The Plough, Huddlesford

The Plough at Huddlesford is the local at the Lichfield end of the Lichfield & Hatherton. It's a pub that has been seen by millions of railway travellers as it is squeezed into a small space between the Coventry and the West Coast mainline. These days, the pub is screened by wooden panels alongside the tracks.

It's a simple building facing the canal and turning its back on the rail lines above, but it is fast becoming more restaurant than pub, although there are good beers on tap; I had the Landlord. The restaurant part, towards the back, was packed out and even the tables at the front were filled with diners: it's not the kind of place where local farmers play darts and discuss the price of heifers anymore.

The staff were extremely friendly and served up great food - not the usual pubco standardised restaurant but something slightly different, while still solid enough to retain the attention of the risk-averse Great British public.

The restaurant hours are a little longer than advertised on various websites, with last orders at 9pm, with the pub open until 11pm or so.