The Ladybird Inn, Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove station is nowhere near Bromsgrove but this former station hotel is in the Aston Fields suburb with other pubs,shops and curry houses.The exterior still shows signs for the station hotel,but the two roomed exterior has had a modern makeover with pine furniture everywhere,lots of high tables,slatted blinds in the windows and two flatscreens in the public bar which were showing 1990's grand prix for some reason. Popular with young folk and lively,maybe less so in the lounge ,the star of the show here is the real ale and more particularly Bathams Best which is a regular.Other options on my visit were Sharps Solar Wave ,Wye Valley HPA and Butty Bach but we focussed on the Bathams (NBSS 4.5) and were happy .Deserves it 2023 GBG entry and if in Aston Fields the best place to sup by a country mile even in this sterile interior.

Official site of The Ladybird Inn - www.ladybirdinn.co.uk

Official site of The Ladybird Inn - www.ladybirdinn.co.uk

I've watched this occasionally appear in the Good Beer Guide. As it has made the 2023 edition, I made a trip. First observation - is Bromsgrove Railway Station the furthest away from the town that it serves :-) A car park - but one that fills you with dread. A million signs saying you must register your car or face a £100 fine. There is a terminal on the main bar. A modern interior has done little for pubbiness. A back room, a main lounge - divided and hanging off a central bar. The lighting is bright. The tables and chairs are high. Very chainy feel and little to encourage stopping for a session. Three ales on - HPA, Butty and Bathams (getting rarer outside their tied pubs). Good to see quite a pull through for the first servings of the day on a Sunday lunch. Bathams was in fine condition. £4.10 may be the most I have ever paid for it. Other observations... a chiller full of decent looking rolls. Minder on the TV Quietly, with the prospect of football later in the afternoon. Handy for the station and with just a micro and a JDW the main options in town, you may choose to stay here.

I'm confident I've never been to a pub of this name before although a quick search here reveals others in Islington and Caterham. This place seems to have had a lot of money thrown at for refurbishment. As you enter there is a public bar area to the right and a lounge straight ahead. This room has been completely modernised with a shiny wood floor, new furniture and ceiling lights. The TV screens were silent. It was fairly quiet on my late Tuesday afternoon visit. There are six hand pumps in this bar with two unused, Wye Valley Butty Bach & HPA, Batham's Best and Doom Bore. The two hand pumps in the other bar were just duplicates. I went for the Batham's Best (£3.65) when the landlady asked if I was a CAMRA member so it was discounted to £3.40. This is still a lot dearer than a Batham's tied house. The beer quality was fine. It's a bit expensive here but apart from that seems a decent local boozer.

We called in here especially to seek out a pint of Birds Brewery beer, to find it was still settling in the cellar. Nevertheless there was still a Wye Valley HPA, Bathams and a Sharps Atlantic to choose from. Prices in here were quite steep and the pub was busy early evening, catching business from the commuters getting off the train. We entered the pub from the corner entrance, which lead into a corner porch area with an elaborate tiled floor. The interior consisted of two rooms a bar side along the front and a fairly large lounge side to the rear. Both rooms had a timber floor and the bar served both sides. The counter was in black granite with a turquoise painted front. I thought the pub was well kept and maintained and the beer was also in good shape.

Old brick built building at the top of the Station approach road. Done out internally with a modern feel though still retains some tradition. Not sure about the modern furniture - gives the feel of a dining pub & is a bit Ember Inn-ish, but the building fights it enough to give an overall good impression. 2 real ales, both local-ish Bathams & Birds AP