Sir Charles Napier, Birmingham

Despite the grand name and traditional appearance, this turns out to be fairly basic 'L'-shaped bar, with a mix of furniture and plain decor and a notional Irish theme. No real ale, and even the keg M&B Mild proved to be a mirage, so (inevitably) it had to be John Smiths (£2.60).

Quite large back street local with lounge area and bar, basic but tidy. No draught bitter/mild, only cans, apparently there is no demand. Very much a locals pub.

A large Victorian corner pub, with an upper frontage in cream with sash style windows with different lintel styles. The pub frontage is in grey, with with pilaters and leaded windows. The interior has a couple of rooms, both of which have a pool table. There is a bar is in cream with some blue, and has a moulded cornice, wood floor and a carved wood panelled serving bar. It had a jukebox which was knocking out 60s-80s music at a decent level. I didn't see a TV. I didnt see the lounge other than the pool table. The service was functional, and it was busy with a good mix of locals. Beer; no real ale - had M&B MILD on, but had Guinness, which was decent enough. Clearly a locals pub, i just wish it had real ale - a real down to earth pub - and i enjoyed my stop-off.