OLDBURY.

Just up from Sandwell and Dudley rail station this pub is a Victorian high ceiling building which still has the old fireplace - which works. It's close to what's left of the town centre and can get full of council employees at lunch time (Sunday lunch is the quietest, but there's no food). The entrance is at the side which leads you into the corridor between the two rooms. The bar is to the right and is a long wooden affair with overhang for glasses and a high copper-panelled ceiling. Original tiles can be found here also. Usually there are three or four guest ales on at a time (regulars include Brains Bitter, Marston's Pedigree and Everads Tiger). The floor is bare and there are small wooden tables and chairs to sit on. A dart board and fruit machine here too. The other room has a fireplace and oblong kitchen tables next to fixed bench seating around the walls - this is also the no smoking room. During the week they do food from a traditional pub menu, the prices are standard (low) as across other pub groups. The toilets are outside through a covered area at the back and are not that salubrious, but functional. Not good for the disabled. No accommodation here. Well worth a visit if you find yourself near Oldbury.