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The Great Western, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
WV10 0DJ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Graham Coombs left this review about The Great Western
A well-visited classic, so popular that it has lost some of its charm but it is still a cracking good pub and well worth the detour round the back of the station. The original front part is the best area, with the extension behind feeling too open and modern despite their best efforts. The place also lacks the guest ale selection of the past, but personally I am quite happy with a full range from one decent brewer (plus the Bathams of course) and the mild was excellent.
On 10th February 2024
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Great Western
ORIGINAL REVIEW February 2010
Absolutely outstanding traditional boozer ,quite difficult to find behind the station.However full range of Holden beers and the wonderful Bathams Bitter together with a rotating range of other guests all on top form make this pub a pleasure to drink in.Very easy to get thoroughly pissed in such a friendly atmosphere,even the vicar shows up to keep an eye on his flock.There is also an everchanging list of guests beers many of which are from close to the West Midlands.If only more pubs were like this......
UPDATE
A significant downgrade from a previous rare 10,my latest visit was a huge disappointment.The fabric of the interior hasn't change but the charm has been lost after a corporate makeover by the owners Holdens Brewery. The walls have been cleaned ,but brilliant white paint is just too much,all the staff wear GWR branded clothing and all the tables are numbered to aid food service.The legendary hot pork baps have been replaced on a corporate menu by "pork mini bloomers". Most serious of all is the only guest is the still excellent Bathams Best (NBSS 4.5) but gone are the three handpumps in the Bullshit Corner section of the bar that used to regularly have excellent strong ale options such as Blue Monkey Ape Ale,Oakham Green Devil IPA and Thornbridge Jaipur IPA . On my recent trip Holdens dominates with their Golden Glow,Black Country Bitter,Special,Mild and Dragon's Blood plus a single handpumped cider.
Service at the bar was haphazard and some regulars got served before other who had been waiting much longer,a sure sign that standards have dropped.
So today this pub is a Holdens tied house with a guest in Bathams Best and not much else unless you really like Holdens beers and railway memorabilia.Such a shame .
On 30th June 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Great Western
A visit to Wolverhampton to tick off a few Good Beer Guide pubs.
I knew before I left home that this would be the best of the night and it didn't disappoint.
Great Bathams and a really good atmosphere.
Highly recommended.
Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2ur3X4D
On 30th June 2017
- rating: 10
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Great Western
An excellent pub by the station. A bright conservatory is to the rear with a narrow passageway between this and the front bar. Lots of pictures of old trains adorn the walls. The ales today were the same as in the previous review. Sadly I took the less-than-obvious route which made it a bit of a trek getting here.
On 7th April 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Great Western
What a great place, serving top-class Holden's beers (four on my latest visit) plus the sublime Bathams Bitter and an excellent selection of beers from the Black Country and further afield (No Brakes IPA from Fixed Wheel, Ludlow Stairway (£3.10) and Tiny Rebel Cwtch on tap this time). Lots of interesting memorabilia in the compact bar area, elongated back room and rear conservatory, and very handy for Wolverhampton station (once you have worked out the less-than-obvious route). A 'must visit'.
On 21st February 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Great Western
Set in the shadow of Wolverhampton station and named after a former station that stood nearby, this revered pub is a classic example of a well run back street alehouse. The pub won the CAMRA National Pub of the Year award all the way back in 1991, but by all accounts the ale range and quality has been maintained over the intervening years. There was certainly a good selection on handpull during my recent visit, with options comprising Holden’s Bitter, Special, Old Ale and Golden Glow plus Salopian Holly Bush and Kelham Island Pale Rider. Sadly, partly as a result of getting lost trying to find the pub, I only had time to sample one beer, and opted for a pint of the Pale Rider, which was on fine form and served to me by a friendly barmaid. I believe a real cider was also available, but I neglected to note what it was.
You enter into the tile floored main bar and are immediately faced with the dark wood servery with its seemingly modern, and not particularly attractive, bar back. Banquette and low stool seating works its way around the front walls under some heavy floral patterned curtains and to the right there is a fridge full of Holden’s beers and a few mainstream options. To the right of the bar, a step leads up into a laminate floor room with banquettes and a coal effect fire on the rear wall. Various old pictures, mostly relating to the railways, adorn the walls and a large train signal arm is suspended from the ceiling. A passageway behind the bar links this area to the left hand side of the pub which runs a long way to the rear of the building. A lengthy stretch of banquette extends down the left hand wall with a drinking ledge and high stools opposite. More train memorabilia is on show here, including a sign for Cardiff Queen Street station. Lots more old photos line the walls alongside newspaper clippings, a TV showing 24 hour news and some items of pub merchandise. The room eventually opens out into a rear conservatory-style dining room, which has seating split over two levels and a second bar. All of the signs throughout the pub (‘Toilets’, ‘Private’, ‘Dining Area Only’ etc…) are former railway signs put to new use, which helps give the pub a satisfying unified theme.
This is a real destination pub and one that can easily be incorporated into a visit to the city thanks to its proximity to the station. I’d love to visit this place again with a little more time on my hands, as it is one of those places that I suspect rewards repeat visits and as such this will be my first port of call the next time I’m in town.
On 15th January 2015
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Great Western
This is a pub that I have visited on many occasions but not for over ten years. When I first came here they sold just Holden's Mild, Bitter and Special plus Batham's Best. Today they had the four regular Holden's ales, Batham's Best and two "foreign" guests Thornbridge Jaipur IPA and a Blue Monkey beer (Ape Ale I think). This seemed an odd choice of guests until it occurred to me that both breweries have their own pubs so maybe they are doing swaps.
Sadly my Saturday early evening visit was on a Wolves match day so it was a bit mental and not as enjoyable as it could be. I went for just the Holden's beers, the mild (£2.40), Golden Glow (£2.65) and Special (£2.80). All were in good nick.
This remains one of my top ten pubs of all time.
On 3rd March 2014
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Great Western
Sublime boozer located in the cobbled backstreets behind Wolverhampton BR (face the current station entrance and head for the left hand side, then turn right). The pub doesn’t necessarily look the largest from the outside but there is a large sympathetically extended interior within, covered in railway memorabilia (with a bit of WWFC thrown in for good measure). On entering there’s a small tiled public bar area with some seating and a darts room off to the right. Beyond the bar is a long rectangular room (almost a corridor) with banquette seating which in turn opens out onto a conservatory area. There’s a number of real fires on the go during the colder months, which makes for a lovely sooty-smelling atmosphere.
Owned by Holdens brewery so at least three of their ales - often including the mild - are on the go, usually supplemented by Bathams and other interesting guests (check the chalkboard for forthcoming beers), six in total. In addition there is a proper cider available and keg Murphys, which you don’t see very often nowadays. Quality is always very high and prices are usually pretty low – a perfect combination. There’s always plenty of customers and a good buzz about the place which is impressive given an obvious lack of passing trade. Large signs above the bar advertise competitively-priced grub and I can recommend the hot pork bap as an absolute winner. An analogue hanging timepiece keeps you abreast of the time of your train (leave 10 minutes before departure to be safe, you’ll need it). Toilets are clean, despite the large, ahem, footfall.
A lot of love and care makes this the outstanding pub in Wolverhampton and, in my humble opinion, one of the best in the UK I have so far visited. The line in a review below ;“this place isn’t a pub, it’s an experience”, sums it up perfectly. A must-visit.
On 24th November 2012
- rating: 10
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about The Great Western
You can count me as another admirer of The Great Western. Entering the pub at the front door, there's a couple of small-ish rooms, one with a warming fire. One of these leads to a long room heading out to the back where there's a conservatory and outside seating for smokers. The pub seems to specialise in railway memorabilia (I suppose that, given the name, I should have expected this).
At the bar, Holdens, Bathams and a few guests are offered and they're very reasonably priced (by the standards I'm used to).
It's an enjoyable place to while away a few hours.
Oh, finally, like jaqptio, I struggled to find the route from the station so:
From the station exit, turn right and look for the Transport Police office - opposite that is a sign 'Subway'. Head down a triple flight of steps (I think that's right - there's definitely a lot), pass under the station, then turn right at the bottom, through the colonnade and keep going. Exit station to pint ordering shouldn't take much more than 5 minutes.
On 29th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Great Western
I’ve been looking forward to visiting the Great Western since viewing a Sky Sports World Darts Championship advert featuring Eric Bristow and Wayne Mardle was filmed here and aired a couple of years ago. My visit on Friday evening last week was after a day of touring some of the best pubs the Black Country has to offer so my memory is very hazy. I remember seeing three Holdens beers available from the bar and a big basket of cheese and onion cobs. After waking up at Euston Station on my way home I thought Christmas had come early when I found a cob in each of my jacket pockets!
My memory of the interior is a front bar area and seating that stretches down the left of the pub and a beer garden out the back. There is a plasma screen that was on, but muted and there was no background music.
It was busy in here which isn’t a surprise for a great pub on a Friday night and next time I’m in town I will make a point of adding to the numbers and staying longer than I did. I’ll also try to make this one of the first pubs I visit so that I can recall more facts.
On 11th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]