BEERWOLF - Wolverhampton Campaign for Real Ale

A tour of Staffordshire.
The Royal Oak Bishops Wood: an excellent
location; on my visit they had Wye Valley
HPA, Holden’s Golden Glow, Enville Ginger,
Salopian Shropshire Gold, Sarah Hughes Dark
Mild and you get a CAMRA discount.
The Bradford Arms Ivetsey Bank on the A5:
As I was unable to meet the 88 bus travelling
group here in November let me point out some
features of this most comfortable of hostelries.
In the lounge/bar next to the serving area
there is an open fi re, accurate and evocative
paintings of the Short Stirling bomber which
fi lled the gap between the Wellington and
the Lancaster in WWII, a huge ornamental
mirror whose vine decorations are so lifelike
you could almost pluck the grapes. This is
a Marstons house and on my visit they had
Banks’s Bitter and Mild and Charles Wells
Bombardier. This is my usual national brands
test and it was very good.
A ‘new’ place, the re-opened Lion in
Brewood. Minimalist decor but the photos are
good. The beers on my visit were Jennings,
Titanic and Oakham Citra £1.50. My only
criticism was that the gate at the back
22
The Bradford Arms
Roving Reporter
was locked, which made entry for invalid
conveyances, baby carriages and bikes
impossible. My bike obstructed the pavement.
Apart from that, this is a welcome new entry
for Brewood.
The New Inns Kiddemore Green, I was very
disappointed that Monday to Saturday they
are only open 5pm - 11pm. This place used to
be so reliable. If anyone is passing during the
day on a Sunday, please check it out.
After this set back I cycled past the canalside
caravan park in Shutt Green. Many of these
dwellings are two tone green, which strangely
was the livery of Harper Brothers Buses
which ran services round here in the 1960s;
for bus enthusiasts - they used Leyland Tiger
Cub coaches. My actual destination was:
The Bell at Stretton on the A5. It is
restauranty and it calls itself a noted Ham &
Eggery, the eggy external colour scheme suits
it. They had Banks’s Bitter, Holdens Golden
Glow and I had Thwaites Wainwright £1.47
which was excellent. The garden round the
back is very pleasant in good weather. Next
door there is a LPG gas conversion garage and
fi lling station which could be useful to know.
.
The New Inns