Railway Inn, Shrewsbury

Arriving by train from Shrewsbury on a rainey Sunday lunch, the 6 of us descended on the Railway at 11:50 and found it firmly shut up. We waited until 12:15 and were on the point of calling a taxi when the sound of bolts drawing could be herd and we eagerly stepped into the bar area. We were greeted by Liz the landlady who was truly shocked that 6 people needed beer at noon on Sunday and proceeded to quiz us for half an hour before offering us drinks. There were only 2 ales on the bar, Salopian Gold and another local gold ale, the name of which escapes me. Liz went to great pains to explain that she usually has Black Sheep but the cricket team had drunk it and there wasn't a new barrel. Liz is delightful if a little eccentric, having run the pub all of her adult life. There are numerous CAMRA certificates on the walls dating back to the mid 90's and that just about says it all. The 90's were obviously this little pubs hey day and it has been sliding ever since. There was an overwhealming smell of dog and cat and being allergic to both, soon found myself popping anti histomine to fend off a reaction. The carpets and soft furnishings had all seen better days and to cap it all, the beer was at best rough. We all had floaters and varying degrees of cloudyness to contend with. Having no option but to stay as the trains back run only every 2 hours, we settled down to a game of cards, cuddled our cloudy pints and tried not to touch the furnishings. Some locals appeared after about an hour and took the pressure off Liz who really didn't want us in her pub. We left at the earliest opportunity via the outside toilets that were actually in a worse state than the pub. I am really sorry to say that the Railway will probably die with Liz. I don't see how a remote pub can survive in the modern world with little income and a poor product. I suspect that it is only surviving now because the landlady owns the whole thing and suppliments her income with a pension and the proceeds of renting land to local farmers for dairy herds. I really, really hope I am wrong, it would be a real shame for this place to just stop existing.

utterly fantastic country pub, like stepping back in time. There is a small bar area and a larger lounge. Very reasonably priced, good for both real ale and real cider. Dart board, open fire, beer garden, car park, dominos available.

Visited September 2009 Definitely one to make for this, located close to Yorton railway station, a request stop on the infrequent rail service between Shrewsbury and Crewe. Externally, the pub resembles a private house and my mid-September lunchtime appearance here initially seemed to disconcert both the pub dog and the landlady in equal measure. Whilst the pub dog quickly fell silent, obviously immediately recognising a seasoned pub-goer, and resumed its slumber on the tiled floor, I sensed that the slight feeling of bewilderment that the landlady initially showed upon my arrival never entirely disappeared. Two elderly locals, who were engaged in lively conversation with the landlady, seemed somewhat less fazed at my calling in. The small basic public bar, entered through a wooden latched door at the side of the house, has settles and a tiled floor. The walls are decorated with some framed CAMRA certificates and a large photograph of Shrewsbury Town FC 1950/51 on their entry to the Football League. Through this bar to the front of the house is a more comfortable room ( no separate bar counter ) with carpets and covered chairs, resembling someone's front living room. Of particular note in this room is a large cased stuffed fish weighiong 40lbs 4 oz and being approx 3 foot long. There's no music, TV or other distractions here. There's also the obligatory outside toilets. Beers on during my visit were Woods Shropshire Lad, Wadworths 6X and Salopian Hop Twister, the former being on good form at £ 2.20p. The pub has been a GBG regular in recent years. This is definitely one to try to get to for the experience, but, if you're doing it by public transport it's quite challenging. It's less than 10 minutes on the train from Shrewsbury, but remember to tell the train conductor in advance that you want to get off !. Finally, at the risk of stating the obvious, do check both train times and pub opening hours carefully