Kidderminster pubs - June 2021

 

A three night stay at the Travelodge in Kidderminster provided an opportunity for a towpath walk along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal (Wednesday) to Stourport and (after bus journeys) footpath walks from Arley to Bewdley (Thursday) and from Stourport to Bewdley (Friday).

Severn Valley Railway bridge over Staffs & Worcs canal

Once a centre of carpet making, Kidderminster still retains steam and diesel hauled Severn Valley Railway services to Bridgnorth via Bewdley and Arley. 

Wednesday 9 June 2021

The Travelodge is located facing the Watermill 2-for-1 pub by the canal and near the busy A451 to Stourport-on-Severn. 

We passed a few pubs on the late afternoon walk as we approached Stourport but they were either uninviting or closed.

The Castle Inn

After a bus ride back to Kidderminster's Travelodge hotel, it was soon time to head out again, this time walking north along Park Lane until we reached the Castle Inn. We went inside, after putting on our face masks and received a friendly welcome. We decided to sit outside where there are tiered patio areas leading down to the canal, with the towpath on the opposite bank. 

We enjoyed pints of the pale Wye Valley Brewery HPA with table service for £3.10 pint. 

The Weavers at Park Lane

The Weavers at Park Lane is only 50 metres further north. This is one of the two pubs named Weavers in Kidderminster.

On this occasion there was just time to sneak a quick photo of the pumpclips at the bar before we were ushered to a table outdoors, overlooking the canal. 

We enjoyed pints of Bromsgrove's Woodcote Brewing SPA here. Also spotted at the bar, Squires Gold is another beer supplied by this brewery.

From here, we crossed the bridge over the canal and followed the towpath opposite the Weavers towards the bus station and visited Tappeto Lounge, near the bus station for a meal. We returned to the hotel by walking along the towpath, passing The Weavers again and resting ducks.

By 9.30pm, when we reached the Watermill, the light was fading.

Thursday 10 June 2021

A fine day was spent walking along the Severn Valley Way footpath from Arley to Bewdley with several sightings of steam hauled SVR trains. Local buses provided the links from / to Kidderminster. 

Later, walking from the Kidderminster Travelodge to the station via Green Street, we passed the Museum of Carpet situated in Stour Vale Mill but it was too late to visit. We also passed the Weavers Real Ale House at 98 Comberton Hill.

The King and Castle 

The King and Castle is the pub located on the left side of Kidderminster Town station which is the Southern terminus of the Severn Valley Railway. 

The King and Castle was awarded Wyre Forest CAMRA 2019 Pub of the Year. 

There are eight handpumps on the bar and a choice of filled cobs (rolls / baps) in a display case.  The beer choice included beers from Bathams, Bewdley, Hobsons, Hop Shed and Purity breweries.

Having only recently enjoyed a couple of pints of Bathams Best Bitter at the Swan, Chaddesley Corbett, on Wednesday lunchtime, my choice of Hobsons Old Prickly, brewed in Cleobury Mortimer, proved to be another good one - pale and smooth with a thick head. Meg enjoyed her pint of Bathams Bitter after missing out on Wednesday.

The Station Inn

We were especially keen to visit the Station Inn as it has a large garden area. It was only a short walk away, in a quiet residential street on the east side of the Birmingham - Worcester railway line. 

We were ushered to a table in the pretty patio garden area. We could hear trains on the Birmingham - Worcester line passing but not see them.

Two pints of local beer served in the correct glass, looking and tasting cool and fresh, could not have been better anywhere this evening!

Based in Stourbridge since 1993, Enville Brewery advise that Enville Ale is 'based on a 19th century recipe, this traditional beekeepers ale is light in colour with fruity notes and a hint of sweetness to complement the dry hoppy taste. Brewed using our own natural well water, Maris Otter floor malted barley, specially selected honeys and pure English hops ...'. 

Butty Bach is Welsh for 'little friend'. Wye Valley Brewery advise 'We brew it using Maris Otter and Crystal malts together with locally grown Fuggles, Goldings and Bramling Cross hops'.  

Friday 11 June 2021

After a bus ride from a stop near the hotel to Stourport-on-Severn we had breakfast in the sunny and sheltered courtyard garden of The Windlass Cafe. We then walked north following the quiet Severn Valley Way to Bewdley and a pub break before catching a bus back to Kidderminster. 

The Castle Inn

Our Friday evening in Kidderminster would be an earlier and shorter version of Thursday's in order to be back at the hotel for the 8pm kick off of the opening fixture of the postponed Euro 2020 football competition (Turkey v Italy at Stadio Olimpico, Rome).

We arrived just too late to claim the last free table at the King and Castle but were relieved when we were again able to claim a table in the patio garden of the Station Inn, without a reservation. 

This time our first beers were Wye Valley HPA, brewed with Target and Celeia hops. Later a pint of Enville Ale would provide a slightly sweeter finish.

Although we only visited a few of Kidderminster's wide variety of pubs, in an era when drinking outside was preferable and the weather favourable, we think that we found the best places.

Bristol pubs - June 2021

 

With two nights in Bristol at the end of June 2021, there was a chance to visit some pubs near the Travelodge 'Bristol Central' in Mitchell Lane. 

The Cornubia

Good Chemistry 'Common Thread'

Where better to spend a Wednesday lunchtime than the pleasant garden space of  The Cornubia?!

The historic pub (c. 1775) prides itself on being hard to find but the effort is worthwhile! Many nearby buildings were bombed in WWII so it is surrounded by more recent neighbours. Lunchtime was not the quietest time to visit as a new steel-framed building was being erected just across Temple Street.

A blackboard near the entrance lists details of the cask beers available. With efficient table service and advice on the beers available I plumped for a pint of Common Thread from Good Chemistry brewed in the city. This was welcome refreshment after a walk from Bristol Temple Meads station via the Harbourside pedestrian route. 

The laminated notices on each table show the menu and an introduction to the protocols of the pub 'not a beerstro' that showcases 'the very best of only cask ale' and are signed by Phil and Jacki - Landlord and Landlady. They obviously know how to run a pub and were previously at the Crown and Thistle in Gravesend, CAMRA's 2003 National Pub of the Year.

Despite the noise from the building site, it seemed sensible to stay and sample a different cask ale before checking in to the hotel after 3pm. The Twisted Oak 'Cornubia SO' is the house session ale. We had spotted the Twisted Oak dray outside before arriving. The brewery, based in Wrington (North Somerset), used to supply 'Not So' to the pub as well but this has now been discontinued. 

There may be an artificial grass carpet in the Cornubia's patio garden but the flowers and shrubs are all delightfully real! We would return to this pub the following evening to sample further cask ale and cider.

A while later, revived by tea and biscuits, we would set off from the hotel to visit M Shed and see the Edward Colston statue, now retrieved from the harbour and displayed in a recumbent position after being famously dumped there in June 2020. 

Among the other exhibits at this part of Bristol Museums was a dray for George's Brewery and a model of the Llandoger Trow.

The Arnolfini Harbourside Bar, managed by Bristol Beer Factory, was temporarily closed, but provided a good spot to take a photo of M Shed, fronted by four dockside cranes, on the other side of the harbour.

LHG Brewpub

The evening would be spent at the Left Handed Giant Brewpub at Finzels Reach. There was a socially distanced queue on the curving Castle Bridge when we arrived. We hadn't expected a queue on a Wednesday but some people may have been going out to relax a day after the drama of watching the England v Germany Euro 2020 match on TV when apparently the brewpub had few customers.

A (2/3) pint always tastes better after anticipation and a further delay was necessary to navigate the brewpub's website in order to make and pay for our order. I enjoyed the Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic Pale and later 2/3 pint of Sky Above to go with my tasty vegetarian Mission Pizza.

We were glad to have a table in the exposed harbourside seating area and there was an amazing sunset 'lightshow'. Perhaps the huge opening in the wall of the building towards Castle Park on the other side of the harbour explains why one of the beers is named Sky Above!

Before leaving there was a chance to get a photo of the brewing vessels and beer tanks which are situated behind the bar.

The LHG Brewpub looks good at night viewed from Castle Gardens which are easily accessible via Castle Bridge.

Thursday 1 July, 2021

Returning to Bristol after a visit to Portishead, it was nice to find that a part of King Street has been pedestrianised. As well as the Bristol Old Vic theatre, there are several good pubs on King Street including Small Bar and the Beer Emporium. 

Llandoger Trow

At the east end of the street, opposite the Old Duke and the King Street Brew House, we spotted an empty table outside the Llandoger Trow and checked that we could sit there. The Old Duke had tables on the opposite pavement and in the road with music playing but only pavement space was left for the Llandoger Trow.

It was a relief to be able to order beers without the need to navigate an app. Under new management that also operates the Euston Tap, the Llandoger Trow has a focus on craft beer and continental lager but some cask ales are available and we ordered pints of QPA from Quantock Brewery. 

Other cask ales suggested were from further afield - Timothy Taylor Landlord and Adnams Brewery Ghost Ship. The extra pale colour and citrus tang of QPA reduced the disappointment of the beer being served in a lager glass. Perhaps the glass choice was limited due to the recent reopening or being busy in the evening sunshine. 

Bridge Inn

There was time to stop off at the hotel to brew some tea before venturing out again to find there was a free table outside at the Bridge Inn in a quieter part of the city. 

The landlord made us welcome and a new recruit took our order.  We chose a local cask ale - Hardings Pale Ale by Bason Bridge Brewing Co. 

This was a smooth and fruity pale ale and good value at £3.50 pint.

A pleasant walk along the north bank of the harbour via Castle Gardens and then past BrewDog led us to FiSH restaurant, located on a barge near Bristol bridge. We enjoyed takeaway fish and chips from there at a table by the harbour. We even managed to avoid losing any of our meal to seagulls who frequent the area. 

The Cornubia (2nd visit)

A return to the Cornubia would be our last pub visit of the trip. This time the noise was from a youthful group at the pub but we were able to sit at the furthest table away. A new cask ale had been added to the list and the Lenton Lane Brewery (Nottingham) Simcoe SM&SH (Single malt and single hop) was tasting fresh. 

As usual the service was excellent and assistance with choosing a cider nightcap was appreciated. Reader, the local Brislington Brain Twister dry cider is recommended!

Friday 2 July - Postscript

With checkout at noon, there was time for a walk to Spike Island and back. 

We passed the Ostrich, a Butcombe pub, that we had previously ruled out for a visit as it did not appear to serve any cask ale. However, it does offer plentiful outside seating with harbour views.

The massive almond croissants from Mokoko Coffee & Bakery at Wapping Wharf are recommended for anyone with a sweet tooth and make a good breakfast.

A harbourside walk passes near the SS Great Britain (Brunel's ocean liner) and the Orchard Inn, a freehouse with a good reputation for traditional cider, can be found nearby. To drink at the Orchard Inn is just one more reason to revisit Bristol!