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Wednesday 13 February 2019

Beers, Boats and Boozer, 2018. No.35

Despite a surfeit of  Batham's Best Bitter I was on top form the next day. I am pretty sure that the purity of a beer means much less chance of hangovers. I have many less pints of well known largers when abroad and had horrendous hang overs.

I dashed up the road for the Sunday paper and then we were off in lovely weather, heading back up the locks. I think that we are at Hyde lock here as Helen takes it easy.

I'm not sure whether the Staffs and Worcester Canal boundary marker was originally in this place, as it seems somewhat superfluous but is a nice little artifact to have by the lock.

Once we got to Stourton Junction we 'hung a right' and headed up the Stourbridge Canal. The first two ,locks are in a lovely setting, looking back on the finger post at the bottom.

Being on the Stourbridge Canal is a little like been on the Wyrley and Essington Canal, you seems to be the first boat to pass in a long time. Not really true, it just feels like that. The dust and weed on the suface of the water makes it almost look like it has been abandoned in the above photograph.

It was a beautiful Sunday and the anglers were out in force. However I can say that the fishermen around Birmingham are some of the happiest and talkative we have come across on the system. There are always exceptions though, and I'm sure we all have our stories, just as I am also sure that when the piscators get together they will tell stories of rogue narrow boats ploughing through the middle of matches etc.

The dry weather has meant that we have seen more than usual of these blackened fields and woods than in the past years, after they stopped stubble burning that is. This is the Mount Pleasant Covert on the edge of the Ashwood Park Estate. Just the other side of the trees is the start of the West Midlands urban sprawl.

You wouldn't know that Stourbridge is just over the hill.

We turned right again at Wordsley Junction and up the Stourbridge Town Arm. At the end are private moorings but there is the water point etc and winding hole so we went to the end and did what we needed to before winding and heading just clear of the private to the visitor moorings. The Stourbridge Navigation Trust preserved the lovely warehouse and it is their base.

Not knowing when I have had too much of a good thing, we went for a walk into town. It was very quiet on a Sunday evening. I was hoping that there would be some nice interesting pubs to try and some different beers to taste. How ever none really took our fancy and we headed to The Royal Exchange, about 20  mins walk from the moorings. Oh look, what a shame, another Batham's pub. Any body would think I had planned it!

The building started out as a butchers and continued that way for a good while after the back room was converted into a beer house in 1855. In 1946 Batham's were wanting to add to their tally of pubs and they took out the lease on the premises. When the lease expired in 1960 they bought it, and has remained one of the merry band every since.

Until 1951 there was no such thing as Batham's Best Bitter. Only the mild was brewed as the demand was for that in the Black Country. In that year the Swan In at Chaddersley Corbett was bought. This was not in an area of heavy industry and hard labour where mild was the drink, they had a more refined palette, obviously, and the pale beer was brewed for them and Best Bitter was born. Hurray!! It won CAMRA's best beer in 1991/92. I think they must not bother to submit and more, or the judges feel obliged to let others have a chance as I'm sure it would win every year!!

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