The Cottage Spring, Dudley

Substantial corner pub with plain façades; a Black Country Ales house at one stage, but no longer a real ale establishment unfortunately. Plainly furnished 'L'-shaped main bar with plenty of space for a DJ / karaoke setup and a pool table plus a smaller, smarter lounge. Disappointingly, John Smith's (£2.70) proved to be the least-worst option from the limited keg selection.

A detached corner pub - carries the signs as a Black Country Ales pub. A mid c20th looking rather plain pub in undressed brick, with blue paintwork. It has a main corner entrance and a couple of bay windows. Has a rear patio. The interior has a couple of rooms. To the left, when enterting via the main door, there is a lounge. Despite being locked at my visit, i could see that it was in green and cream walls and ceiling, with a red patterned ceiling. There was a TV (not on, obviously) and abstract art on the walls. The main L-shaped bar room was in brown, coffee and white, with a white ceiling and upper wall and a loud carpet. It had a dart board and pool table at one end, as well as a TV with Emmerdale on. There is a 'booth' feature that partly bisects the room (beyond which children can't go). There is the same abstract arty pictures on the walls as the lounge. There was no music. The service was fine and the clientele local blokes. Beer; all tap stuff, the 5 real ale handpulls on the BCA website have gone. I had keg Banks's MILD, which was decent for what it was. A tidy, basic beer pub really. Has the pub games and a TV, with a quieter lounge.