Cannock:
We had to wait until 4pm for this to open, but we’re glad we did, as we’d been meaning to visit since it opened in 2016.
The first surprise was the landlord: Tony, late of The Wheatsheaf and briefly The Drunken Duck, and a man that knows how to run a pub well.
He’s doing that here. It’s big for a micro, the inside is clean, tidy, and pleasant, the beer is ace, and there’s snacks (sausage rolls from “the centre of sausage roll production” in Chuckery). Worth the wait.
Hednesford, Staffs:
Hednesford’s first micropub, in what was previously a sports bar called The Bank, so I’d guess it probably was a bank at some point. It’s got links to Backyard, my favourite local brewery, and unsurprisingly, there’s their beer, along with a few guests on keg and cask.
Inside is pretty typically micropub and also shows the sports bar origins: laminate floor- for example, but everything is clean and fresh, and not clinical. The barman was friendly, helpful, and knew what he was selling. Good range of snacks (sadly no cobs at this time, so we had to go visit the nearby ‘spoons). Music pretty OK, at a volume you could hear over, and the beer and wine were excellent. Given that it’s very close to the station (with a short train ride from Walsall), I’ll be back.