The Waggon & Horses, Stourbridge

If the builders came in & looked to modernise tour traditional back street local this could be how you would hope it would end up. Nice modern take giving it life & personality, 3 rooms, the one side room has a frontage opening on to the street in nice weather. Larger back room. Enville ales

Some temporary scaffolding took the shine off the external appearance of this revitalised establishment on my visit, but this certainly didn't extend inside. That said, the semi-modern refurbishment won't necessarily appeal to the traditionalist, but the three-room layout around the central servery is appealing enough. Seven real ales available on handpump from the 'main' (as in small) bar, including three from Enville - Ale, Ginger and Simpkiss Bitter (£3.00) - and other local offerings, plus four draught ciders in the side 'lounge'. Worth seeking out.

It would seem that this was originally a Banks's / Hanson's pub. It has been refurbished to a high standard with brand new wooden flooring (not the cleaned and varnished floorboards normally seen). There is a small bar at the front left where all the locals seemd to be congregated (and blocking the bar). After being served I retired to the quieter bar on the right which also leads through to a back bar. There are shelves in this bar holding what looked like a DVD library. I didn't enquire further about them. There were six beers on offer, three from Enville, Ale, White and Ginger, Old Swan Entire, Kinver Edge and Bay's Summer Ale. I went for the Enville Ginger (£2.90) which was in fine condition and really tasty. I liked this one a lot and would recommend it.

A mix of styles in this 3-roomed free house: pine to the right; tartan carpet to the left; and a larger room laid out for dining towards the rear. Pump trouble when I visited meant that only 3 of the 6 were in use; hopefully that's sorted now. The pub is an outlet for the local Enville Brewery, so I opted for a fine Enville Ale. The barman was chatty and informative when I visited (he may also have been bored due to the lack of custom, of course). Recommended if you're in town, particularly if they can get those handpumps working again.