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!

Wordsley, Sedgley and Dudley

The day's beer highlights would be The Beacon Hotel, Sedgley (Sarah Hughes), The Britannia Inn, Upper Gornal (Batham's) and the Dudley Winter Ales Fayre.

On Thursday 28 November, after breakfast at the Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge, our first bus of the day took us north towards Wordsley. Our famous five (Mark, Bod, Graham, Trevor and Tim) alighted just after the bus crossed the Stourbridge Canal via Glasshouse Bridge. We recrossed the arching bridge on foot and crossed the road to visit the Red House Glass Cone and Stourbridge Crystal Glass Centre.

Dudley Council now manage the Red House Glass Cone as a free tourist attaction.

Inside, remnants of the once thriving glass industry include the Lehr (annealing oven) where glass items could gradually cool as trays were slowly moved away from the hottest area. It is the only remaining example in the world.

Travelling by bus to The Beacon Hotel involved changes in Dudley and Sedgley (near the Clifton). The Clifton originally opened as a cinema in 1937 and became a Wetherspoon pub in 1998.

The Beacon Hotel, Sedgley

We arrived later than planned, more than an hour after the noon opening time.

On arrival at The Beacon Hotel, with 'Doc' Robert having joined en route, I took a photo of Mark taking a photo at the front entrance of the traditional Victorian Public House!

Inside we found the remaining 'Farnham Trubbelers' installed in a far corner of the large back room and they had saved some space for us.

My first beer here was Sarah Hughes Pale Amber which was pleasantly sweet. (£1.40 1/2 pint).

View from counter for back room [Photo: Mark Geeson]

The small central bar has three small counters including one to serve the back room.

There are two chimney breasts where coal fires were burning with a minimal Christmas tree decoration on each mantelpiece, in the back room.

This is a large building with a new conservatory at the side overlooking a lawn and the car park.

Passing through the conservatory leads to a broad hall with the entrance to the Sarah Hughes brewery and decorated with framed CAMRA award certificates..

The toilets are found on the other side of the hall.

Lunchtime closing is 2.30pm from Monday to Thursday at the Beacon Hotel but there was still time for me to enjoy a half pint of Sarah Hughes Surprise (£1.45) served with a creamy head and reminiscent of a Belgian Tripel. This went nicely with a pork pie.
Our group enjoyed a conversation with John (75) a local regular customer who told us 'You're in the Black Country, everything's brilliant!'.

Of course, no visit to the Beacon Hotel would be complete without a dimpled glass of the glorious Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild (£3 pint)!

The Britannia, Upper Gornal, Sedgley

It was still raining outside so we caught buses to reach our next destination - Batham's The Britannia Inn.

Inside the pub, after ordering our beers at the main front bar, we chose the back room, on the left side, to sit in. CAMRA's Historic Pub Interiors describes this room as having the, now rare, arrangement of a servery without a counter.

I enjoyed my pint of pale Batham's Best Bitter with a cheese and onion cob (roll) for £4.55.

There is a patio garden area behind the pub, better suited to summer weather! Another idea for a fine day is to follow Mappiman's four mile circular walk from the pub to gain far-reaching views and a chance to sample Holden's beer at the Chapel House (Miners Arms) in Lower Gornal.

Before leaving there was an opportunity to take a photo of the carpeted room at the front which is situated to the right of the main entrance.

The bull's head tiles that feature in Batham's pubs were spotted in the passage leading to the toilets at the back.

Dudley Winter Ales Fayre

Mark Geeson and Tony Lea needed to arrive at Dudley Town Hall by 5pm, as CAMRA volunteers, to help prepare for the opening of the Dudley Winter Ales Fayre at 5.30pm.
After the bus ride back to Dudley, some of us walked to The Full Moon, a Wetherspoon pub for water, coffee or beer according to individual tastes and appetites.

Tim with festival glass - early doors - Cheers!

We returned to Dudley Town Hall for admission to the festival soon after opening time.

The admission package included a programme, a half pint glass (refundable) and a sheet with tokens to pay for beer and cider. Thursday was 'quiet night' but there would be live music on other nights.

Gerald Daniels (Crookham Travel) at top left with 'Farnham Trubbelers' at Dudley Winter Ales Fayre

As relatively early arrivals we were able to join a friendly table that included several locals. Philip Wildsmith (on right of photo) has been involved with Yapton Beerex, a CAMRA beer festival held at Yapton and Ford Village Hall in West Sussex. Visitors arrive from several different countries to attend this festival and I hope to visit the 31st edition in 2020 (15-17 May).

Most of the cask beers I sampled were 1/3 pint measures priced at £1.10 or £1.20. My favourites, as recorded on Untappd, were: North Riding US IPA V32 (ABV 5.5%) a hoppy beer brewed with Citra and Loral hops and Kinver Quindecim (ABV 4.5%) with honey sweetness, brewed to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the brewery.

I also enjoyed a third of Green Duck Wheach, a peach flavoured wheat beer, from the Key Keg bar, priced at £1.60.

The Little Devils food menu for the festival included local favourites: Samosas (£1.20); Gray Paes and Bacon (£2.50) and Bread Pudding (80p).
After spending £10 worth of tokens and sampling a variety of mainly pale beers, it was time for me to leave at 10pm and catch a bus back to Stourbridge.

Now a routine, I ducked into the Duke William, my favourite Stourbridge pub, for a nightcap after the bus journey. A half pint of Craddock's Troll, pale and fruity, would be my final Black Country beer on this visit.