Tag: Wednesbury

Bus Runs Route 79 West Brom to Wolverhampton

I’m tellin’ ya, folks, this bus run don’t get no respect.

I went out Saturday intending to finish the 79 route (see Bus Route Runs for details on the project) but an extra, new road on a roundabout and my general dearth wrt sense of direction left me with a little more to pick up on Sunday (18 Feb 2024) so there you have it.

The 79 is Jimi’s most hated AND favourite route as it is the only one he’s been on (he seems to like the bus) but it takes him to the vet. We might try a tram ride together sometime, though, just for the journey.

For me, the 79 is the easiest way to get back to the buurt when laden with groceries in Wednesbury, hardware in Hilltop, or when the weather is shit in central West Brom. So, I’ve never really seen a lot of the sites along the route above Darlaston.

The architecture — industrial, commercial, and residential — changes rapidly all along the path and winter makes it easier to inspect a lot of it. It may be worth revisiting some of it in the summer for comparison.

The map shows the first 9 runs to cover new segments of the route although 2 of the early ones would have been covered by the other 7 easily.

Bus Runs Routes 41A and 64 Finished

The day I lit out to finish the 64 bus route on the Bus Runs Project I planned to catch the tram to Wednesbury, cover a few other bus route segments, then pick up my targeted route segment on the run home. My timing was impeccable as I arrived 2 minutes early to the tram stop only to find that the tram arrived 2 minutes and 15 seconds early. Rather than wait it out, I decided to reverse the plan and headed up the bike path along the tramway. There was a little bit of new graffiti out including the tag by the WTAS Crew, above, under a bridge between Dudley Street/Guns Village and Black Lake.

Whilst adding the 11 February run to the various maps I realised I also completed the 41A:

Being Sunday lunchtime, there wasn’t much foot traffic — nor, in fact, traffic — in Wednesbury. It was kind of a breakthrough run, though, the kind that comes a few weeks after returning to heavier activity following a long period of injury and illness. Still not fast (nor ever expecting to be again), this was the first run that felt…pleasurable. 

Route 41A was completed with runs on January 6, 7, and 14 plus February 4 and 11. Route 64 was covered using all of those dates plus bits of January 20 and 28 plus February 10. 

The Queen’s Head, Wednesbury

Pub #2669:

In Wednesbury to buy the Christmas tree, I opted to pay for delivery so I wouldn’t have to wrestle it through town to — and up to the house from — the tram. Freed from that hassle, I walked over to give the Queen’s Head a try.

Pleasant enough conversation with the mom of this small-but-solid and very clever bulldog. Noveau country music was on when I arrived (I think that was Darius Rucker, of all people, on the telly) but when the blokes came in from a breath of fresh air and tobacco the barman switched everything to metal.

Ho ho ho!

The Roost, Wednesbury

Pub #2662:

I walked from the Lord Nelson to the Roost on the recommendation of someone at the first pub who lives near the second one. There seemed to be shock that a stranger wandered in and the pub, a bit on the rough, locals-only side, seemed held together by baling wire and chewing gum. My kind of place but I can see why the Nelson might be your preferred hangout given a choice.

I went for lager, again, although there were some surprising offerings on tap. Unsurprising was the way everyone, except me, who walked in reeked of weed but the due diligence of Zero Tolerance placards was up and I’m certain these were strictly adhered to.

The real attraction appeared to be the billiard table with several fellows arriving with their own cues and one even bringing his own set of billiard balls. Alternatively, the barman will play cribbage with you or the old-men-in-decline will offer you opinions on the 80s music videos played just a little too loudly.

The Lord Nelson, Wednesbury (with a Cut Mark en route)

Pub #2661:

I dozed off on the tram home and awoke as the doors were shutting at my last sensible stop. Consulting my map, I identified the Lord Nelson as the closest nearby pub I had not yet visited and rode on to Wednesbury.

Along the route thru an industrial area I logged another Cut Benchmark which was helpfully filled with moss providing contrast to the wall.

Heh heh…tube benders…heheheh:

Safely inside the pub, I ordered my beer and was accosted about my accent (by folks who pronounce the ‘Roast’ in Roast Chicken crisps, “Rowst”). I related my story — minus the trigpointing and tube bending refs — and after they stopped laughing about me sleeping all the way from Atlanta to Birmingham on the tram we had a grand chat about different pubs in the area.

Turns out, the bartender grew up in my neighbourhood and his brother runs the Old Royal Oak which I visited earlier this year but what seems like ages ago. The guy I was sitting with even tipped me off to another pub I hadn’t ever spotted and not a five minute walk away. I made the executive decision to head there rather than stick around for a second on here.

Cut Mark: The ESO of the C&S, Wednesbury

Pedestrians were moseying diffused across most of the pavements so I steered my run down streets normally abandoned. One of those went past St James Church which purportedly had a Cut Benchmark on one face but has always been locked away at the street gate when I’ve passed before.

And, lo, the gates were swung wide for me this fine day.

The church has long since converted to a Nigerian congregation known as the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim, with the old school across the street now another African church, or possibly choich.

St James has plain glass windows typical of Anglican churches that have dodged adornment since the time of the Civil War when stained glass was considered heretical (or, at least a distraction).

I Googled the ESOCS but their websites tend to be ‘unsecure,’ so I got some info from Wiki. The photos available online show this church’s services to be costume oriented. I snapped my Cut Mark photo and left promptly for my pub stop, concerned I might be kidnapped and forced into labour but the congregation is probably more a danger to its members than to the general public.

A Game of Two Halves

I missed all my front end Cut Marks including one that was supposed to be on the Rosehill Tavern, my midpoint on this run. The others fell in rapid succession with an 80% hit rate. Trigging is like that.

At the start, I took the Gilbert blue brick as a promising sign. Hubris.

Where the fence on the left, below, meets the wall (either down the bottom of the stairs or just behind me) was supposed to have another Benchmark but nooooooo:

The cannon at the top of the hill foreshadowed the weird compound it stands by.

Something of a fortress, I have yet to get a satisfactory answer for what this place is:

After the Rosehill Tavern, I found my first mark on this former church, former Citizens Advice Bureau, and current Islamic education centre:

The Library held the second CM. The front of the building was polluted with adolescent girls so I took the photo around the side:

#30 Lower High Street holds a Ukrainian restaurant and the third mark of this fruitful section.

Just down the hill from there, #48 was my first failed find since leaving the Rosehill. The Island Lounge, across the way, has one employee and she refuses to serve you (so, that was the SECOND miss of the back half…but the Turk’s Head two doors down will fix you up):

Finally, as I was heading back to the tram I picked up my last Cut Mark on the CURRENT Citizen’s Advice but the Science School next door was so much more compelling to photograph:

The Turk’s Head, Wednesbury

Pub #2637:

I tried to drink in the Island Lounge but it was far too much trouble for the only other person in the house to stand up and walk three strides to the bar. “Don’t get up…I’ll just go to the Turk’s” which is only two doors down and quite lively and, more importantly, willing to exchange your coins for their beer.

Family groups predominated and mingled loudly. The pool table had a long wait and was surrounded by hecklers. The tellies were showing rock concerts and the tannoy playing different rock oldies (for instance, I watched Don McLean doing American Pie but listened to Maggie Mae by Rod Stewart).

It has only recently renamed to the Turk’s Head and I never went to the old version of this beer joint, but it sure FEELS familiar.

The Rosehill Tavern, Wednesbury

Pub #2636:

The couple running the Rosehill Tavern couldn’t be nicer but they were talking shop and the only folks in the joint. The music they were streaming drove me out to the garden where there were Buddha heads and a ceramic frog and a very phallic castle tower and solitude.

The bar is a work in progress but it seems to be coming together. You should go there.