The historic Walsall pub with more than 20 real ales that's a hit with visiting football fans

The Black Country Arms is one of the Walsall's most ancient hostelries with a history that dates back to the 1600s. It's also one of the town's most popular venues, not only because of its name but also thanks to its incredible drinks selection.

Part of the Black Country Ales chain, the Grade II listed building, formerly known as The Green Dragon, is situated in the heart of Walsall and is known as being its foremost real ale pub with no fewer than 20 hand-pulls featuring ever-changing cask ales and ciders from across the UK.

The Black Country Arms is known for having a great atmosphere, serving great drinks including popular ales, and also serves great-tasting food.

Licensee Kim Langford, from Wolverhampton, has run it for 10 years, along with her husband Roy. Kim feels proud to be in charge of such a popular establishment with a rich history.

"Despite what people say about the boundaries of the Black Country, and some say Walsall or Wolverhampton wasn't in the Black Country, I'm proud to be Black Country, and the traditions and heritage that comes with it," she says.

"Sometimes the locals will have little arguments about the boundaries of where the Black Country is but it's a proud heritage to have.

"We are fortunate to receive a lot of great support from Black Country Ales, who continue to go against the trend and are increasing the number of pubs they own, and it is just fantastic to be able to run the Black Country Arms."

While speaking with Kim, she was taking order after order for food, giving an insight into the popularity of the business not just for its beers and ales but its good quality food too.

A whole range of foods are served at the Black Country Arms, including local specialities faggots and peas, traditional pub grub, along with curries, pizzas and burgers, giving a variety of options to customers.

The decor inside the building, with its high ceilings and grand design makes is stand out, whilst it also provides a comforting, cosy, traditional pub feel too - as stated on its website, it offers a warm and friendly welcome, has a relaxing atmosphere and quite simply, is 'a local in the town' of Walsall.

Serving top quality drinks is one of the things the pub is famous for, with many rave reviews of the variety of ales on offer.

Since the couple took over in 2012, after previously running The Pretty Bricks, the pub has won a numerous amount of awards such as the CAMRA award for pub of the year in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 - they also won the West Midlands pub of the year in 2016.

It has become a household name not only with residents in Walsall, but with people from far and wide, Kim says.

She adds: "On matchdays we get a lot of the away fans coming in to the pub because they have either heard about our great drinks selection or have looked us up, and this is one of the things we are most famous for, our wide variety of drinks.

"It's a real ale pub with over 20 hand-pulls, we have a big selection of continental beers and fruit wines too, and so people keep coming back for this huge variety.

"Plus we have a nice pleasant atmosphere here, with a great clientele that come in regularly."

There is also a function room on offer in the pub, on the upper floor, which Kim says is popular for private events such as birthdays, anniversaries and there have been weddings too.

The couple host an annual beer festival which they say is really popular, as they source beers from far and wide for their customers, while the regulars also joke that their drinks selection is so big, it is literally like having a beer festival every day at the Black Country Arms.

As businesses in the hospitality industry are facing a bleak period due to the cost of living crisis, and soaring energy bills - the Black Country Arms is no exception, but Kim says they are lucky to have the safety of the brewery, but they do remain frugal with their energy usage in order to keep costs down.

Kim says: "We are lucky to have Black Country Ales, who are very supportive, and our prices have gone up a bit in recent weeks, but we did resist as long as we could.

"Our drinks have gone up by around 10p, but people are understanding, and we have found that they are prepared to pay the price for a comfortable, safe environment where they can enjoy that drink.

"Whilst we are nowhere near as busy as before the pandemic, we are getting there and doing OK. For this time of year, the World Cup has helped a lot, where we've had some good crowds.

"Plus we have a nice set of regulars who come in on most days. Some come in on their own for a drink and a bit of a chat as it can be the only time they have someone to talk to, and we also have groups too.

"We have found that since taking over, we had a bit of a mature set of customers when we first started but with our drinks offering, and ales becoming a bit trendy, we get a mix of ages coming in now."