Victoria, Walsall

This is a nice old-fashioned two room pub on a busy road in Walsall's town centre. The entrance is through a door on a small side street, leading into a hallway which gives access to both rooms. The compact front room is carpeted with one long banquette running the length of the front wall and serving a number of small tables with regular chairs. The brick fireplace at the far end of the room was lit on my early afternoon visit and I enjoyed settling down next to it with my pint and paper. The walls were decorated with a lot of old Coca Cola and Schweppes adverts and I also noticed a beer bottle collection on a shelf above the bar. I didn't get a good look at the rear room, as I was loathe to leave the fireside, but it looked a bit more basic, with additional banquette and low stool seating. A garden, which seemed to be partly sheltered, could be accessed from the back of the pub. Music was playing quietly from a 50's radio station during my stay, which was unobtrusive until the Rawhide theme tune caught my attention. A visit to the gents involved a trip upstairs that felt like I was venturing into someone’s house and gave the impression that the pub has been converted from a private residence, or that perhaps the toilets used to be outside and have now been incorporated in the living quarters. The four hand pumps offered Greene King Abbot Ale, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Wye Valley Butty Bach (£2.60) and Backyard Gold. My well kept pint of Butty Bach was poured by a friendly barmaid who apologised for the pub being so quiet. I liked the feel of this traditional style pub and thought that with the addition of a few other customers, it could have really won me over. The pub is close to the Lyndon House Hotel and Black Country Arms, so it would be inexcusable to leave it out of any crawl around Walsall.