Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Coventry – Ibis Coventry South

    Coventry – Ibis Coventry South

    This Accor hotel is about a thirty-minute walk from Coventry and isn’t very well reviewed on-line, so I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d make of it. It’s a motel type set-up, with the office and reception separate from the main accommodation block. There’s not much that can be done about that now, but it probably wasn’t a great design when conceived twenty years ago or so. I’ve stayed in numerous motels in the United States, but I can’t recall of one which hasn’t had the reception built into the main part of the building.

    The separate accommodation block. My first impressions was that there were people playing music outside who probably should have been told to stop by the hotel staff. I’m getting ever more immune to noise and quite liked the bizarre conversations that they were having, but I can see why the hotel gets negative reviews about this entire set-up. It doesn’t give a good first impression and there’s plenty of space for the hotel to ask guests to move to if they want to sit outside and listen to music.

    The interior of the rooms surprised me, as although the exterior is very not Ibis like, the rooms have been refitted to meet the brand standard. Indeed, the rooms were clean, well presented and fully functional, which entirely satisfied my requirements. I suspect that the cost of bringing this set-up into the rooms was quite expensive, so there’s been a financial commitment here to the hotel’s future. The rooms were cool in temperature and I could open the window, but there was no air conditioning.

    The hotel’s restaurant is currently closed, although they are still doing a basic food menu. It’s one of the restaurants that in normal times does that annoying thing of having 50% off to people who use things such as the Gourmet Society and Tastecard. Lovely if you’re loyal to the Gourmet Society, but perhaps less so if you were just loyal to Accor and didn’t realise.

    I didn’t see any interesting beer options for my rewards drink, so limited myself just to a Coke. The bar area was sort of open, but it didn’t feel entirely inviting, so I just brought it back to my room.

    I’m not a driver, so the car park situation has little relevance to me, but there is some fining set-up in place for those who don’t pay the car park charge. This might have been removed now, but the hotel has a whole host of complaints going back years on how guests have received a fine through the post. Likely not ideal and I’m surprised they need to charge for car parking this far out of the city centre.

    Anyway, I slept very well and had no noise disturbances at all, which moderately surprised me. The corridor outside the room with limited glazing does drag the hotel’s reviews down, although I was nearly at the end of an external corridor so didn’t have many people needing to walk this far down. Given that the room cost under £40, which was nearly all paid for by Accor Rewards points, I thought this was actually perfectly decent value for money. For those who want something nearer to Coventry, Ibis also have another hotel in the city centre (but that was obviously more expensive, so I traipsed out here).

  • West Bromwich – The Billiard Hall

    West Bromwich – The Billiard Hall

    This JD Wetherspoon operated pub that I visited earlier on in the week isn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide (which is the reason I’d usually quickly write about it) but I just liked the building. Although the interior is relatively plain, the external facade has been maintained and is quite eye-catching. It is one of the earlier pubs owned by the chain, having opened in the late 1990s.

    The building originally opened in September 1913 and was used by Willie Holt, a billiards player and table manufacturer, as a billiards hall which had as many as 23 full size tables inside. The local press reported on the planned opening:

    “All West Bromwich will soon be talking of breaks and cannons, kisses and hazards. Today, people in West Bromwich are talking billiards; next week almost everybody will be playing billiards. There is going to be a big billiard boom when Willie Holt, the champion trick shot expert of the world, comes amongst us to open the new billiard hall.”

    There were a few real ales available, I went for half a pint of Black Knight from Goffs Brewery and half a pint of Plum Porter from Titanic. The first might have been just a little on the turn, although acceptable and not near the stage that I’d need to return it. I feel slightly guilty for marking it down on Untappd as the brewery saw it and toasted the check-in, but I’m sure they’ll get over it. Titanic are one of my favourite breweries, so always a delight to have Plum Porter.

    The pub had quite a vibrant atmosphere even at lunch-time, so I can imagine it must be quite, er, challenging on weekend evenings. Service was friendly though and the pub was relatively clean, although the interior could probably do with a refurbishment. JD Wetherspoon did have another pub on the outskirts of West Bromwich, the Moon Under Water, but this was sold off to Admiral Taverns and is now the Coach & Horses. Anyway, all perfectly acceptable and a comfortable environment, in a building that I think is quite memorable.

  • Birmingham – Head of Steam (II)

    Birmingham – Head of Steam (II)

    Head of Steam is one of my favourite chains and I’ve been to several across the country and I’ve been to this one before and enjoyed the quality of the food and drink that they had.

    I came in here again as they were advertising on Facebook the new bottles from Vault City Brewing. The staff member hadn’t heard of them and was initially confident that they didn’t have them. I did on four occasion say that I could see the beer in the fridge behind her, but she wasn’t having any of it. She was polite enough though and got another staff member, who told her they were in the fridge behind her. I decided not to say anything. They hadn’t yet been listed on the till and I did ask the price before ordering and was given an estimate, which transpired to be a fair chunk out, so this was a more expensive drink than I had anticipated.

    Being honest, I wasn’t entirely sold on the engagement here in terms of beer knowledge, but these are challenging times for pubs and perhaps they were short-staffed.

    And here is the drink that I wanted, the Raspberry White Chocolate Honeycomb Imperial Stout from Vault City Brewing, which was a rather beautiful beer. Although a stout, there was a sourness from it, with the various flavours each noticeable by taste in what was quite a complex beer. Rather lovely to have that white chocolate smoothness, the tartness of the raspberries and the touch of honeycomb. I lingered over this drink for over an hour, as it was one that could just be sipped for some time. I’ve also just realised I had listed it incorrectly on Untappd, as they have a similar sour version, which I’ve now corrected.

    The interior of the bar, which was all clean and organised, as well as being quite empty. It’s a large venue and there’s an interesting bit at the entrance which feels like a covered beer garden type area. So, everything was fine with the visit, but it was missing the level of engagement that I’d usually expect from Head of Steam. No negative issues though and marvellous that they’ve got such excellent beers in stock. A perfectly well deserved entry into the Good Beer Guide in my humble view. And a reminder that I need to try more beers from Vault City Brewing.

  • Birmingham – Cherry Red’s Cafe Bar

    Birmingham – Cherry Red’s Cafe Bar

    This is one of those locations that I probably wouldn’t have thought to visit for beer if it wasn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide, as it’s listed as a cafe bar. Looking through the reviews, they are nearly all positive, whether it’s customers wanting a breakfast, a coffee or a beer.

    The cask and keg options are listed on a board, which I didn’t initially notice (although it is quite obvious if I’m being honest). As at that point I hadn’t noticed the board, I asked a staff member what beers there were and they were keen to engage and offer samples. This is a place that’s put quite a bit of thought into their beer options and is proud to explain what they’ve got.

    The beer pumps, although unfortunately they’d just run out of the cherry sour from New Invention. They don’t have much space here, with a limited number of tables inside, but although perhaps a little cluttered in places, everything was clean and organised.

    I went for two half pints, one of the King Korvaks Lament from Fownes Brewing Company and one of the Steady Rolling Men from DEYA Brewing Company. Both were very nice beers and I can absolutely see why this cafe bar arrangement has ended up in the Good Beer Guide. I was initially sitting inside, but moved outside as it was just too hot. I usually try and avoid sitting outside, but there was a lovely breeze blowing up through Birmingham that I thought I’d take advantage of. The prices were also reasonable for the quality of the beers which were being offered.

    In addition to the beer, the cafe bar serves meals, cake and has a range of soft drinks, so there’s something of a continental feel to the whole arrangement. In addition to the visible cask and keg lines, they also have a relatively extensive list of bottles and cans which are in the fridges, so there’s plenty of choice. The staff were friendly, the location was clean and I was certainly not disappointed with this visit.

  • Avanti West Coast : Birmingham New Street to Coventry

    Avanti West Coast : Birmingham New Street to Coventry

    Birmingham New Street is a delightful new and bright railway station, but the platforms under it weren’t modernised as part of the new structure. It seems a little unusual to go from a beautiful building which is modern and flooded in light, to the dingy platforms underneath. It reminds me slightly of Penn Station in New York, with the platform section being totally different to what is above (in that case because they demolished the beautiful building above the platforms).

    Here’s the Avanti train, not really looking the most beautiful in terms of its design, although apparently a number of their trains are currently receiving makeovers and so perhaps this one will soon receive the same modernisation.

    I had booked my train about twenty minutes before the trip using GWR (to get a few Nectar points) and it cost £4.90 to get from Birmingham to Coventry. Seat reservations are required and I was in Carriage F, although it transpired to not really be very busy on-board. The above set-up really doesn’t help customers find their carriage if they’re labelling them G and then U. The announcements made clear that customers need no longer wear masks, although they were welcome to if they wanted, which makes me confused as to what the rules actually are now as they seem to differ between rail companies. Customers were though asked not to sit in the aisle seats to help protect staff, although that request seemed to be widely ignored.

    The carriage, all clean and bright, although I couldn’t find any at-seat power (not that I actually needed any given that the journey was only twenty minutes). These are the old Virgin trains from when they operated the West Coast mainline franchise from 1997 to 2019, but Avanti will only hold the new franchise until 2026 due to changes to the way that the rail system will operate in the future (I suspect for the worse, but that’s a discussion for elsewhere).

    And safely into Coventry on time.

    I thought that this was all rather positive, they’re building a new station complex. The current railway station isn’t really very nice, it’s a bit tired and was in need of a modernisation. It was built in the 1960s after the previous perfectly adequate building was demolished, a sad loss for the city. As part of the integrated public transport strategy, buses and trains will now connect together at the new railway station building.

    Which all means that I’m safely in Coventry and this new development gives a much better first impression to the city than it used to.

  • Birmingham – Ibis Birmingham New Street Station

    Birmingham – Ibis Birmingham New Street Station

    My stay tonight is at the Ibis Birmingham New Street station hotel, part of the Accor chain. It’s centrally located and as its name suggests, is near to New Street railway station.

    There’s a modern feel to the bar area and reception, so first impressions were positive. The staff member at reception was friendly, engaging and helpful, with everything feeling like it was well run. I got my drinks voucher without needing to ask and the hotel said they weren’t going to collect the 98p that was owing (I paid for nearly all of this stay with Accor rewards points), although I suspect it might appear on my card statement as these things tend to be automated. Either way, all nicely done and I like the personable check-in process. The staff member also mentioned that she was looking forwards to seeing me again next week, I hadn’t realised their system showed future linked bookings. I had forgotten I had booked here next week for three nights, but she was quite right.

    The bar area is comfortable, not very busy at the moment and fits in with the attempts to modernise the Ibis brand. Nice.

    There were a few beer options, none of them decadent, but the Camden Pale Ale is perfectly acceptable to me as a welcome drink. It doesn’t take much effort to offer something like this, rather than just shove a few Bud and Corona in the fridge and claim that’s a beer offering. Another engaging member of staff at the bar, there’s a welcoming feel and atmosphere to this entire hotel. In an ideal world the bar could probably ramp up its drinks offerings to be a bit more creative, but there are no problems currently with the choice.

    The room is clearly a few years old and it’s slightly smaller than Ibis rooms usually are. However, it’s a central location and it has a desk, so I’m happy. There’s an air conditioning unit under the window which seems to be disconnected (although reviews suggest they are still going in some rooms), but the window opens and there’s a fan, so that’s fine with me. This attempt to sterilise rooms by sealing them up annoys me when hotels do it, it’s nice here to actually have a window open and to hear the world outside. There are no small number of reviews complaining about the noise from the street, but I quite like that and I’m not sure what a city centre hotel is realistically meant to do about city noise. I like that they’ve given me a top floor room as well, not too near the lift.

    I’m not tempted by the breakfast which is £10, requires pre-booking and seems to allow a limited amount of each items, so no more than two sausages and two rashers of bacon I think it mentioned. Customers also had to choose which hot drink they wanted, but Ibis usually offer endless amounts of any particular item. It’s much cheaper to just go around the corner to JD Wetherspoon or a local cafe, but I imagine that these Covid limitations will be swept away soon enough.

    Anyway, I’m very pleased with my £35 per night stay, especially as it’s funded by Accor points from previous stays. The rooms probably need a refurbishment in the next few years, but they are currently clean and entirely functional, so there’s perhaps no huge urgency. Reviews are mixed, but I think most of the problem is the room pushing the scores down, the staff and location rate highly.

  • Bilston – Women’s Work by Rose Garrard

    Bilston – Women’s Work by Rose Garrard

    This is quite a noticeable and sizeable sculpture in the middle of Bilston’s main street and was designed by Rose Garrard, beng unveiled in May 1998. Garrard notes:

    “It is located close to the site of a ‘fold’, a cluster of small hovels where families lived and the women repetitively forged tiny items such as nails, chain links and pulleys, selling them to merchants to survive. These items have been fused into the clothing of this metamorphic figure, whose head is the small anvil and her forearms the tongs used for holding the hot metal. Her feet are flat irons, while the back of her skirt is composed of stacked cooking pots. Local women were later employed in nearby factories making cast iron cooking pots and flat irons as well as in large laundries where they put the irons to use. The figure is stooped over to support her burden of coal, the constant position of a ‘pit-bank wench’ paid to work bowed down all day to reclaim any usable lumps of coal from the slag heaps at the pit head.”

    I suspect that this is one of the earlier sculptures which was designed to remind people of the contribution made by women to industry and over twenty years on it still has something of an impact visually.

    The artist wasn’t paid for this installation even by the time of its unveiling by Clare Short, the then Secretary of State for International Development. It took Short’s involvement for Rose Garrard to finally get her money from the local council who commissioned it.

    It’s hard to imagine these levels of poverty today, but these are the “pit bank wenches”.

  • Wolverhampton – First Traffic Lights

    Wolverhampton – First Traffic Lights

    I must admit, with some shame, to finding this quite interesting, namely that Wolverhampton had the first set of automated traffic lights in the country. They were strung across on wire, similar to how many are installed in the United States, at Princes Square in November 1927. It was done as a little bit of a trial, but the situation was made permanent in October 1928 as it was viewed to be a success.

    The local newspaper reported the unveiling and explained:

    “A device for traffic control by means of a lantern, known as the colour daylight signal, was demonstrated in Wolverhampton on Saturday. It is the first of its kind in this country, though a similar arrangement is used extensively in America and on the continent. The big claim made for the device is that it will eventually eliminate the point duty policeman. The apparatus consists of an aluminium lantern containing three lights, on each of the four sides are three coloured glass panels. The top light is red and is marked “stop”, the second yellow and is marked “caution” and the third is green and marked “go”. The beam of light is visible at a distance of 600 yards”.

    The traffic lights remained in place until the 1960s when a modern system was introduced. This is that junction today, still with a traffic light set-up.

  • Wolverhampton – Hogshead

    Wolverhampton – Hogshead

    This is the Hogshead in Wolverhampton, a Good Beer Guide listed pub which is operated by Stonegate. I hadn’t realised incidentally just what a range of beers, craft and keg, that Hogshead offer, something I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for CAMRA.

    The building dates from the late nineteenth century and as can be seen in brickwork above the door, this used to be The Vine pub before it was rebranded.

    There was an interesting and bright pub interior which was across a few different levels and there was a pool table area as well. I wasn’t sure whether customers were meant to wait for table service or to order at the bar. I decided to order at the bar so I could see what was available and a staff member was there immediately to help, so all very efficient.

    The range of drinks, much better than I had anticipated and the prices were reasonable. I had expected a more generic range of lagers from this brand, so I was impressed at what they were offering, it’s not what I had associated with Hogshead.

    I went for half a pint of the Pump Up the Jam from Tiny Rebel and half a pint of Common Grounds from Magic Rock Brewing, both very good beers and well kept.

    The pub also offers a £10 ‘work from the pub’ offer which gives anyone a lunch, unlimited soft or hot drinks as well as access to wi-fi and power. It’s the first time though that I’ve seen an offer like this which is time constrained, in this case to 2.5 hours. That’s perhaps not ideal (although I accept isn’t ungenerous), as by the time someone has had lunch, there isn’t a huge amount of time left. Anyway, the concept is great and it’s something that’s becoming much more common and that can only be good for the pub industry at getting more people in. When I’ve experienced things such as Brewdog’s Desk Dog, there has been no time limit.

    There were plenty of staff visible and the environment was clean and comfortable. They had a lot of reserved seating, I think because of a quiz being held later on in the evening, which meant that there wasn’t much choice of seating available for walk-ins. There’s a comprehensive food menu and there are a few meal deals and the like on there, so it seemed reasonable value for money. I think they also show sports and the like as well when they’re on and the reviews the pub gets are mostly favourable. I can imagine that this pub gets busier with a younger crowd at weekends, probably quite a lively environment.

    I’m very pleased that this pub was listed in the Good Beer Guide given that it has changed my perception of the brand, although this one might not be typical. Friendly service, excellent range of drinks and a comfortable environment. All very lovely.

  • Wolverhampton – The Posada

    Wolverhampton – The Posada

    I had a little time in Wolverhampton before getting the tram back, so I decided to pop into the Good Beer Guide listed Posada. There was particular note about the heritage of the pub’s interior as well, which always adds to a visit.

    I struggled a little bit to see what beers were available as this is a pub that locals perch themselves at the bar and block the view. Given that the pub was otherwise nearly empty, this wasn’t ideal and I know that some people get intimidated by a set-up like this. Anyway, the service was polite at the bar and the environment was welcoming after getting over that first step. I have to say though that I didn’t get the community feel that I usually get in pubs, but I’m sure that everything was fine. I suspect that the pub also offered more drinks than I could see though, but it seems to have a choice of generic beers and two real ales.

    The quirky rear room and there’s more about the history of this pub at https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs/10111. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture this pub in the late nineteenth century and I’d say it’s worth coming in just to experience the interior. I think that there’s a beer garden out the back of the pub as well, but I didn’t venture that far.

    I liked this little alcove, so I went in here and it seems that this was once part of the corridor to the rear room. The pub certainly didn’t disappoint with its heritage and it was clean and tidy throughout. Every table had a number and a phone number on it, although I’m not sure what customers are supposed to do with that if they want table service. They can perhaps WhatsApp an order or maybe text an order, but I don’t know which.

    The prices were low, although I only ordered half a pint of HPA from Wye Valley Brewery and a packet of crisps, so I’m not sure that I contributed much to the pub’s profits. The beer was better than I had expected, well-kept and had a nice citrus edge to it. Definitely a decent entry to the Good Beer Guide and a pub interior of some considerable note.