When I came to review the logs of our canal trips through the years, I was very surprised to find that the first time we ever stopped at Nantwich was in 1996, sixteen years since my first canal trip! Our usual itinerary was to stop at Audlem on the way up on the Shropshire Union Canal followed by a visit to Ye Olde Barbridge Inn (or reverse on the way down). Nantwich is between these two.
My first visit was on Saturday 24th August 1996 when we picked up Emma Jane there from Andrew who'd had a two week trip from Lapworth.
As it was a lunchtime, we retired to the nearest pub, the Oddfellows Arms (as it was named then), for a few pints before we set off for our first journey to Llangollen.
We didn't return to Nantwich again until Sunday 28th August 2005 on our way back from a trip to Chester.
This was an evening stop and it allowed us to explore Nantwich further after our first port of call, The Oddfellows. From the outside, the pub was very different, but inside it was still the same welcoming, proper pub that it was before.
We were back again the next year on a trip that should have taken us to Manchester. We never made it that far as we'd fallen half a day behind schedule within the first two days! Still, this tardiness on our part meant that we could visit the Anderton Boat Lift and take the trip down to the River Weaver.
This was on the evening of Wednesday 30th August 2006 and again we took the opportunity to sample the delights of Nantwich. For those of us who like pubs, Nantwich provides a fine selection, many of which we've now sampled! The Oddfellows was largely unchanged.
We were back in Nantwich again in 2007 (twice), but didn't pay a visit to The Oddfellows on either visit!
Our most recent visit was on Thursday 12th April 2012 on our first trip on a hire boat.
At first glance, the pub is almost unchanged, but the small Burtonwood sign has gone, the windows have been replaced and a new sign has appeared on the right hand end wall. Inside was largely the same as before...small, cosy and welcoming.
It is now a Marston's pub and despite the subtle name change, most websites still refer to it as the Oddfellows Arms!
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