Coalbrookdale Inn, Telford

A nice Georgian building that has been used as a pub since 1834, it is currently owned by Punch Taverns but the landlord informed me that he was free of tie so he can buy his real ales from anywhere just like a privately owned free house. The pub has two small rooms, an L shaped public bar on the left and a dining lounge on the right. Once you have scaled the two dozen or so steps from the street up to the front door you will enter the public bar which has a small square bar counter in the middle of the room, red fabric upholstered bench seats, a cast iron fire place at the back of the room with a flat screen TV on the wall in the back left corner. The lounge is entered by a door at the end of a short corridor which runs behind the bar, this room has an empty fire place at the back with several tables laid out for dining. The décor throughout the pub is traditional with various paintings and old photos on the walls. Worth a mention is the large stained glass partition between the bar and lounge. The pub is also a B&B with at least three rooms I believe. Regular ales are Enville Ale, Hobsons Town Crier and Ironbridge Foundry Gold with three changing guest beers usually from Shropshire or neighbouring counties. On this visit they were Wye Valley Hereford Pale Ale, Three Tuns XXX and Clerics Cure. I tried the Foundry Gold and Clerics Cure which were both well kept (GBG 2010). This is a great traditional pub with a brilliant selection of real ales, I was with a couple of friends on this occasion and despite not visiting the pub before we were warmly welcomed by the landlord and the general atmosphere was friendly. Note the warnings about the car park in the reviews bellow, it is tiny and awkward, but don’t let this put you off as it is one of the best pubs in the Ironbridge Gorge area and Telford as a whole.

You have to walk up a few steps to get into this pub and as soon as you walk through the door the bar is immediately in front of you. There's a separate dining room on the right and a great piece of stained glass with the pub name in it. On the left hand side are a few settles, tables and chairs. Plenty of stuff around the walls relating to the pub which has apparently been around since the 1830's, I suspect it's not changed that much since. Six handpumps on the bar, five on selling Ironbridge Pale and Gold plus one each from Stationhouse, Hobsons and Three Tuns. I had a pint of the Ironbridge Pale which tasted very good even though it looked a little hazy (I've had several beers from the Ironbridge brewery and they all seem to struggle to clear fully). I was on my way down into Ironbridge and was therefore in the car, so I could only have one. The car park is interesting to say the least. You have to back out on to the road that passes the pub. It's very narrow at this point and so it's traffic light controlled. You have to scoot out as soon as the lights change or you get caught facing the wrong way with a stream of cars heading towards you. Great fun. It's a good pub is this, well worth a visit.

National Pub of the Year in 1995. Superb selection of local real ales, good varied menu. Although the furnishings are a little basic it is nontheless very comfortable. Friendly local clientele. Only reason to down mark this place is the awful car parking. Located on a very narrow stretch of road controlled by traffic lights, the car park caters for only 4 or 5 vehicles. Within walking distance of the Coalbrookdale museums. Well worth a visit.