 The exterior of The Hollyhead Inn. 
Two Pints of Lager & A Packet of Crisps!
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Recommendation added: 03/06/2007 22:19
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +700)dewberry has been thanked 0 times for this contribution
"We were an hour early for an appointment in Bridgnorth yesterday so decided to drive into the town and find somewhere to waste a bit of time. We didn't get all the way into town, however, as on the way I spotted the Hollyhead Inn which had a few benches out the front and thought this looked a nice little place to sit and have a quick refreshing drink.
The Hollyhead Inn is a large multi-roomed pub with a function room available to hire out and chalkboards outside advertising various live music and DJ events coming up over the next few weeks.
Despite the size of the Hollyhead Inn, the atmosphere once inside is really cosy and this is helped along by the roaring open fire in the bar area. The pub is basically separated off into bar, pool room and function room with the outside seating available throughout the year. The bar area is again split up so you have a few tables directly in front of the bar (by the fire) with another lot of larger tables and chairs arranged in a kind of side room which runs at an angle to the bar and leads you to the pool room. I've made it sound like a bit of a maze, but it's really very open plan and easy to get to where you want to be!
The décor is really nice with brass ornaments dotted around the window sills and brass plaques hung on the walls, the pub is painted in neutral creams and beige and the decorations they've chosen to display really enhances the light, airy colour scheme. The large windows on all sides of the pub gives this large building lots of natural light, it's really a nice place in which to sit and enjoy a drink or two while watching the world go by.
The Hollyhead Inn doesn't serve food at present. They're under fairly new management and work inside the pub was still ongoing at the time of our visit, the new guy in charge hasn't as yet decided whether he's going to serve food or make the pub into a trendier all-singing all-dancing DJ pub. Personally I think the DJ idea is a brilliant one as the interior of the pub is perfect for a nights dancing to the latest tunes as the centre of each area is uncluttered and spacious, adding restaurant type tables would eat up this room.
What it lacks in food it more than makes up for with booze though. An enforced period of tee-totalness (ie. being pregnant!) meant I was drinking Pepsi and J20 but my numerous trips to the bar for ice/crisps/Marks drinks allowed me to see that they serve practically every alcoholic drink you can think of.
Lagers and real ales seem to be the order of the day in the Hollyhead Inn, with all the new and big brands being available both on draught and bottled. Mark was drinking Carling Cold on draught and he commented on how fresh and full of flavour the drink was, he also had a glass of regional ale (the name escapes me…) and said it was absolutely delicious although a bit heavy for the boiling hot weather yesterday. All the top branded spirits were also available, along with a basic but pretty decent choice of liqueurs and wines which could be purchased either by the bottle or the glass. The choice is perhaps pretty limited for those of us who aren't drinking alcohol but providing you like Pepsi, lemonade or J20 you won't get bored! If you fancy a snack with your drink this pub sells a full range of Walkers crisps, a selection of scratchings and Scampi Fries (!) – or you can choose nuts but lets face it, who wants nuts when you can have Scampi Fries?
The drinks prices in here are very reasonable by the standards of other pubs we've visited in the area, and also by Birmingham pub standards. If visiting between certain hours (which apparently change regularly), a pint of any draught lager or ale will set you back just £1.70 – we happened to be here during this cheap drinks period so each time we went to the bar for a pint and a glass of pop we were still getting change from £3! Bargain! I think the most expensive round we bought came to just under a fiver and that was when Mark also bought the guy he was playing pool with a pint.
The pool table is a good one with no rips or tears in the cloth and all balls, cues and chalk present – Mark informs me there's nothing worse than going to play a game of pool and having to go to the bar every five minutes for a block of chalk or because the cue ball is missing! While he was playing we got chatting to a group of locals and they told us the Hollyhead Inn is definitely worth visiting when the live entertainment is on as the place gets packed with people all out to have the best time possible!
Disabled access to The Hollyhead Inn is great, there are no steps or narrow spaces inside so manoeuvring around will be no problem. There are no specific disabled toilets but the 'ordinary' ones are well stocked and spacious enough to get a wheelchair around. The only problem disabled visitors may encounter is the lack of parking at the pub. At the very front there is space for two cars but these spaces were both taken when we visited; directly opposite there is a large public pay & display car park which it looks like most visitors to this pub use – however, once you've parked here you need to cross a busy rural road which may be a problem for people with mobility problems.
The Hollyhead Inn is located directly opposite the Severn Valley Railway so it's simply a case of following the well placed signs to this famous Midlands attraction and then casting your gaze to the pub on the opposite side of the road. If you're travelling from outside Bridgnorth the best route is to travel along the M6 to Junction 10 and then follow the main A454 road which will take you as far as the village of Hilton; from here simply follow the signs to Bridgnorth and you can't go wrong.
The Hollyhead Inn
Hollybush Road
Bridgnorth
Shropshire
WV16 4AX"
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