The Shropshire Swillers

The Shropshire Swillers Two parched Salopians having a pint in every single pub in our home county! Journey started July 2022, halfway point reached August 2024 🍻
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The local eggs for sale outside said it all - we were visiting another proper country pub. We're in Sambrook next, a tin...
29/06/2025

The local eggs for sale outside said it all - we were visiting another proper country pub. We're in Sambrook next, a tiny village between Drayton and Newport that's home to peace, quiet and our number 360, the Three Horseshoes.

The early years of the Three Horseshoes, a common name for blacksmith-founded beerhouses, are dominated by the the father-son duo of Thomas and William Goodwin, both blacksmiths by trade, who had established their beerhouse by 1851, and also by village butcher Clement Woolley who took the pub into the 20th century and through the Great War until he died in 1929. I suspect the brick and sandstone outbuilding next to the pub has something to do with the trades worked here, perhaps serving as the Goodwin's smithy or Clement's shop once upon a time. Someone from the village may know more!

A public bar, lounge and games room make up the interior of the 'Shoes, with a beer garden to the rear and a roadside terrace through the front door completing the set. It's an easily likeable pub of quarry tiles, timber furniture and the colour red that somehow manages to keep going as a wet-led venture, though burgers and hotdogs are available when they have an event on.

Charlotte thoroughly enjoyed her excellent half pint of Three Tuns Solstice in the sun while I, still firmly in the clutches of a vicious hangover, gingerly and reluctantly attacked my hair of the dog half a Guinness. We appreciated the lengthy conversation we had with Remy, a master Guinness shamrock pourer, and her partner Tej who together help landlady Gail run the place. Remy had a ghost story or two to tell including that of a female spirit who kicks up a fuss if she doesn't like the present masters of the house. Fortunately for Gail it's been all smiles from the ghostly maiden so far which is undoubtably the best feedback of all!

Still in North Shropshire, we come to the only pub in the county to sit beside the main branch of the Shropshire Union c...
26/06/2025

Still in North Shropshire, we come to the only pub in the county to sit beside the main branch of the Shropshire Union canal; Shropshire's other canalside pubs are on the Montgomery and Llangollen canals. After a short waterside walk, which saw Darcy save herself from being fully immersed in the murky waters thanks to a last minute frantic scramble, we were ready for a pint of Butty Bach in the sun at the Wharf Tavern in Goldstone, our number 359.

When the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was completed in 1835 it included several wharves along the route for the transfer of goods and sales of essentials. Goldstone wharf was built into the network as a coaling stop situated next to the farmhouse of Thomas Lockley, an enterprising gent from a long line of Goldstone men for whom Lockleywood is named. With the recent passing of the 1830 Beerhouse Act it was an ideal situation for Thomas and by 1841 he had established the Wharf Tavern.

The original farmhouse has been extensively enlarged and modernized since Thomas' day, most noticeably by what appears to be an interwar extension on the north side where the sizeable bar area is now held. Butty, Tribute and Doom Bar on the hand pulls isn't the most inventive lineup, but then this isn't particularly a country drinker's pub as further evidenced by the ban on dogs inside. I've heard a lot of good things about the lasagna, and the canalside beer garden, part of a classic English scene, is an excellent vantage point to watch the barges go by, though overall this one feels like a restaurant with a bar more than anything else.

Another North Shropshire Joule's pub and another success. I'm telling you now the best of the brewery's collection are a...
22/06/2025

Another North Shropshire Joule's pub and another success. I'm telling you now the best of the brewery's collection are all in Helen Morgan's constituency. The White Lion in Wem is our number 358 and as soon as we walked in and saw all the Liverpool memorabilia we knew we were in the right kind of place.

The White Lion was built in the early 19th century but existed prior to this by 1791 at least. By 1807 it was a staging post for Union Coach services to Shrewsbury, Whitchurch, Chester and Manchester, and in the 1850's was home to the town's taxation office. Joules took over the White Lion in 2013, having acquired it from Punch, and has done as solid a job as ever in the renovation. We don't know what the layout was prior to Joules, or whether they've changed much, but we do like that the bar is at the very core of the pub with the separate rooms orbiting it.

From the three Joule's real ales available we had a pint of Pale and it's a rare day indeed that we catch the stuff so early in the barrel that it tastes like honeycomb, what a delight! This was a fully positive visit, and not just because the landlord supports the best football team in the land, but because the White Lion delivered where it mattered most - in good beer, a warm welcome from both the staff and locals and perhaps the greatest display of individuality I've ever seen in a Joule's pub.

Wem. Home to the shortest-named railway station in the country. Famed for brewing, Greg Davies, treacle mines and the Ec...
20/06/2025

Wem. Home to the shortest-named railway station in the country. Famed for brewing, Greg Davies, treacle mines and the Eckford Sweet Pea. I went to school here, and in the time since I left the town has lost 3 pubs permanently with another 2 temporarily closed leaving it, currently, with 4 open pubs. A bleak comparison to the 30 it once boasted. One of those still standing is the Hawkestone Arms on the corner of New Street and Pyms Road, a pub I'd curiously observe every day on the school bus wondering what it looked like inside.

I have to say the public bar and lounge of number 357 are much smaller than I expected them to be, though I believe there's a less-utilised snug room somewhere else in the building! The pub dates to the early 19th century and I first find it named as the Hawkestone Arms in an 1830 tithe map of Wem as one of two pubs in the town named in homage to the Hill family of Hawkstone Park, who would have been exceptionally popular at the time after General Rowland Hill's heroics at Waterloo.

A sedate, straightforward New Brew pub, the Hawkestone had a surprising 3 real ales available during our visit from which we selected two halves of Black Sheep bitter, settling down together at the stub end of the L-shaped open plan layout. The young barmaid was friendly and straight over to Darcy with a bowl of water after we sat down, and though this was a quiet visit the pub was pleasant enough with a clear focus on live entertainment, sports and pub games.

Have you ever seen a ploughman's as good as this? We've got a strong contender for best lunch in Shropshire here at the ...
17/06/2025

Have you ever seen a ploughman's as good as this? We've got a strong contender for best lunch in Shropshire here at the largely unknown and remarkably unspoilt Duck Inn in Chorley near Stottesdon, a genuine hidden gem that's been in the hands of the same family for 42 years; a tenth of it's 400 year history!

Originally a drover's inn, number 356 is nestled in a glorious patch of rural paradise surrounded by grassy meadows and quiet woodlands which made ideal walking territory to get Darcy nice and tired ahead of our visit. Although it's set back from the main lane through Chorley village, and therefore easy for the modern traveller to miss, the pub once provided a homely haven for those travelling on the drover's road between Stottesdon and the Severn crossing at Highley.

Free houses are the best houses. With the mortgage paid and no ties to anyone the lovely, welcoming family who run The Duck Inn are free as a bird, quenching thirsty farmers with HPA and packing hungry bellies with rotating food offerings. The inside is exactly what you'd expect it to be with cosy nooks and crannies, low ceilings, fashionably old-fashioned pub decor unchanged for decades, historic memorabilia and ducks galore.

This example of a dying breed of pub was a breath of fresh air and will definitely be going down in our "best in Shropshire" collection. I can't say this enough - our ploughman's was unbeatable, the star of the show being the homemade scotch egg, and only galvanises our intention to return, only next time we'll have a roast dinner on our minds. We don't even care that the drink selection is limited to HPA, lager or Guinness, we'd come back here every week if we could. Before I finish, I have to warn you not to be caught out by the funny opening times like we did a couple of months ago, I've updated Google Maps so you have the accurate information available to plan your visit properly!

Though the broad appeal is obvious, Joule's transformative £1m renovation of the Stag's Head is one hundred percent best...
16/06/2025

Though the broad appeal is obvious, Joule's transformative £1m renovation of the Stag's Head is one hundred percent best appreciated if you're a Draytoner. To put it bluntly, the Stag's former self was a shadow of it's present state and the revival of this one is a resurrection of Biblical proportions. We officially ticked number 355 off after our day out in Whitchurch but in my mate Ben's words I was "absolutely steamboated" resulting in no notes or photos whatsoever so we've had to make a return trip, how terrible. I did forget to take an outside photo though so I've had to borrow this one from the brewery, sorry!

The Stag's been around since at least 1828 and was substantially remodelled in the latter part of Victoria's reign, resulting in a Mock Tudor frontage attached to the Georgian section at the back end of the pub. Joules have added a foyer, beer terrace and the massive Brewer's Hall to the rear and are even offering function hire of the hall for free! It's currently the Red Lion's turn to enjoy a renovation with August bookmarked as the approximate completion, after which the Stag will revert to solely providing for functions which we think is a huge shame!

There won't be many pubs around that can compete with the Stag's collection of pub games, with darts, chess, skittles, backgammon and shuffleboard all available to be played while you enjoy one of the five Joule's ales or something from their three keg lines. We had an excellent half of Pale and a refreshing pint of the Hedgerow citrus pilsner; a fantastic summertime beverage. Consistency across the board has been an issue for us when it comes to Joule's ales but like a mountain spring it's best at source - I can safely say I've never had a bad pint of Joule's at the Red Lion and, now, the Stag.

We like the snug, the quietest, quaintest and quintessentially charming corner of the pub, and Charlotte is incredibly impressed with the hall as it reminds her of the Bierhallen we've been to in Germany! Our only gripes? Serving times can be really quite lengthy at the bar and the Korean loaded fries were way, way too salty. Otherwise? Bravo Joule's, our hats go off to you!

I've got a lot of good memories at our eleventh and final stop in Whitchurch, most of which involve the company of the c...
12/06/2025

I've got a lot of good memories at our eleventh and final stop in Whitchurch, most of which involve the company of the chap with me here in this photograph that was taken just before the first lockdown, after which we never saw each other again. Andrew Muldowney, who sadly passed away well before his time a couple of years back, was a gentle soul, an avid Brighton fan and a good friend to all that knew him. I'm sure he's sorely missed in Whitchurch. It was here at his old local, the Wheatsheaf, that we discovered why the rest of town was largely empty - the entire population was here for a big, beery, BBQey charity event!

Though first named as the Wheatsheaf in the census of 1861 under Hannah Wycherley and her daughter Eliza, number 354 dates to the 1700's and may well have gone under this name prior to 1861 as Hannah had been landlady for many decades beforehand. It was a coaching inn throughout the 19th century, as evidenced by the archway, and today still offers several rooms along with victuals for the tired and hungry traveller.

The bar was packed. The beer garden was packed. What a party Caz and Gaz threw here at the Sheaf! The grill was rolling and we had a late burger lunch to keep us going washed down with a HPA, one of four ales available, while we watched everyone on the upper terrace dance about. The only blot on the visit was that dad wasn't too pleased with his pint of Landlord and Charlotte thought the same about her HPA. I was pretty much on a different planet by this point so I enjoyed the do regardless of the ale; it was nice to go back after so many years and see the pub in full vigour though it'll never quite be the same again for me.

Where do we even begin with Percy's in Whitchurch? There's nowhere in Shropshire quite like this place, not even the Yor...
08/06/2025

Where do we even begin with Percy's in Whitchurch? There's nowhere in Shropshire quite like this place, not even the Yorkshire House comes close to the bewildering experience that is our number 353 so I'll mostly let the photos paint the picture rather than words. Argue amongst yourselves whether it's a pub or not, the history is on our side and so is the 8.4% Suicider on the hand pull!

It's extremely difficult to imagine Percy's as a Georgian coaching inn but that's how it started out, operating by 1797 at least as the Star Inn. Don't fully take my word for it but as far I can tell the Star closed under Marstons around 10 plus years back, reopened as a free house, café and antique shop before morphing into the eccentric music venue we have today.

I stepped into Percy's after a 12 hour shift on New Year's Eve 2019. Everyone I was with was well on their way and I wanted to catch up. I had two pints of Suicider. I do not remember anything else. If I wasn't already about eight pints down by the time I walked through the door this time around I'd probably have had another go at it but Camden Stout made a suitable Plan B instead.

Percy's is loud, not just in volume but in everything else too, it's a pub that gets in your face, doesn't care what you think of it and you know what...I love it. I wouldn't go every week personally but it's always a good laugh when I do. Dad loves it too and says it was his favourite from our day out! It's not going to be to everyone's taste of course, and Charlotte's view opposes our own but we expected that to be the case 🤣 Thanks to the barman for how good he was with the dog, she may have looked out of place but she was brilliantly looked after!

The Old Town Hall Vaults in Whitchurch, known colloquially as 'the Backies', is probably my favourite Joule's pub outsid...
04/06/2025

The Old Town Hall Vaults in Whitchurch, known colloquially as 'the Backies', is probably my favourite Joule's pub outside of Market Drayton which I'd say is some accolade for a Drayton boy to grant. Number 352 is an examplary backstreet pub and of all the pubs in our county is the only one with a listed privy!

As with many other pubs in Whitchurch the Backies wasn't built for the purpose of beering but rather as a merchant's house in the 1830's when St Mary's Street was known as Back Street. Solely domestic living didn't last too long though and by the 1850's it was a parlour pub called the Backstreet Vaults, sharing the floorspace with the tenant's living room which in 1862 was where famed composer Sir Edward German was born to religious teacher Betsy Jones and her husband John, a wine merchant, brewer, lay preacher and pub landlord.

With the walls knocked through this is a single roomed pub divided into three areas with two by the bar and another more private lounge around the corner, all decorated in the usual Joule's manner. Outside is a small but functional L-shaped courtyard and the aforementioned listed gent's loos - a glorious place to spend a penny.

There's Joules ales on at this one including the marvellous limited edition 'Talus' Batch golden ale which was my choice of pint while Charlotte had half a Joule's pale. This used to be the only Joules pub I knew of that would serve a guest ale but this practice has sadly come to an end since the pandemic. Rach the friendly barmaid came out for a nice chitchat with us and was great company; it's always been a warm welcome and a solid atmosphere here so it's good to see this culture continue a few years down the line at this cracking Joule's house!

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