The Amblecote Triangle

On an overcast August Wednesday I opted to tackle a few of the pubs in the south-western corner of the West Midlands.
The day began in Stourbridge, the best starting point to tackle the A491 corridor of pubs.

And a quite superb pub town in itself, of course.
At 10:30am I had eyes only for the Wetherspoons Chequers Inn, breakfast and a coffee refill or two.

I liked the Chequers with its island bar and vertigious route to the WCs.

I was abstaining until midday, but had I wanted to squeeze a half pint in, guest ales came in several varieties from the local Kinver Brewery.
Breakfast a 3-out-of-5: points deducted for some dodgy gooey clumps of tomato sauce in the baked beans and for having another of those toasters that forgets to toast the second side).  Draining the coffee, I made my way along the scruffy High Street.
Through the underpass, past the recently reopened New Wharf Inn (next time), then just over a half-mile up the busy road.
A right-turn at the Collis Street junction and my first Amblecote triangle pub wasn't far up the hill.

The Robin Hood (196 Collis St, Amblecote, Stourbridge DY8 4EQ)
As soon as you see this pub it cries out 'classic Black Country local'!
Great colour.  Good name.  Nice couple of picnic tables out front for watching the road.
Step inside the front door and there are two halves to the front room, bar to the left, plus another space to the back.
And a hefty number of casks to pick from:

I stood patiently whilst the landlady did something important with her back to me and the labrapoodle belonging to the sole other customer tried to get into my pockets for imagined treats. 
"You came in too quietly," I was told by the bar staff once spotted.
"Just like me" quipped the dog owner.
"I always know when you're here - you don't do quiet!"

Unfortunately (although maybe for the best) the Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild had just finished.  So much choice, but it had to be Bathams Best.

The Robin Hood has been a licenced house since 1855.  It was the local CAMRA branch pub of the year in 2024, not for the first time, in a branch that's never short of contenders.
It's a lovely place.  Livened up a little by the arrival of a couple of chaps in hi-vis and a couple of locals.
I settled on the comfy seating in the window in the room to the right, the shelves adorned with Beer Guides of past and a collection of old bottles.

From the 2024 local POTY to the 2022 recipient.
It was just a couple of minutes walk up the hill to the Starving Rascal.  This Black Country Ales inn stands on the sharp road junction that marks the furthest point east of the Amblecote triangle (∠α = 24.624°, 0.42978 rad).

The Starving Rascal (1 Brettell Lane, Amblecote, DY8 4BN)
This joined the ranks of BCA pubs in 2020 and underwent a lockdown refurbishment.
It was once called the Dudley Arms.  Legend has it that a beggar asked for food and shelter on a chill night, was refused, then was found frozen to death in the doorway the next morning.  The spirit has hung around to haunt the pub, leaving trails of wet footprints in dry weather, knocking picture frames off walls, and reaching out to grab customers pints with a ghostly hand.
I should have saved this one for the Halloween post.
It was renamed to refelct the story in 1977 ('Rascal' is a bit harsh though, no?)

Well, if any ghoulish hands were going to go in search of beers on this Wednesday afternoon, it was only going to be mine...

Far too quiet.
The staff member busied herself with a feather duster once my beer was served.
The local Fownd 'Frost Hammer', a murky fruity pale ale with tropical flavours from Olicana hops.

In the absence of any other customers I was entertained by a soundtrack of the Stones, ELO, War, and Marvin Gaye.  Not a bad selection.

But I was soon on the move to the next pub, another very short walk to The Swan.

The Swan (10 Brettell Lane, Amblecote, DY8 4BN)
Ah, now this had the lunchtime trade: a few folk eating in the left-side room, and a good dozen cheery chaps in the comfier right side working through the ales.
Wednesday ale and cider club, 20% off, drawing the punters in, I suspect.

The Swan is another local Pub of the Year - 2023 - everywhere on my route seemed to be getting a go with this award.

Sadly, the music quality had dropped, in my opion, Maria McKee's 'Show Me Heaven' playing as I waited at the bar.  Time to peruse the pump clips whilst the old boys put their orders in. Hobson 'Town Crier' or 'Best', Green Duck 'Jet Stream', and Kinver Brewery 'Edge'.
The Kinver for me, a fine best bitter in great condition.

I departed the Swan, with its chequered carpets and decorations of old sporting implements, to make my way down Bretell Lane towards a pub owned by the same people.

Red Lion (147 Brettell Lane, Amblecote, DY8 4BA)
My impressions of the Red Lion's interior may have been tainted by the decorations for the forthcoming Festa Cubana.

The two staff concocted an impressive looking cocktail complete with colourful umbrella poking out the top, then proceded to photograph it for the promos.  Had they taken their eye off the beer though?  My Mighty Oak 'Gorgeous George' was just 'okay' (other options came from Hobsons, Green Duck and Salopian (who part-own the pub)).
And - strewth - it was hot in there.  Were they heating the place up to Gulf of America temperatures ready for the fiesta?

The music was of the kind that I needed Google's help to identify - SYML 'Where's My Love'.
I'd rather have listened to the Housemartins as promoted on the chap in the corners excellent t-shirt.

I originally only intended to visit the four GBG '25 pubs in this area.  But a sign in the Gents warned me that if I was banned from one I'd be banned from all pubs on the Amblecote triangle (I wasn't, not this time).  The list of triangle pubs included one that hadn't been on my radar but still commanded a decent beer score on the Camra pub pages.

No chance for Scottish snacks, Bites 'n' Bru's with the lights off and door shut.

Lucky the large 'Spoons breakfast had amply filled me up.
Just a few doors away on a busy road junction (what's that idiot doing prancing around in the central reservation photographing the pub?) is the Maverick.

The Maverick (1 High Street, Amblecote, Amblecote, DY8 4BX)
This was a bit of an oddity - a West Midlands Wild West themed pub. 
Let's skip description and just jump to the picture...

There was a decent beer local selection in the form of Wye Valley 'HPA', Hobson 'Town Crier', and Ludlow 'Stairway'.
I picked a half of the 5% premium pale bitter from Ludlow, a chewy fruity beer.  Then settled under the TV at one end of the room.  There are a couple of pretty basic side rooms plus a garden to the rear where a few other customers had headed.

The Temptations 'Just My Imagination Running Away With Me' wasn't really the wild west soundtrack I was expecting.

But the 'art' followed the theme...

Must ask Mrs PropUptheBar if we can get a copy of that for our lounge at home.

The Amblecote triangle done, I decided I'd walk the 0.8 miles straight down the road to Wollaston for an extra Good Beer Guide tick.  That would leave only a visit to Kingswinford to tidy up this corner of the GBG chapter - then, if I could motivate myself one day to get to Solihull and Dorridge, I'll stand a good chance of completing the West Midlands.
In the meantime, this diversion was a good'un...

The Unicorn (145 Bridgnorth Road, Wollaston, DY8 3NX)
Painted in the classic Bathams colour, The Unicorn is a fantastic simple two bar local.  It dates back to 1859 and brewed its own beer on-site until the 60's.  The Unicorn spent 80 years in the hands of the Billinger family from 1912 onwards until they decided to sell the premises to Bathams in 1992.
The front door leads to a passage with the first door to your left taking you into a tiny front bar. 

Bathams 'Best' or 'Mild' on a bar with lots of crisp displays...

I picked the 'Mild' as it's a while since I've seen it.  Just £2.90 a pint.
I also partook in a cheese and onion cob from the deli display, settling myself on the bench at one end of the side room.
What a great place.  Nothing here to distract from the jovial chatter of a a blokey clientele, cask in front of one and all.

Perhaps before I complete all the Black Country Ales pubs I should visit the whole Bathams estate.

I didn't really get to grips with Amblecote as a place - does it even have a centre, or is it just a chunk of land above Stourbridge?  But what a great selection of pubs it has all within easy walking distance of one another.  With the added bonus of a fine pint of Bathams next door in Wollaston, this had made for a fine afternoon's excursion.  Cheers!