The Secret Seven in a Shimmy around Shifnal (with Lashings of Proper Beer)

Our tale begins at 11:30am with the assembled members waiting outside the door of the magnificently refurbished (and repurposed) Codsall Station for a pre-shimmy shandy (or maybe something a bit stronger!).

...sorry, I'm getting correspondence in about the title...people (well, my reader!) are querying my arithmetic. Having read newcomer Paul Bailey's excellent account (here), Pub Curmudgeon's consistently superb ruminations (here and here) together with Retired Martin's entertaining ramblings (here, here, here, here and here) they are asserting that I've got my sums wrong!

I can assure you that I am correct. I'm using 'nu-maths' as promulgated by the political parties of our day...allow me to explain. Our group consisted of one Martin, two Peters, two Pauls and two Mudgies...that makes seven!

So, where was I? Oh, yes! Codsall Station.

This has been beautifully repurposed by Holdens Brewery and is a divine example of how to create a proper pub in the modern era. Although it is a Holden house, I had a pint of Salopian Oracle and, despite all of our beers being the first pulled of the day, they were all excellent!

It was soon time to move on to Shifnal itself, just a couple (or three) stops along the line. It was a short walk from Shifnal Station to our next pub, Black Country Ales' The Anvil.

That shot makes it look like it was a very busy day, but we weren't the only group on the day to disembark that train and head straight to the pub! Inside, it was appointed in the usual style of Black Country Ales other pubs. Here I had a pint of Enville White which was very pleasant.

Moving on, it was probably the longest walk of the day (all of 10 minutes!), and we arrived at our chosen lunch stop, The Plough Inn.

This was the first pub of the day that felt properly 'lived-in' and was a bit more ramshackle than the previous two places. The lunch was good and my pint of Oakham Citra was as wonderful as ever.

Next it was on to The White Hart...our northernmost foray into Shinal.

This was a nice cosy two room pub, that didn't quite know how to cope with a group of curious old codgers investigating all the nooks and crannies of another well used pub. Here I slowed down to a half of Enville Ale...also good!

Soon it was time to retrace our steps back towards the centre of town, via The Wheatsheaf.

By now the rain was persistent and dusk was rapidly approaching, all of which made The Wheatsheaf even more welcoming. Another cosy, lived-in pub where I had a half of (Marston's) Wainwright...another good drop!

Moving along quite quickly and we approached what could have been (should have been!) one of the highlights of the day...it was the opposite. From the outside, The Crown Inn looked everything that a pub should be.

Inside, it wasn't. At first it sounded like live music was on, but then we realised that it was an excellent sound system turned up way too loud! This tactic obviously wasn't bringing in the custom as we doubled the attendance when we entered, whereas the rest of the pubs we'd visited had been all ticking over nicely for a Friday afternoon...not The Crown. I have to say, though, that my half of Woods Shropshire Lass was very good.

None of us were too sad when it quickly became time to depart for the Jasper's Arms.

By now it was dark and the Jasper's Arms was fairly busy, but we managed to find seats. It was a cosy, slightly more upmarket place that had a ceiling covered with old pumpclips. I was still on the halves, here it was Three Tuns XXX, which wasn't particularly to my liking. (There was nothing wrong with it, just not to my taste!)

All too soon we were approaching our final (7th) Shifnal pub of the day, the Odfellows.

From the outside I was a bit concerned that it was a converted solicitor's office (or similar), but inside it was a proper, fairly busy pub. Salopian Lemon Dream was on, so I had a pint...very nice!

At this stage, Paul set off back to Kent (a long trek back from 'darkest' Shropshire) and the rest of us supped our ales ready for one last call. This was Martin's hotel for the night so we bade him farewell (safe in the knowledge that he'd probably visit the remaining pubs in the town) and we waited for the train to Wolverhampton. Once there, the three of us (one Paul, two Peters and two Mudgies) decided that we had time for a short diversion to the Great Western.

By the time we got there, it was heaving, but as luck would have it a group were just leaving as we got served. I had my first drop of any of the Black Country beers that had been on offer all day...a pint of Bathams Bitter. Before we went our separate ways, I had time for a swift half of Salopian Lemon Dream.

The perfect end to a great day out! It was good to meet Paul for the first time (all the way up from Kent) and it was good to catch up with Martin, Paul and Peter. The rain didn't dampen our spirits (I often believe that a cool, dull, damp day makes the pubs seem that bit more welcoming!)...and we never mentioned the election once!

Shifnal is a hidden gem with a fine collection of proper pubs all within easy walking distance of each other and with a very varied selection of ales on offer. It isn't as touristy as some places (nor as twee) rather it shows off the best of 'ordinary' England!

Onward to Burton upon Trent in early March for the next installment...unless someone organises one in between times!

#224 Bridge Inn, Brewood, Staffordshire : 1987 to 2016

No article on the village of Brewood should start without the obligatory, "How do you pronounce that?" question. The answer is; Brewood is pronounced 'Brood'.

Brewood is a great village for canal trips. It stands on the Shropshire Union canal and there are lots of mooring places and plenty of pubs, but for us it has proved to be an awkward location, particularly when heading back to Lapworth as the next viable pub stop is about five hours away in Wolverhampton.

Our first visit to Brewood and the Bridge Inn was on the evening of Wednesday 8th July 1987.

As I recall it has always been quite a cosy pub that does proper pub grub. Note, in 1987 it was an Ansell's pub.

Our next visit was a lunchtime stop on Wednesday 4th September 1996 on the way back from our first ever canal trip to Llangollen.

Externally the pub had undergone a full refurb, I assume when it was taken over by Burtonwood. Inside was still as cosy as before. 

For the record, it took us 4 hours 15 minutes to get to Wolverhampton Top Lock!

Our next visit was on the evening of Wednesday 6th September 2000 on our way back from Manchester.

The pub appeared largely unchanged apart from the now hardly noticeable hanging baskets and the main door has gone back to black.

This time the journey to the top of the Wolverhampton flight of locks took 5 hours 10 minutes!

That journey time almost certainly explains why we didn't revisit Brewood until the evening of Wednesday 8th September 2010, again returning from Manchester.

No longer a Burtonwood pub, the Bridge Inn had become a free house with all of the external signage replaced/removed. However, despite the external changes, it maintained it's original character.

Trip to Wolverhampton Top Lock - 5 hrs 10 mins...again!

Our most recent visit was at lunchtime on Sunday 7th August 2016.

Our first non-Wednesday visit because the new boat Peggy Ellen is moored at Kings Bromley and so Brewood again becomes a more attractive stopping off point as there is no need to go through Wolverhampton.

What has now become subtly apparent is that the Bridge Inn is now a Marston's pub as evidenced by the small sign on the chimney breast. We had a very pleasant Sunday lunch in a pub that, although it has changed hands over the 29 years, has maintained it's character. 

#104 The Plough, Tividale, West Midlands : 2005 to 2012 (RIP)

As previously mentioned in #093, we discovered Tividale in 2005 as one of the very few viable stops on the BCN Main Line between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

This was at lunchtime on Thursday 1st September 2005. We popped in to The Plough for one pint and, having established that they didn't do food, we moved on. It was a basic Banks' boozer with two small rooms at the front and a friendly barman/landlord.

Two years later and we're back! Again it was lunchtime, on Saturday 25th August 2007. There were no major changes to the outside except that TWO satellite dishes have appeared and the small tree to the right of the pub has disappeared. Oh...and the pub has a 'To Let' sign on it! Inside it was unchanged and they still didn't do food...officially! However, when we asked about it, the landlady said that she could make us some sandwiches, an offer we gladly accepted.

It is a real shame that pubs like this, with such friendly and accommodating tenants have disappeared, up and down the land. This is the scene that presented itself when I went by The Plough on Tuesday 4th December 2012.

Completely closed, all external signage removed and the car park being used as a car wash. It looks as though the building is still occupied, especially as a fire escape and first floor exit have been added since my last visit. 

#093 Albion Inn, Tividale, West Midlands : 2005 to 2012

The canal journey between Wolverhampton and Birmingham is always interesting, but the opportunities to stop and find pubs is somewhat limited. This isn't too surprising as the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) were, until fairly recently, mostly hidden away and closed off to the general public. In their heyday, these canals were like the railways and were extremely busy transporting goods around the Midlands. They were a place of work, not leisure.

Over the years we'd exhausted most of the available stops, usually Tipton and the Black Country Museum, but one day we decided to experiment and we moored up on the BCN Old Main Line near to where it goes over the Netherton Tunnel Branch of the BCN Main Line. We only had our 20-year-old Nicholson's Guide to go on and weren't sure if any of the pubs marked would still be open.

We were in luck and we found three pubs, none of which did food...until a helpful local directed us to the Toby Carvery just up the road. It was only then that I realised where we were as none of the streets we'd walked along were familiar to me.

Today's subject is the Albion Inn which was our last port of call before the Toby Carvery.

This was lunchtime on Thursday 1st September 2005. Although it looks to be an inviting prospect from the outside, inside it is a basic local boozer and there was no food on offer.

Our next visit was on Saturday 25th August 2007, again at lunchtime, but this time it was on the outward trip at the start of our holiday and we were heading for Wolverhampton.

There were no changes of note, but one of the signs still said "Bar Snacks" and there were none!

We haven't stopped there since then, but I was in the environs a few days ago and took this picture.

It was taken on Tuesday 4th December 2012. At first glance, nothing much has changed, but on closer inspection the main signs have been replaced with ones saying "Free House" although the hanging sign is the same as previously. Two satellite dishes have also appeared - a definite sign of the times!

#076 The Posada, Wolverhampton : 1991 to 2011

Wolverhampton was never on the list of 'must stop' places on our canal trips, but since our first visit in 1991 it has become a regular place to visit. The main reasons for this are the good moorings at the top of the (21) locks and the fact that it is a long way in any direction to get to somewhere decent!

This was at lunchtime on Thursday 1st August 1991 on our trip that took our boat Emma Jane from Adlington (near Wigan) to Cowley Peachey (near Uxbridge). I don't remember too much about it except that it was a proper, old style, town centre boozer.

We didn't get back to Wolverhampton until Wednesday 4th September 1996 on our way back from Llangollen and Chester.

Very little had changed, but some metal seats had appeared outside!

It was another six years before we ventured into The Posada again. This time on Tuesday 26th August 2003 near the end of a journey that took us to Leicester and Burton-upon-Trent.

Although seemingly unchanged, all of the Holt, Plant & Deakin signage has disappeared.

Then, in 2005, we went on a sequence that saw us visit The Posada every year for the next three years!

Wednesday 31st August 2005.

Sunday 27th August 2006.

Saturday 25th August 2007.

Then we did the unthinkable...we went back to Wolverhampton - and The Posada - later on the same trip!!

Wednesday 5th September 2007.

Our most recent visit was near the end of last summer's trip along the Caldon Canal.

This was on Monday 5th September 2011, a few days earlier than intended, but we'd been forced to curtail our holiday as my back had gone and it was sometimes difficult to just steer the boat. Working locks was out of the question for me!

In all our years visiting The Posada it hasn't really changed much. It's a pub I really like, but it does seem from some of the more recent reviews, that it may be on a downward slide.

Hopefully it will continue to be a beacon for proper pubs!