The Half Moon, Telford

This pub first came to my attention in the mid-90s during a charity raft race down the River Severn. It was a traditional riverside boozer and I spent many a Sunday afternoon outside thereafter, following the wooden road from the tile museum. Sadly, it closed (possibly because of its slightly remote location) and for well over a decade I could only reminisce. Following Oggwyn’s tip-off that it had re-opened I decided it would be a good place to go on a bank holiday lunchtime – and so did a few dozen other people. It was too wet to sit outside so there were very few spare seats indoors. Popular no doubt because of its location and the fact that it is ‘new’. The interior is much more modern than the place I recall. It is now more open plan with seating (wooden pews, burgundy cubes and burgundy upholstered chairs) arranged to maximise the view of the river through the long front window. Stone floor, cream coloured rough plastered walls, rustic wooden shelves, timber bar, wood burning stove and flat screen TV at one end. It felt more contemporary suburban inside than ‘countryside’ except for the coracle hung upside down from the ceiling in the bay window – oh and there were beer mats on the tables. The clientele were generally middle-aged. There was a kids menu but no high chairs for the smallest of people. Toilets were very clean and modern but compact, although there was a separate disabled toilet. Cask ales, all local, were Half Moon Ale (a dark amber Molson Coors brew), Ironbridge Brewery Gold and Rowton Bitter. It will probably be popular because of the attributes I have mentioned but my own preference is for the traditional interior. Good luck to them though.