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ONE PUB ONLY?
Victoria
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
Black Country Arms, Victoria, Walsall Arms and then back to the station for a train to the ground
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
White Lion
CHANGES FROM GUIDE
Closed - Boat
|  |  Black Country Arms
High Street, Walsall, West Midlands, WS1 1QW. Tel: 01922 640588 W www.blackcountryinns.co.uk/ourpubs.html
G Barry Shingler
The pub reopened last year and is a classsic in the new brewery tap style. A sister to the Wellington in Birmingham it has a challenge ahead tpo get visitors to this part of Walsall, being located just off the market in the town centre. The pub is mutli levelled and has masses of polished wood and victorian high ceilings. My lunchtime visit was fairly quiet but the potential is massive, especially if the beer hunter reputation is tapped. It will demand another visit later this year to get full details .
BEERS OCT 2009 Up to 12 real ales including guests alongside the Black Country Brewery standards | |  Tap and Spile
5 St. Johns Rd. WS2 8AF T 01422 627660
G Ant Inns
F Really good home cooked food, above the normal pub fayre from 12 to 2, 6.30 to 9 No food Sun.
SP BM
O 12 to 3, 6 to 11, 7 to 10.30 Sun
Within 30 seconds of entering the pub the term “bostin” was heard as a couple of regulars described the “Dogs Bollocks,” Max then set about the menu, eulogising on the quality and quantity on offer. This is not a gastro - pub but the stream of couples and families who then followed her order, is a testament to the popularity of how Ian and Jan have combined good food to complement the ales on sale. The pub is also known as “Pretty Bricks” and consists of two quite separate bars and a yard at the back for overspill,
The Tap is a bit of a secret haunt of those CAMRA devils that use it as a starting point / retreat during the Walsall Beer festival. Ant has a vast knowledge of good ale, learned perhaps from his time at Mum’s pub, The Walsall Arms, or more likely when being in charge of the White Lion. The regulars travel in from a wide area, recognising that the ale is ever - changing and the quality rarely disappoints. When I quizzed footie fans the answer came back that “the pub has many different fans but won’t get overcrowded, oh and yes. Delia came in for her pint and pie and was most complimentary.” Don’t let the name put you off; this is a real local, those people who drink here include police officers and magistrates etc. from the locale. The spirit of the New Inn lives on in its function as a true community pub.
BWV 15.11.05: Beowulf Heroes, Fuller’s London Pride, Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Theakston’s Best Bitter, Wentworth Bumble Bee, WPA, Wychwood Dog’s Bollocks
Stedders Guides 2006 - 07
UPDATE
Ant has been away and come back, the pub has changed names and back again. The beers are fewer but still good. Two in the week, up to four when likely to be busier.
BWV 20.10.09 Beowulf Beorma, Dictator 09 | |  Victoria
23 Lower Rushall St. WS1 2AA T 01922 725848
G Bob Billingham
F Very good value English pub food from 12 to 2 Mon to Fri.
SP TV BM
O 12 to 11. 12 to 3, Mon – Sat, 7 to 10.30 Sun
Cosy coal fires, small rooms, great beer selection and, on my visit a really welcoming atmosphere, makes this a must - revisit destination. Everything meets my preconceptions of a Black Country boozer. Bob has the chat that I love, honest and to the point. (Don't ask to turn the music up, you have been warned.). The beers rotate around four regulars and there is always a mild (never Highgate), always something different from beyond the Black Country. “This pub is just superb as the landlord will doubtless tell you.” I would park up for the day and set to work on the ales from left to right. There is food on weekdays; it is too busy to do so on a match day.
UPDATE: Strangely the Victoria was not included inn the 2005 CAMRA guide. The pub continues to be excellent.
BWV 21.2.05: Burton Bridge Spark and Ride, Everards Tiger, Greene King Abbot, Hardys and Hanson Olde Trip, Midnight Stout, Nottingham Dreadnought, Phoenix Fiery Bird, Timothy Taylor Dark Mild, Landlord, Wye Valley Crw Dewi Saint
BWV 15.11.05: Burton Bridge Bindle Stiff, Everards Tiger, Falstaff Cleopatra’s ASP, Greene King Abbot, Halifax Joker, Malvern Hills Priessnitz, Stonehouse Celebration, Timothy Taylor Mild, Landlord, Warfield OBJ
Stedders Guides 2006 - 07 | |  Walsall Arms
17 Bank St. WS1 2EP T 01922 626660
G Tony and Joy Inns
F Rolls and sandwiches, buffet meal 12 to 2
SP TV JB P D
O 12 to 2, 6 to 11. Mon – Sat, 12 to 5, 7 to 10.30 Sun
This pub doesn’t want to be found, being hidden behind a factory just outside the town centre. As Mark Shaw said, “The Walsall Arms is mentioned in Walsall programmes and it wasn’t as an advert.” It is the real definition of traditional. Nothing twee here; it is just honest friendly, warm and comfortable. My visit to the smaller bar found the regulars in conversations that you imagined have continued from yesterday and will be so again tomorrow. Ben reckons “the beer is always good, as is the service.” To Mr. James “it is superb, customers friendly, licensee and staff very pleasant.” In doing so “it gives you a flavour of the town.” (Anon). For those from the deepest West Country there is also a skittle alley to remind you of home. It doubles as a function room but recalls days in the past where beer and skittles was as popular as the darts or pool teams. It is a top – notch, relaxing and friendly pub with a genuinely warm welcome to remember.
UPDATE: A guest ale is now always on at the weekend and it is usually gone by Monday!
BWV 21.2.05: Marston’s Burton Bitter, Mansfield Cask, Mild. Pedigree, Wychwood Hobgoblin
BWV 15.11.05: Bellhaven St. Andrews Ale, Marston’s Bitter, Mansfield Cask, Pedigree
Stedders Guides 2006 - 07 | |  White Lion
150 Sandwell St. WS3 3EQ T 01922 628542
G Paul
SP TV JB P
O 12 to 11 Sun - Thu. 12 - 12 Fri. - Sat
The hill top analogy gets to the point of incredulity in this bar. It slopes from “the deep end to the shallow end” and apparently the old boys take a route through the lounge “hill side” route to get to the toilets. Trust me nothing except the brilliant pint of mild stayed on the tables when I visited, much to the amusement of the locals who must have one leg longer than the other. Having big rooms, including a two table pool room, gives one the impression that this is a true local in all its urban glory. Imposing on first sight, it is warm and friendly when you get to chat or listen to the crossword loving locals. I “took a walk on the mild side here.” (CAMRA West Midlands style) Apparently it is “particularly vibrant on a Sunday,” one can imagine the party breaking out. The CAMRA guide adds its accolade by stating it is “probably the best bar in town” (Very Carlingesque).
BWV 21.2.05: Adnams Bitter, Badger Bitter, Fuller’s London Pride Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen, Highgate Dark Mild
BWV 15.11.05: Adnams Bitter, Greene King IPA, Morlands Old Speckled Hen, Highgate Dark Mild, Hook Norton Old Hooky, Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger
Stedders Guides 2006 - 07
UPDATE 2009: Paul was keen to show me a thank you note from the Hull City Southern Supporters Club who said their visit “was so good that we shall definitely be in again.” Live Blues once a month and quizzes are now established as maybe will a real ale festival in 2006. | | TRY ALSO
Rose & Crown, 55 Old Birchills, Walsall,
Real Ale range coming very soon
Springhead Tavern, Walsall Rd , Darlaston
The Robin Hood, 54 The Crescent, Willenhall , WV13 2QR Tel: 01902 635070.
The Robin Hood at Willenhall will re-open after major refurbishment this coming Wednesday evening. The pub, which was Walsall CAMRA Pub of the Year on many occasions in the 1980s and 90s, has had a thorough facelift and will once again feature many different real ales in an old fashioned pub environment. Landlords Gary & Linda Lloyd have 10 hand-pulls and will stock permanent Black Country Ales as well as a selection of Guest Beers and Real Ciders from all over the country. Work has been done to restore the real coal fires and the beer garden has been completely overhauled but otherwise the pub is much as it would have been many years ago – no pool table and no television but an ideal place for a quiet chat or to meet friends.
The Robin Hood re-opens on Wednesday August 18th at 7pm and all are welcome. Nearest Bus Route 529 ( Clarks Lane/Wolverhampton Rd West ). | | | WALSALL CAMRA | | 
BANK'S STADIUM
BANK'S STADIUM
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LOCAL BREWERY
BLACK COUNTRY ALES
1 REDHALL ROAD, LOWER GORNAL, DUDLEY, W.MIDLANDS, DY3 2NU.
Tel 01384 480156
www.blackcountryinns.co.uk
| | WETHERSPOONS
The Imperial Darwall Street Walsall WS1 1DA Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
The Bellwether 3-4 Walsall Street Wednesbury WS10 9BZ Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
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