Camra's Rural Pub of the Year for Dudley and South Staffordshire receives its award

A village pub on the edge of the Black Country has been praised for its ales and community focus as it scooped a prestigious award.

Debbie Goode, who runs the Old Bush in Wombourne, was presented with the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) Dudley and South Staffordshire Rural Pub of the Year award to a Wombourne pub.

The pub in High Street was also one of six finalists in the overall branch pub of the year competition, which was won by The Vine, commonly known as the Bull & Bladder, in Brierley Hill.

John Corser, chairman of Camra’s Dudley and South Staffordshire branch, presented the award certificate to Debbie in a ceremony on Wednesday night.

Debbie and her husband Richard have run the pub since it reopened after being taken over by Black Country Ales in June, 2023.

John said pub had achieved high scores for its real ale over the course of 2025 and had scored highly from judges for its community focus and welcome from staff.

Debbie put the success down to her team of staff and thanked regular customers for their support.

The Old Bush now goes through to the Staffordshire round of the Campaign for Real Ale's national Pub of the Year competition.

Debbie said the pub would be holding a beer festival from July 2-5, with 30 beers planned, and an outside bar in the pub garden as well.