Three Horseshoes, Bridgnorth

Now in the Good Beer Guide - and judging by the quality of the Bathams (permanently on, I would suggest from the beer mats) I can see why. Claims to be Shropshires oldest with 1406 on the side of the white building and in the wifi password. Multi roomed, with a restaurant and upper and lower bar area. Pick of the places is in front of the log fire, well topped up. Not a single comft chair to be found, mind. Either low stools or kitchen stile seats that leave you with a bad back. My campaign for real armchairs in pubs starts here.

Official site of Three Horseshoes - www.thethreehorseshoesalveley.co.uk

Facebook page of Three Horseshoes - www.facebook.com

Official site of Three Horseshoes - www.thethreehorseshoesalveley.co.uk

Facebook page of Three Horseshoes - www.facebook.com

The Three Horseshoes is the only remaining pub in the village of Alveley itself, as both the Squirrel and the Royal Oak are just outside the village on the main A4442. The village did have another pub called the Bell of which I was a regular and where I first started drinking probably a little before the legal age when I was served Woodpecker from a 2 or 3 litre bottle, before progressing onto the hard stuff (Strongbow!), which was available on draft. I seem to remember the Bell also being Robert Plant's local (or certainly one of them) as I recall chatting with him around the fire. There seems to be some confusion online about when the Bell actually closed. I remember taking my wife there on a date late in 1995. It closed not long after that (hopefully not linked) either in late 1995 or early 1996. Our replacement pub at the time turned out to be The Three Horseshoes which was only a short distance away. I remember visiting there several times in the late 1990s before my family's pub of choice later shifted to being the Squrrel or the Alveley Sports Club. I also remember several periods of closure. Fast forward to 2024 and the pub has been taken over and refurbished by people who have done such a good job that the Shoes has now put the village of Alveley into the 2025 Good Beer Guide. It was also awarded CAMRA Pub of the Year 2024 for the Bridgnorth & East Shropshire branch. As such, I thought it was high time that I paid it a visit with along with my father for who it is once again his go to pub in Alveley. There are still a couple of rooms. What I remember as the lounge is now a split-level bar with the bar itself and an open fire on the lower level. The former bar is now a dining room. Although the bar was also being used for dining on our Thursday lunchtime visit. As far as real ales went, there were 4 handpulls, but just 2 on - Wye Valley HPA & Three Tuns XXX. I chose to have a Stowford Press cider instead. Food was good value pub grub that was just fine for a quick lunch. This is a decent pub, but the ale range was still a bit limited. Perhaps I caught it at a bad time? If it is the local pub of the year, others in this CAMRA branch area must have gone downhill rapidly.

An interesting and organic country pub that is alleged to date back to 1406 - with beer garden and children's play area. The interior has three areas: a small bar area in white, with a large stone fireplace and a couple of pictures on the walls; an upper lounge with a small fireplace and a sofa or two, also a little plain with a few ornaments and pictures; and finally, a dining room off from the bar. There is no TV that I saw and the music was at a decent level. Service was fine and a few people were in. Beer: usual tap stuff with Wye Valley HPA, Bewdley's Worcestershire Way and a decent Hobson's 25 anniversary brew. A nice place to visit and I would definitely go back.