An upcoming weekend in Shropshire has prompted me to dig this piece out, give it a good dusting, and a few tweaks. This was what happened the last time I visited the area.
It started with a great introduction on the way down at the Bridge End Inn,
at Ruabon, near Wrexham, a previous CAMRA National Pub of the Year winner. The
McGivern family have done a fantastic job in creating a warm and welcoming
wet-led pub, complete with in-house brewery. Only a minute or two’s walk from
the station, it is well worth a visit.
Shrewsbury
itself is an attractive town, built around a loop on the river Severn, with
some lovely old buildings and open green spaces. It also has some great pubs,
including the Salopian Bar, Admiral Benbow, and Woodman. But for me the pick
was the Coach and Horses on quiet Swan Hill, with wood-panelling and superb
beers from the likes of Salopian and Stonehouse. We stayed in the Shrewsbury
Hotel, which is a Wetherlodge, and offered clean, good-value accommodation with
the added bonus of being able to spend those discount vouchers in the bar, and,
being in a great central location, it is close to the river, several pubs, and,
oh, shops, should you be that way inclined. A Premier Inn has also now opened in the town centre to provide a further option as a place to stay.
Moving out
into the county, we headed south passing through Church Stretton to Ludlow, a beautiful
town and now a mecca for foodies, with a famous food festival and restaurants
with regular Michelin Star accreditations. Me, I was more interested in
visiting the Ludlow Brewery, situated in the stylishly-converted railway shed
close to Tesco, Aldi, and, not surprisingly, the railway station. You can just
walk in, the brewery is right there, with a bar at the side selling a number of
the beers. I had a great pint of Ludlow Gold, with a few bottles purchased for
consumption later.
Next port of
call was the border town of Bishop’s Castle. Even though it was probably at
least 30 years since I last went, I immediately felt that timeless, somewhat
mystical atmosphere that had struck me about the place back then. The
destination was the Three Tuns, one of the classic pubs. Not many pubs have a
historic tower brew house alongside, but this one does. Now under different
ownership to the pub, the Three Tuns brewery dates back to 1642, making it the
oldest licensed brewery in the country. The pub itself has expanded over the
years, with much light wood in evidence, but there was still enough left of the
old place. With a pint of 1642 bitter from next door, an open fire, comfy
seating and some entertaining and quirky characters present, on a cold Monday
afternoon, there was much to encourage you to linger. Unfortunately, the need
to drive back to Shrewsbury did not afford the opportunity to do that or to try
the other 2 CAMRA pubs in the town, one of which, the Six Bells, also has its
own brewery.
Next day, a
trip to the split-level town of Bridgnorth. Built at the end of a steep and
narrow part of the Severn Valley, the town comprises Low Town, built by the
river, and High Town, built on the cliff above. Linking the two parts for the
past 120 years is the fascinating Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, which is the
steepest and shortest inland funicular railway still working in the country. It
only cost a pound to make the admittedly short journey, but it affords great
views from the top. A few minutes’ walk away is the northern terminus of the
Severn Valley Railway, which boasts its own award-winning CAMRA pub on the
platform, the imaginatively-named Railwaymans
Arms. Complete with plush velour seats, dark wood panelling, railway
memorabilia, and imposing portraits, this really feels like it dates from a
bygone age. Even though the trains had stopped running for the winter, you
could almost imagine the sound of a whistle in the distance and it would not
have been a surprise to see Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard having a cheeky one
in the bar. If they were, they’d have been hard pushed to better the Bathams
Best Bitter, my choice, which was excellent.
Final port
of call, and another re-visit after a 30-odd year hiatus, was the All Nations
in Madeley. This is another historic brewpub, which was home to Shires Ales when we visited, but that is now sadly closed. It
hadn’t changed a bit. Situated after a row of houses, it stands proud on its
own, still looking for all the world like a private house. Only the sign gives
it away. You go through the gate and walk up the garden path and enter into a
small, single room. It has a fantastic, timeless atmosphere, the locals moaning
about ‘the Villa’ and the price of gas, with no disturbance from a TV or piped
music. A pint went down
very well. Another place where you would love to linger....
Unfortunately
this was a short trip which only scratched the surface of a part of England
which is off many people’s radar but has so much to offer. I am looking forward to my trip in a few weeks combining football and hopefully some good ales....
Much of the above originally appeared in 'Calder Cask', the magazine of the Halifax and Calderdale branch of CAMRA, way back in 2013.
 |
| Here's a brewery, in Ludlow.... |
Comments
Post a Comment