Black Country Pubs

Tap for Sarah Hughes. Beautifully preserved pub, with fittings such as the old gas lamps still intact. There is no bar as such, just a central serving hatch, with a gap at chest height, which you shout through, to get your Ruby Mild.

4 guest pumps in a traditional setting, near the top of Gornal. This place is just like a country pub, with views over the hills from the front patio and an interior of beamed ceilings and wood. Lovely place.

Based inside the Black Country Living Museum

Very well preserved pub in Upper Gornal, with lounge and snug. The backroom is an unchanged Victorian arrangement, with ancient cash till and price list. Bathams Mild and Bitter, but not much else in the way of beer choice (it does have pork pies though). Beautiful place.

Black Country Ales tied pub, which operates in a very similar way to the Wellington in Birmingham. Converted court house (duh) in the middle of Dudley; lots of choice.

Superb pub in central Stourbridge, which features 8 handpulls including a selection from the pub's own (brand new) Craddock's brewery. Tasteful decor (not over the top), good beer in bottles and on tap. Excellent.

If you are doing any kind of Gornal crawl, then this will be at the midpoint, whether you are going from Upper to Lower or vice versa. Lovely big eating area at the back, with traditional fare; whilst the front is a nice bar, with lots of real ale choices and a few continental choices on tap. Excellent boozer.

Holdens pub with a railway theme. Very close to the train station (although I always get lost). Lovely themed decor, great arrangement of drinking areas and lots of choice on the handpulls, with many local brews including Bathams. Essential.

Very pleasant community boozer, just off the Halesowen to Stourbridge Rd and walking distance from the Waggon and Horses. Pool table, 7 or so rotating guest ales, comfy seating and traditional pub atmos. Sitting here, you could almost be in the countryside. Most pleasant.

Old skool Black Country boozer

Just up the road from the Britannia, this place offers plenty of real ale choice, with a bunch of rotating handpulls.Very traditional decor in the front, with a more modern eating area out back. Fantastic!

Unbelievable! stunningly preserved pub, which is the tap for the Olde Swan brewery and serves their beers at low low prices. Great Black Country food too. Another essential stop.

After a long walk up a hill, and a stroll through Sedgley, I eventually found this place. And it was shut. Approach any potential visit with caution.

Located in Lower(ish) Gornal, this is the tap for Black Country Ales. A traditional pub, with open front lounge and a couple of guest beers, in addition to the Black Country range.

I believe this is the sister pub to the Port n Ale in Great Bridge - certainly it has a similar set up with loads of beers on tap and a very cheap carvery. This place gets a bad rap sometimes, but I found the beer quality to be fine. Cheap too.

Tap for Holdens. A weird mixture of family friendly bland interior spiced with some breweriana. Range of about 8 Holdens ales and the pub is stapled to the brewery itself. Reasonable place.

Great Bridge boozer, with about 12 rotating beers on handpull, which is quite impressive. It's an odd place with a front door which makes it look like someone's house, hence I always feel strange when I walk in. Not the cleanest or tidiest place, but a boon for the area and quite cheap.

Not been here yet.

Not been here yet.

Bright red pub, on the same road as Great Bridge Library and which also leads up to the Port n Ale. Seems like a bit of a locals place, but is clean, tidy and traditional, with some nice guest beers on tap. Backs onto Sheepwash Urban Park and is a 5-10 minute walk from Dudley Port train station.

Holdens pub, with jazz. Haven't been here yet.

Genuine backstreet boozer with BBQ and balti options. Disappointingly ale-free on my last visit, but a fascinating pub, which is packed with Albion fans on match days and close to the Midland Metro.

Tap for Bathams. Stunning old pub. Legendary.

Legendary pub, which is known locally as Wobbly Bob's , due to it's sloping floor. A big range of handpulls, including local micros, plus Belgian beers on tap. The walls are lined with vintage (unopened) beers, and on my last visit there was free bread, cheese and homemade salsa on the bar. On the number 9 bus route, 5 mins from Halesowen town centre and backing onto Halesowen's football stadium. Unmissable under any circumstances.

Tap for Toll End brewery. Haven't been here yet.

Brains pub in Oldbury, with 3-odd local micros. Pretty small, but the decor is beautiful and the ale is well kept.

Not been here yet.

A Holdens pub, which is just about the only decent one in West Brom. Small front bar and slightly bigger back lounge. Beer is cheap, food is cheap, welcome is friendly. A proper old skool local. Close to the Dartmouth St Metro stop.

A pub which is the tap for local brewer Sadlers, and which features their whole range, plus seasonals on handpull. Tastefully modern and obviously well set up for dining, although if you fancy a curry instead, Lye (where the pub is located) is known for the number and quality of it's balti houses. On the 9 bus route which connects Birmingham, Halesowen and Stourbridge.

Well kept beer, Victorian interiors. Not been yet.