Short Heath:
The start of Short Heath phase 1 of 100 pubs. This is Andy’s manor, and there’s sufficient for 2 visits.
I fist walked into the lounge- Andy was dropping the car at a relative’s nearby- and there was a private party, so I nipped round to the bar. The place looks to have been refurbed recently, and was quite smart and pleasant, and the locals were friendly. Sadly the Trooper ran out, but the HPA was good, and it was a nice place to start the evening.
Willenhall:
Part of the Dorbiere chain (not one I’d heard of before, but this is their most southerly pub), this is right in the middle of town, and looks to have been refurbished fairly recently: it’s traditional pub inside, but the carpet is modern. There’s real ale, but sadly one was on the sour side and the other ran out, but the staff handled that well and the atmosphere was nice- welcoming even at 10pm on Saturday.
Willenhall:
This was better. Real ale, nice layout, tidy, traditional decor. Cobs and an enviable array of scratchings. As Andy pointed out, the landlady could have been a bit more welcoming, but otherwise fine.
Willenhall:
This could have been a cracker. Traditional decor, a backstreet drinker’s pub, but it all went a bit wrong. No ale of any description, and no lager you’d actually want to drink, so I plumped for Guiness, which proved to be a can poured and put on one of those ultrasonic surger devices, and the others whatever dreadful keg bitter was about. The pub was busy, but the combination of loud music, shouting and a good proportion of wandering kids meant it wasn’t very pleasant. Pity.
Willenhall:
A pub I’d been meaning to go in for years. Inside was a bit loud, and no ale or decent lager on offer, but the keg Banks’s was OK, and staff and locals friendly- but it has to be said the outside seating improved things greatly so we could actually talk. Nothing special, but an OK place.
Willenhall:
Just over the road, this is Willenhall’s ‘spoons. It’s been there a while (since 1999), and is, well, a ‘spoons. Not a bad one overall: it was clean, and the beer and staff were fine. Again, bus stop very close, but the opposite direction.
Willenhall:
Been in here a few times in the past: its proximity to the 529 bus stop means that the need of a slash and/or drink halfway between Wolverhampton & Walsall essentially makes it the best place. In the past it has been….vibrant, with questionable beer choice. The beer choice has definitely been fixed, with ale available and in decent condition, and the pub has had a refurb since, and the atmosphere now is pleasant, but lively- though to be honest, most of our mini-crawl around Willenhall was lively.
Willenhall:
A rather lovely backstreet pub. It’s surrounded by industry, hidden away of the main drag, but still packed, and with good reason: the atmosphere’s great, the customers and staff are friendly, and the beer’s excellent: even the cooking lager is Samuel Smiths, so unusual.
No food, no music IIRC, big otdoor smoking shelter.