The Waterfall, Cradley Heath

I really enjoyed my visit here, as this is a proper traditional pub serving great beer and also good food. Three regular ales here and three guest, the Holdens Golden Glow was top class. I didn't count all the jugs and tankards hanging from the ceiling in the front lounge, but there was quite a few.

Situated halfway up a steep hill with fine views of the Lickey and Clent Hills and the Wrekin in the distance,this Holden's house has a sign outside advising that "every day is a beer festival" and this is spot on as their nine handpumps offer a wide selection of the best ales from the Black Country.Besides a selections of Holden's,there was Bathams Bitter,Olde Swan Bumblehole,Enville Ginger,Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild,a guest from Burton Bridge and a real cider. The two room layout was very authentic with a lounge at the front with a banquette around a real fireplace and a raised section to one side.The rear bar room around the corridor had a cosy atmosphere and there was a very warm welcome from behind the bar,with excellent chips and curry sauce for us pub crawlers. Worth the steep walk up from the canal,I aim to return for a much longer stay next time I'm in the area.This is a pub not to miss.

This was my first visit to this place. It was part of one of my Friday Black Country crawls by minibus. 10 of us arrived just before midday and waited outside for it to open. The gaffer said we should have come around the back. He took an interest in where else we were going and very kindly made us some bowls of chips with a pot of curry sauce. He went out before we left and wished us a good day on our crawl. I made no mention of the fact that I was a regular PG Reviewer so his welcome was genuine. We did 9 pubs on our crawl but that kind of friendliness stuck in my mind. Aside from the welcome, I really liked the place – a two roomed traditional pub half way up the steep slope of Waterfall Lane. I hope my photos capture it well enough. I’ve done this kind of thing before. I have started a crawl with a new pub and really liked it and felt comfortable enough to stay for longer. What it does mean is that I will definitely be back. The bar is not very big so the selection of real ales is split between the front room and the back room so look out for the blackboard in the bar area giving the full list. A Holden’s pub so cask ales included Holden’s Special and Golden Glow, Enville Ginger and Batham’s Best Bitter. Beer heaven.