The Yorkshireman, Rugeley

If you are changing trains at Rugeley Trent Valley and with time to spare,this pub is well worth popping into.The rear entrance leads to a small oak panneled bar with a wooden floor , scrubbed old tables and a pleasant bay window.Beyond the bar there is a carpeted restaurant set for dining and the food is the principal draw.It looked and smelt good but sadly I was not partaking.Plently of other were.There were two handpumps with Blythe Palmers Poison and Bagot Bitter(£2.50,good value,good pint) while the four kegs taps were drawing Freedom Stout,Organic Lager and Four together with a keg cider.Both Blythe and Freedom are very local brewers and it was good to see Freedom displacing mega keg brands like Guiness,Stella,Fosters, Carling etc.The ethos seems to be to source locally,both on food and beer,an initiative I am sure results in high quality. It may not be a place to base yourself for an evenings drinking,but it's well worth a visit,especially instead of waiting at a desolate platform.

Visited on Saturday lunch and there wer a lot of people eating.However the small bar had three tables and plenty of chairs for the drinkers.Only 2 Blythe Bridge ales on sale but both were in good condition.Just a short walk from the railway station -handy as we were on a rail ale trail.

A detached olive green rendered pub/restaurant The interior is open plan with a wood floor and split between a small pub lounge and a restaurant area. The decor is a mix of wood panel, greeny wallpaper and white walls, with old prints and paintings adorning the walls. There are wood tables and curtains with a valance. A mix of traditional and modern that works reasonably well, for a more traditional person like myself. The service was fine and the clientele mixed, from families to the more mature. Beer; tap stuff, with Blythe Bridge Bagot Bitter and a decent drop of BB Palmer's Poison - William Palmer being known as the Rugeley Poisoner. I didnt eat eat, and if i return, it would be a place where i could take the wife and enjoy a real ale. As it turned out - it offerered the only choice of real ale in Rugeley town, other than Banks's MILD and Bitter