Former Dons Star Saluted In Stretton

Whilst beer sommeliers talk about choice and how punters all want Beavertown/Brewdog/Siren options in the local boozers I don’t think anyone has told the people of Stretton as yet.

Marston’s, so beloved by Rich, still produce most of the beers drunk in this suburb of Burton whether it be Carling, Coors, Pedigree or Doom.

Having visited a cracking new tap house with some great new beers on I’d never heard of before, the boozer within one minutes’ walk of this, and lots of beers you had heard of, had a shed load more punters inside at 5pm.

Actually, a lot of them were outside having a fag and a pint in the sun as I approached 384 – Anglesey Arms DE13 0EQ and it is definitely the pub of choice for your local blue collar workers of Stretton.

It’s pictured here on the map to give you a bit of context with the rolling hills of SGP nearby in the Needwood Forest.

And as you can see from this map – all for Martin’s benefit of course – there are a lot of chimney pots by The Green and the Anglesey Arms appears to be benefiting from this.

 

As well as a group of round 10 lads out front, there is a smattering of people in the lounge eating or drinking or playing on the fruit machine whilst there is also a few people outside lapping up the sunshine and looking at the view.

I don’t mean the Co-Op, which is of course hugely impressive, but the bowling green attached to the boozer which ranked alongside the classic one I saw here.

Ian has spoken about the sign of true local in this neck of the woods is to have a bowling green attached to your pub and the last one I saw was in Stapenhill, ironically also named the Anglesey Arms (is there a theme here….?)

No one’s playing on this at the moment although I’m pleased to see they have named the pavilion after former Aberdeen, St Mirren, Rangers, Hibernian, Partick Thistle, Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Clyde, Alloa and Albion Rovers man Dougie Bell.

Little did Dougie know when he was playing at the Mecca of St Andrew’s he would have a bowling green pavilion named after him in Stretton but such is the nationwide appeal of Birmingham City.   Rumours that Duncan performed the opening ceremony due to his Buddies connections have yet to be confirmed…

As well as Pedigree, I could have chosen Abbott or Doom but I have to say the Pedigree (Marston’s) was excellent and all the orders at the bar were for either Doom or Pedigree.

There was a good vibe in this place, plenty of raucous post work stories in the bar/outside and plenty of chatter in the lounge too.

The contrast between numbers in this boozer and the amount of people in The Junction was stark.  Both are looking at lightly different markets but this place is proof that the traditional back street local in the middle of a suburb has plenty of life left in it yet.