The Cross Keys

The Cross Keys, Penkridge, Staffordshire ST19 5HJ

An old pub standing by the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal to the south-east of the village centre, it was originally isolated in the middle of open fields, but has now been surrounded by post-war housing development. It is accessed from a residential street called Filance Road, and is not signed as such, although it is clearly visible along a side turning.

The original front door opens on to the canal towparth, and leads into the long public bar, with a real fire at one end, which enjoys a healthy local trade from the nearby estates. It is also popular with boaters in the summer months. There is a sizeable lounge to the rear right, where food appears to be popular. At the far end of the lounge is a lower section with bench seating. A rear door leads from the lounge to the car park.

A possibly unique feature is that the cask beers – on my visit Doom Bar and Hobgoblin Gold – are dispensed by electric metered pump into brim measure glasses. The fact that they fit in the glass with the sparkler fairly slack underlines how brim measures provide a small degree of overmeasure. The handpumps mounted on the bar are dummies. This style of presentation may discomfit some cask drinkers, but arguably it retains more condition in the beer than if drawn through a handpump, and the beer is certainly real enough.

The StreetView link shows the rear of the pub. The front is not directly accessible by road and I have borrowed the photograph from CAMRA’s WhatPub site. The pub has an extensive car park and is around 15 minutes’ walk from Penkridge Station on the Wolverhampton-Stafford line.

The Green Man

The Green Man, Milwich, Staffordshire ST18 0EG

Milwich is a pleasant village situated in the deep Staffordshire countryside on the B5027 between Stone and Uttoxeter. The Green Man stands on the road junction in the village centre opposite a picturesque red-brick schoolhouse with a stone plaque dating it to 1833.

It’s a long, low, cream-painted building. The entrance on the right-hand side takes you into the main bar, which is the heart of the pub, with parquet floor, real fire and bench seating against the windows. Beyond this is an area with more of a public bar feel, and further on again a raised dining area. There is a large and attractive beer garden at the rear.

It was once tied to Bass, and older StreetView images show it still in Bass livery, although it has been independently run since 1990. The regular cask beers are Bass and Ruddles Bitter, with typically a couple of others divided between national brands and local microbreweries. Food is served on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday lunchtime, with the Sunday lunches seeming particularly popular. It is open seven days a week, but only from 4 pm Monday to Wednesday.

It’s a good example of the kind of country pub striking a balance between local trade and dining that was once commonplace, but has now been rendered increasingly rare by widespread closures and the advance of the gastropub.

The pub has a large car park on the right hand side. A little research shows no evidence of a bus service through the village, so the nearest public transport is five miles away at Stone. A mile up the road in the Stone direction is the wonderfully unspoilt Red Lion at Dayhills.

The Blue Mugge

The Blue Mugge, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 6LJ

A highly characterful street-corner pub situated in an area of mixed terraced housing and industrial premises a few minutes’ walk to the east of the town centre. The plain redbrick exterior conceals a surprisingly extensive multi-roomed interior. There are a variety of areas radiating around the central island bar, including a large lounge with seating alcoves at front left, a spacious dining area to the rear, and a public bar in the apex separated by doors from the rest of the pub.

On a recent visit, the beer range was Bass, Doom Bar, Exmoor Ale and a guest ale from Neepsend. It is a permanent Bass outlet and sells it at a very reasonable price. The handpumps are situated on the back bar fitting rather than the counter. It evidently does a good trade in lunchtime meals and is open, and busy, at a time when many pubs in similar locations would be firmly shut.

Free parking is available on the surrounding streets, and it’s only a short walk to Leek Bus Station from where there is a regular, although bladder-challenging, service to Stoke-on-Trent.

The Cricketers Arms

The Cricketers Arms, Oakamoor, Staffordshire ST10 3AB

Oakamoor is a small village set in the wooded Churnet Valley close to Alton Towers, and approached in both directions on the B5417 by long, steep hills. The Cricketers Arms is a small, white-painted pub set right at the lowest point next to the river and slightly below the road level.

While it outwardly gives the appearance of a basic rustic alehouse, inside it is actually smarter and more modern than might be expected, although still intimate and cosy with a multi-roomed feel. The bar is against the back wall, with two snug-type areas with bench seating at the front on either side of the door, and another seating area to the rear right. There is also a fairly plain pool room, and a beer garden next to the river.

On a recent visit, the beer range was Bass, Pedigree and Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale. No food is served, and it only opens in the evenings during the week, opening at 2 pm on Saturdays and noon on Sundays. There is no pub car park, but there is a small public car park opposite next to some old lime kilns. The village is served by the 32A bus service between Alton Towers and Cheadle, which does run on Sundays, but not at all in the evenings.

The Boat and Horses

The Boat and Horses, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 1LU

A street-corner pub just outside the town centre on the road to Eccleshall and Newport. The name comes form the Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal, closed in 1935, which joined the Trent & Mersey near Stoke station, following a U-shaped course to avoid the hill between the two towns. It is now painted white, but was blue in earlier iterations of Google StreetView. After a brief period of closure, it was revived by an experienced licensee and merited an entry in CAMRA’s 2022 Good Beer Guide.

At the time of writing, it offers four permanent beers – Draught Bass, Salopian Oracle, Thornbridge Jaipur and Facer’s North Star Porter – together with two rotating guests, although unfortunately on my recent visit Bass was not available due to the current supply difficulties. There is no food, but customers are welcome to bring in their own meals or snacks. It seems to have re-established itself as a welcoming wet-led local in a part of the town dominated by modern bars.

The interior is basically one long single room, with the bar in the centre faced by a bank of bench seating, a raised snug-type area to the left and a section with more of a public bar feel to the right. There is also an outside drinking area at the rear. There is a public car park opposite which is free on Sundays.

The Red Lion

The Red Lion, Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 2JH

An outwardly unassuming cottage pub situated on what was once the main road through the town, but is now a dead end leading to a pedestrianised area. It used to have its own car park on the right-hand side, but this has now been sold off for redevelopment. However, there is a public car park on the other side which is free to use on Sundays.

The brick exterior conceals a timber-framed building dating back to the 16th century, with an unspoilt interior that earns it a full entry on CAMRA’s National Inventory. The heart of the pub is the central public bar, with wood panelling and a quarry-tiled floor. There are two other low-ceiling rooms on either side, the one on the right with a dartboard and an alcove of bench seating.

It still carries Banks’s signage, and the beer range consists of Banks’s Mild and Bitter, plus another from the Marston’s stable such as EPA. It is a traditional wet-led pub, and no food is served. Although the now-closed power station gives Rugeley an industrial image, it is a very long-established market town, and the centre contains a number of historic buildings.

The Victoria

The Victoria, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 1HX

A bay-windowed street corner pub just east of Newcastle town centre on the main road to Hanley. Internally, it has been knocked through into one room, but retains a carpeted snug area to the right of the entrance door, together with a longer, wood-floored bar area to the left, both liberally provided with red dralon bench seating.

Draught Bass is at the core of the beer range, alongside, on my recent visit, Doom Bar and Titanic Plum Porter. Not, maybe, an absolute unspoilt classic that people will travel miles to visit, but a fine example of that vanishing species, the cosy, welcoming local.

The Yew Tree

The Yew Tree, Cauldon, Staffordshire ST10 3EJ

An old brick and stone pub in the shadow of the eponymous yew tree, and incongruously situated just up the road from a giant stone-crushing plant. The unassuming exterior conceals a quite incredible collection of assorted paraphernalia assembled over the years by veteran licensee Alan East, making it as much a museum as a pub. Pride of place goes to the several working pianolas, but it also includes radios, typewriters, antique bicycles, guns and a huge variety of other items.

Behind the low, cottage-style frontage the interior is surprisingly spacious. The front left-hand room is entirely given over to part of the collection, but further back there is another room featuring fixed seating resembling old choir stalls. The heart of the pub is the main room facing the quadrant bar, with old settles, table skittles and dartboard, and further to the right is a lounge-type extension with plenty more bench seating. Dark wood and low light predominate throughout.

The beer range is sensibly limited to BUrton Bridge Bridge Bitter and Rudgate Ruby Mild as regulars, with one rotating guest, generally from local micro-breweries. There’s always a case of pork pies on the bar, and sandwiches are also available. I spotted a cooked meal being served on a Sunday lunchtime, but I’m not sure whether that’s a regular public offering.

The Yew Tree is one of Britain’s true classics and one that every lover of pubs should visit at least once during their lifetime. While obviously something of a tourist attraction, it clearly has a strong core of regulars and you’re likely to hear some good old-school pub conversation around the bar.

The Vaults

The Vaults, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire ST14 8HP

An unassuming, shop-like frontage on Uttoxeter’s Market Place conceals a pub interior of great character running deep down the original burgage plot. The heart of the pub is the front bar with lino floor, bench seating and pictures on the walls of excursions by regulars to many other classic pubs. Behind this is a middle room featuring a devil among the tailors game, and a comfortable carpeted rear lounge with upholstered benches. The toilets are yet further back along the side passageway running the full length of the pub. It is included as a regional entry on CAMRA’s National Inventory.

It’s very much a classic drink and chat pub with no food served. For many years it was a stronghold of Draught Bass, with a famous photo showing all five handpumps bearing Bass pumpclips, but on my recent visit I was pleased to see they had added Stockport-brewed Robinson’s Wizard as a guest beer.

The Vine

The Vine, Brierley Hill, Staffordshire DY5 2TN

Often known as the “Bull & Bladder”, the Vine, with its striking exterior, is perhaps the acme of “real pubs”. It’s the brewery tap for Batham’s, with their small brewery abutting on to the left-hand side of the pub. It’s located in a characteristically rather amorphous part of the Black Country about half a mile south of Brierley Hill town centre. The spacious car park opposite undoubtedly increases its appeal to visitors travelling from further afield.

It retains many original features and is a regional entry on CAMRA’s National Inventory. There are four rooms – the classic, unspoilt public bar on the right, a comfortable lounge on the left, with plenty of bench seating, a cosy snug at the rear left and a long room behind the bar at the rear right with a dartboard at the end.

Batham’s highly-regarded Mild and Bitter are served at very reasonable prices, together with their Old Ale in the winter. Traditional Black Country meals are served on Monday to Friday lunchtimes, but it’s essentially a classic drink and chat pub where you’re likely to hear plenty of distinctive Black Country accents and banter.

(Photo courtesy of Batham’s Brewery)

The Swan

The Swan, Brewood, Staffordshire ST19 9BS

Brewood is a large village in South-West Staffordshire that in the past has claimed the status of a town. It still boasts a central market place with the three-storey Lion Inn and the striking house with Gothick windows visible on the right-hand side of the picture. The Swan is an old former coaching inn on the west side of the market place, with an arch leading through into the car park.

Inside it is more down-to-earth than you would expect, with a central U-shaped bar, around which the drinkers cluster, and a couple of comfortable snugs on either side. Outside is an impressively large and comfortable smoking shelter. The dark wood, cream walls and red upholstery colour scheme suggest a former Bass pub. According to the Good Beer Guide no food is served beyond cobs on weekday lunchtimes. The regular beer range is Theakston Black Bull, Deuchars IPA, Wye Valley HPA and Courage Directors, plus two guests, on my visit including Taylors Landlord. It’s hard to fault the pub, but it would be good to see Draught Bass and other Staffordshire beers on the bar.

The Manor Arms

The Manor Arms, Rushall, Staffordshire WS4 1LG

A four-square, white-painted pub tucked away down a cul-de-sac in the northern suburbs of Walsall and backing on to the Daw End Branch of the Rushall Canal. It features on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors and claims to originally date from the 12th century, although the present building is mostly 18th century. The track past the pub takes you to the Park Lime Pits country park.

The highlight is the unspoilt public bar on the left with handpumps installed against the back wall and no bar counter as such. There’s also a central corridor with serving hatch, a smoke room on the right with bench seating and quarry tiles, and a plainer, modern lounge to the rear. The pub also has an extensive beer garden overlooking the canal, and so is an ideal spot for a summer weekend lunchtime.

Once an M&B house, it has now passed into the hands of Banks’s/Marston’s, with a beer range of Banks’s Mild and Bitter plus four changing guests from the Marston’s range. It has been reported as serving lunches in the past, but on my recent visit had a sign saying “kitchen now closed” – I’m not sure how permanent that is.

The Brushmakers’ Arms

The Brushmakers’ Arms, Oulton, Staffordshire ST15 8UW

Redbrick corner pub with a slightly urban feel, although in a quiet, off-the-beaten-track village near Stone. The heart of the pub is the bar, with quarry-tiled floor, dartboard and extensive bench seating. There’s also a small, cosy lounge right in the corner. Serves a couple of Thwaites beers plus one guest, but no food. A true classic of old-school pubs. Note the scarecrow with plastic barrel propped up against the wall. The Wheatsheaf a couple of doors down the road is now closed.

The Great Western

The Great Western, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV10 0DJ

Tucked away in an unpromising location behind the station, this pub was taken over a couple of decades ago by Holden’s Brewery and has since thrived under their ownership. It offers the full range of their beers plus the superb Batham’s Best Bitter and three guests.

The interior comprises a classic, bustling front bar, a snug to the right, a long lounge area to the left with bench seating along one wall, a conservatory dining area at the rear with separate tables and a south-facing beer garden which can be a surprising sun-trap. Unusually for a pub in such an urban location, it has its own sizeable car park. A range of straightforward meals is served at lunchtimes. The entire pub is, not surprisingly, packed with railway memorabilia.

It seems busy throughout the day with a wide variety of customers, although with something of a bias towards an older male clientele. Once stranded amongst post-industrial dereliction, the surrounding area has more recently seen extensive housing development which hopefully will provide a supply of future customers.

The Red Lion

The Red Lion, Dayhills, Staffordshire ST15 8RU

A truly unspoilt country pub, part of a working farm, in the depths of rural Staffordshire east of Stone. The building itself has no sign indicating that it is a pub; there’s just an inn sign at the roadside and the small sign on an outbuilding shown on the picture. The car park is the area of hard standing, without any marked bays, in front of the pub.

The interior is basically just one room with a quarry-tiled floor, bench seating and old settles, dominated by a huge inglenook fireplace. The beer range centres on Midlands classic Draught Bass together with a couple of guest beers - Bombardier and Doom Bar on my visit in August 2016. No food is served. There aren’t many like this left, more’s the pity.

The Anchor

The Anchor, High Offley, Staffordshire ST20 0NG

A Victorian pub set by the Shropshire Union Canal in a very isolated rural location. It has two small rooms – a bar with old, high-backed settles on the right and a lounge on the left which is a tribute to 1950s formica. The only cask beer available is Wadworth’s 6X, served from a handpump but topped up from a jug. The pub is, not surprisingly, packed with canal memorabilia. It has a spacious beer garden with plenty of seating and comes into its own on sunny summer weekend lunchtimes. Opening hours in winter may be limited.