The Great Western, Bewdley

Smart pub, with inviting advertising lettered on the outside offering a choice of refreshments - with "Revivers" being the most interesting. Mezzanine floor makes it a split level pub - upstairs has a couple of comfy sofas and a fine picture of Bewdley, in case you forget where you are. Beer wise - a touch disappointing on my visit. A couple of speckled hens and assorted Greene Kings and a Worcestershire Way from Bewdley Brewery - which was selected. A lively number that took a long time to settle down so that you could see through it. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2mV8xsi

Close to Bewdley's Severn Valley Railway station and offering good views of the steam trains passing over the nearby viaduct, the Great Western is an unusual open plan pub on the edge of the town centre. The pub was built in the 1840's and was originally known as the Rifleman and according to an info board in the pub, had its own brew house until it was forced to cease production due to malt rationing during WWII. The front door leads into the mid section of the pub which is bare boarded and has a remarkably high, two storey ceiling. The upper storey has some fine coloured mosaic tiling that looks fantastic from below, whilst the lower section at ground floor level is half panelled with plain uppers. There is a nice fireplace on the back wall and just the one lone table with regular chairs next to it. Railway themed pictures predictably line the walls and there are a few old jugs and pots on a first floor ledge alongside various hanging plants. The servery is over to the left, with a modern counter and bar back. A couple of small tables have been squeezed in between the end of the bar and the front windows and I noted a good selection of proper pub snacks behind the bar including pork pies, cobs and some very tasty sausage rolls. The main seating area is over to the right, also with exposed floorboards but under a regulation height ceiling. A lit fake fire on the back wall generated a bit of warmth in what otherwise felt like a cold, open and plain area served by a mix of chair, sofa and low stool seating with a few more railway themed bits on the walls including an old Paddington station sign. A pretty good selection of cask ales comprising Morland Old Golden Hen, Bewdley Worcestershire Way and 2857, Ruddles County and Three Tuns 1642 was supplemented by two real ciders. I tried the 1642 - a new beer for me from a brewery I usually find pretty reliable, but this one wasn't in the best of shape and didn't seem like the most interesting beer. I found this pub a bit too open and plain for my liking, creating a rather sterile atmosphere which was a shame as the building clearly has some interesting features that make a visit worthwhile. The poor pint didn't help matters but the friendly service and top quality bar snacks went some way to making amends. This one definitely has potential and perhaps a visit at a busier time would have given a different impression, but it was the weakest pub on my Bewdley mini-crawl.