Five things I love about the Wolverhampton neighbourhood I call home

I’ve lived in the Penn area of Wolverhampton since I was a very young boy and it’s an area I have always loved to live in.

However, what is it about Penn and what lies within that I can say I love the most? What are the bits that keep me there and enjoy coming home?

I’ve looked across the wide area of the neighbourhood, which sits just a few miles outside Wolverhampton city centre, and picked out five things I can honestly say make my home what it is and mean the most to me.

1. Penn Common

Penn is a reasonably built-up area with a lot of housing, but it also provides large areas of greenery and foliage, from the large numbers of trees plotted around to small parks full of green and lush grass.

However, take a ride down the Mount Road or up Church Hill and you will end up viewing a large and very green area of land which acts almost as a natural land barrier between Penn and south Staffordshire.

Penn Common stretches over 54 acres, with the Sedgley Road running down the middle, and provides ample areas for walkers and ramblers to take in the natural setting.

It is also home to Penn Golf Club, with the 18-hole course again split by the road, and had the eyes of the world on it during the 2022 Commonwealth Games as part of the route for the Cycling Time Trial.

2. The pubs

This is one category where I can’t choose from any one of the pubs in the area as Penn is an area rich with places for people to enjoy a drink in a range of settings.

Walking up the A449 Penn Road out of Wolverhampton, you will first encounter the Mount Tavern, a pub which has been a feature of the neighbourhood since I was a kid and serves me as a 44-year-old man.

It’s a pub which has undergone lots of changes over the years, but still works on the basis of being a friendly and welcoming pub, as well as a great destination for a curry.

Further down Penn Road, the hardy beer drinker is almost spoilt for choice, with three in close proximity and all with their own character.

The Roebuck is a pub with a family link, having been one of my dad’s regulars for a long time and where we held the wake after his funeral, and while it has struggled, it still goes on and still has a warm feeling.

Just a short walk away is the Fox & Goose, a pub revived after years of dormancy and given a new purpose as a cafe by day and pub by night. Both are excellent for the food and drink provided and have really helped revive a pub many thought lost in time.

Just down the hill is the Rose & Crown, where a good meal is guaranteed, as well as the Hollybush just down the road. Both are also worthy of mention for a well-kept pint.

Take a walk up Vicarage Road and follow the road around St Bartholomew’s Church and you will encounter a Phoenix from the Flames in the Old Stags Head.

Thought lost to the community after closing in 2018, this pub has been given a new lease of life as a Desi Pub, mixing a wide range of beers with hot, spicy and flavourful Indian food, and has been doing great business since opening several weeks ago.

Finally, either along the country path or taking a walk along Pennwood Lane will bring the weary traveller to the Barley Mow, a pub with 500 years of history and sitting on the edge of the Common. It has a wide range of cask ales and fantastic food.

Any one of these pubs are worth a visit and will make you feel welcome once you walk in.

3. Penn Balti

The neighbourhood is blessed with a great mixture of takeaways and restaurants, from top quality Indian restaurants to quality Chinese takeaways and more than a few good fish and chip restaurants.

However, I will always swear up and down that the best takeaway in Penn and, possibly, Wolverhampton, is Penn Balti, located in a block of buildings between the Fox & Goose and the Roebuck.

If you didn’t know where it was, you would soon find out as the delicious aromas and spices will waft through the air and hit the senses, leaving you with a sudden craving for a curry or Tandoori Dish.

Penn Balti are serial award winners and it’s easy to see why with the quality of the food on offer. I regularly enjoy a Chicken or Mutton Naga with Pilau Rice and a Tandoori Roti, all wonderfully well cooked and with the right level of seasoning and spice.

They’ve even managed to take a Chicken Korma and turn it from something bland and lifeless into a curry full of rich, creamy texture and lots of flavour. Try it for yourself and thank me later.

4. Cup of Joy

Cup of Joy is more than just a cafe as it has become a true community hub.

The cafe can be found on the corner of Belmont Road at the junction with Mount Road and is set within a building which has changed hands and identities over the years.

One big factor in the success of the cafe has been the pay it forward scheme, which allows people to buy biscuits and make a donation to pay for another person's meal or hot drink.

It’s a small, intimate and very cosy cafe with staff who smile and make you feel like you’re at home, plus the cakes are exceptionally good and very indulgent.

On a cold day, with the wind blowing and a bit of rain in the air, you could do worse than to wonder through the doors, order a flat white and brownie and sit and watch the world go by in this cafe.

5. Woodfield Primary School

It has been 33 years since I left Woodfield Primary School on Woodfield Avenue to go onto secondary school, but I can still picture walking through the doors of the then-Junior school and, over the years, turning either left towards my Year 3 or Year 4 classroom or straight on down the hall for Year 5 and Year 6.

The school played a big part in my development from going to nursery school at three-years-old through my infant school days (I remember the classrooms being way bigger than they actually are) and then into Junior’s in 1989.

From there, I learned from Mrs Boothroyd, developed a love of dinosaurs from Mr Bradley, was constantly challenged by Mrs Barnard and, to be honest, somewhat scared of Mrs Roberts (she was a disciplinarian).

The school remains a firm and fond part of my history and when I get the opportunity to go past and see the outside, it’s brings those memories back in spades.