Light at the End of the Tunnel?

 My recent posts may have given the impression that all is doom and gloom with regard to the pub/drinking scene in Digbeth. Whilst it is true that, of the 33 pubs I originally photographed in 1998, only 16 are still going there are quite a few new venues that have opened in recent times!

I discovered this piece of street art on the wall of The Ruin.

 

 

Assuming that the pandemic doesn't wipe them all out, here's a quick run through the 'new' drinking venues in Digbeth (in Pink).

 

Digbeth Works

Describes itself as, "A fusion of a coffee shop, bar and pub; with a comfy, cosy and quirky philosophy." Doesn't look like a place for real ale, but apart from that it looks good - website here.

 

The Berlin Bar

Definitely not my cup of tea, but it apparently is the "first techno bar in the UK". Like many venues in Digbeth it relies on music to draw in the crowds. Find out more here.

 

Stag

Now, this is a new one for me - Bar, Coffee, Barber - whatever will these young people come up with next? Situated in the courtyard within the Custard Factory - website here.

 

Birdie's Bar

Seemingly part of a small chain (there's another one in Liverpool), Birdie's is described as, "an outdoor cocktail bar in the heart of Digbeth's Custard Factory that offers visitors a taste of paradise that will make you think that you're sipping drinks in a tropical hideaway rather than in the centre of Brum!" Looks like it could be fun...but not really my sort of place - website here.

 

Wine Freedom

Yes, you've guessed it - it's a wine bar! But a modern venue situated in an industrial unit and offering, "Natural wine in a language you understand. Less chemicals, cleaner drinking. Authentic wine with a sense of place. Wine the way it’s supposed to be." - website here.

 

Dig Brew

This is Digbeth's own microbrewery which some of us visited on the Proper Pubs Day Out in July 2018 (I watched the first half of England vs Croatia World Cup semi-final, before my ninth pint caught up with me and I had to get a cab home!) It is exactly as you'd expect a microbrewery in an industrial unit to be - website here.

 

Kilder

Describes itself as a Craft Beer Bar and is situated under railway arches close to Moor Street Station. It opened in 2018, but somehow didn't find its way onto our itinerary for that day (despite the good reviews on Trip Advisor!) Website here.

 

Nortons

Although primarily set up as a music venue, it is a family run venture that opens with the line, "Welcome to NOT another Irish Bar!" Unfortunately, it opened shortly before the first lockdown - website here.

 

Hennessey's

Probably the closest to being a 'proper pub' out of this list and has been around for longer as well. No real ale, apparently, but I'm sure that the Carling will be good! Website here.

 

It will be interesting to see how many survive the pandemic, but once it is over there will be other new ventures to take their place/add to the number of venues.

 

It would seem that the future is moving away from traditional pubs and towards venues that have additional attractions over and above just drinks (food, music, games, sport). Much as we 'old codgers' lament the closing of traditional pubs it is still good to see new places opening to 'take up the reins' and keep drinking alive!

#034 Billy's Bar, Digbeth, Birmingham : 1998 to 2021 (RIP)

 Continuing onwards with the depressing pub closures in Digbeth over the past 23 years we come to Billy's which had already closed and been converted to a Backpackers Hostel by the time of my 2011 visit. Here's what I wrote then: -

"This bar was a new discovery for me in 1998 when I photographed it. I never set foot in the place and probably never will now! 

This was the scene in 1998.

Fast forward to 2011 and it is now the Birmingham Central Backpackers hostel!

Another pub gone, but at least it is being put to good use."

 

So, onto the view in 2021.

From this picture it would appear that the Backpackers Hostel is closed, however, when I searched on the internet I found this! According to their website, you can still book rooms there via Booking.com! It looks very closed to me! (Obviously, I'll have to take a look later in the year when restrictions are lifted.)

#171 Red Lion Hotel, Atherstone, Warwickshire : 1995 to 2014

Atherstone sits on the Coventry Canal and boasts a pretty, but maddeningly frustrating, flight of locks (they are very slow to fill, but empty quite quickly, thus leading to queues of boats even in not-so-busy times!).

Although our visits to Atherstone are quite sporadic, there are many pubs to choose from, although some have, sadly, disappeared over the last few years!

Our first visit to the Red Lion Hotel was on the evening of Monday 4th September 1995.

On this occasion we'd moored above the locks and the Red Lion was our second port of call for the evening. I don't remember too much about the inside and I suspect we had one pint and moved on!

We visited Atherstone several times in the following years, but didn't go back to the Red Lion until the evening of Tuesday 26th May 2009.

Although the outside appears to be superficially unchanged, there are several subtle alterations - a new hanging sign, flag poles with flags, outside seating and canopy. Also there is a new bench seat and the litter bin has had a makeover - not a great deal of change in 14 years! Inside? Still no recollection!

Finally, we move on to our most recent visit - another evening stop this time on Sunday 5th October 2014.

Again we'd moored part way up the lock flight and the Red Lion wasn't our first port of call. Some more subtle changes in the intervening 5 years - the outside seating has transformed into standing room only and the hotel has added an Italian restaurant to its offerings.

Indeed, it was this latter addition that attracted us there. As it was a Sunday evening we were struggling to find anywhere to eat and an Italian meal sounded like a good option - if only we'd known! The place was quite empty, but the staff were very helpful so we decided to have a meal. It is safe to say that it was the worst Italian meal I've ever had and one of the worst of any cuisine I've had anywhere! I ordered a pasta dish which had a cream sauce (might have been carbonara, but I've blocked the details from my mind!) It had no taste of Italy and apart from the overall complete blandness of it, there was an underlying, slightly rancid taste to it. I regret not sending it back, but the other dishes served to our table were no better!! (If only we'd seen the Trip Advisor reviews!)

Next time we're in Atherstone, we won't be going into the Red Lion Hotel!

#152 The Pheasant, Worcester : 1999 to 2013

Worcester is a place we visit infrequently on our canal trips and, because there are a lot of pubs we don't get too many repeats (often because we can't remember where the pubs are!!).

Our first visit to The Pheasant was on the evening of Monday 31st May 1999.

It is on the same street as The Swan with Two Nicks (#146) and so we generally go there in preference. On this occasion, we decided to go into The Pheasant, but I don't really remember what it was like! It is a very attractive building, I assume it is listed as it doesn't seem to change.

We were in Worcester on Saturday 11th May 2013 in the evening and we walked past The Pheasant having already been to The Swan with Two Nicks!

Seemingly little has changed on the outside, but I'm sure they must have redecorated at least once in the intervening 14 years.

It seems as though The Pheasant has now been refurbished and 're-booted' as a burger establishment (and still a pub!) with good reviews on TripAdvisor. The pub website is here.

#105 The Admiral Nelson, Braunston, Northants : 1980 to 2012

This is a pub from my very first canal trip, a journey that started at Woodford on the River Nene and took us to Coventry before returning to Woodford.

 At that time I wasn't taking a photo of every pub we visited, but the Admiral Nelson is an integral part of this picture of Braunston Locks taken on Tuesday 17th April 1980.

As a canal pub it is ideally located alongside one of the six locks of the Braunston flight. In fact, the next photo I took was of Matt bringing me a pint as we were waiting to pass through the lock!

We passed through Braunston many times after this first visit in 1980, but it wasn't until 1993 that I took another picture.

This was on Thursday 23rd September 1993 as part of a trip that took us from Winkwell to Stretton-under-Fosse and back. In those days, Emma Jane was moored at Winkwell near Berhamstead and our options were limited to heading north up the Grand Union Canal, seeing how far we could get in a week and turn round for the return journey.

I don't recall too much about our visits to the Admiral Nelson, except that it was a traditional pub with a Skittles Table that kept us amused.

We were back again the next year on the evening of Saturday 3rd September 1994, this time on the way back to Winkwell after having got as far as Fenny Compton on the Oxford Canal.

We didn't return to The Admiral Nelson for quite a few years as, after we'd moved the boat back to the Midlands, we didn't feel inclined to go back on the Grand Union Canal. It was 2001 when we ventured forth with a view to revisiting the lower reaches of the Grand Union. We'd moored below the locks and, after visiting the other pubs in Braunston, it was quite a stroll, along a dark lane (called Dark Lane!), to get to The Admiral Nelson which was under new management.

This was on Sunday 26th August 2001.

Over the years The Admiral Nelson has been shut and reopened on more than one occasion, so we tend not to plan a visit there, not knowing if it is going to be open.

This picture was taken on Thursday 10th September 2009 as we were passing. We didn't stop.

My final photo was taken on Sunday 30th September 2012 as I was on my way to play golf!

It was good to see that it was open and seemingly thriving, especially as a Morris Dancing troupe were enjoying some pre 'match' drinks! 

It would appear that the current owners have got it right and the Trip Advisor reviews seem to back this up. I'm glad to see that The Admiral Nelson is now thriving again, but I don't know when we'll be back that way again.