde Swan brewery is in the yard behind the pub and can be seen through the window of the Gents toilets!

Rooms behind the bar can be seen through window of the passage that leads to the toilets.

Pictures on the walls reflect the local industrial heritage of the Black Country.

On their return to Wolverhampton, Mark's group planned to visit Park Inn, the Holden's brewery tap, which we had visited the previous evening. We now went our separate ways with the Lamp Tavern, Dudley as our next destination, only a short journey by bus away.

This traditional Batham's pub just outside the centre of Dudley wasn't busy when we arrived.

The XXX is only available in the winter and the Batham's Bitter was in superb condition.

We turned left on entering the Lamp and our room had a fireplace guarded by Gromit!

There's a similar bar on the right of the entrance but with a carpeted floor and no fireplace.

It was now 7.30pm so we walked via King Street to the rear entrance of the Full Moon (JD Wetherspoon) which also has a front entrance on Dudley High Street.

We enjoyed pints of Enville White with our curries. This was a new addition to the bar since our earlier breakfast here.

We stopped for a photo of poet Ben Boucher and the Market Place Fountain beyond on our way back to the hotel at 9.30pm

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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.