#126 The Wheatsheaf, Crick, Northants : 1986 to 2013

Crick is a village in the Northamptonshire countryside and sits on the Grand Union Canal Leicester Section. It is home to the annual Crick Boat Show. There are three pubs in the village which we've visited on numerous occasions.

The first time I went to Crick was on the evening of Monday 21st July 1986 on a canal trip that would take us to Leicester and Nottingham.

I don't recall too much about it, but I think that The Wheatsheaf was a fairly standard village local with a Bar and Lounge. I do seem to remember that many of the pubs in that region seemed to be Mann's pubs.

It was quite a few years before we returned to Crick and this is how The Wheatsheaf looked.

This was a repeat of the previous journey and the photo was taken at lunchtime on Tuesday 26th August 1997. Quite a change in the intervening 11 years, although the hanging sign appears to be the same. Also, the light fittings are in the same place, but different in design.

We were back again a few years later on a similar itinerary (except that we didn't go to Nottingham this time) and we spent the evening in Crick.

This was on Monday 18th August 2003 and the six year gap had resulted in some more changes. New signage, new windows (I think!) and a replacement satellite dish. Also, no more car parking at the front.

Our next visit was another six years later, again on a similar journey, except this time the route had been reversed. We'd already been to Nottingham and Leicester and were on our way back to our moorings at Lapworth.

This was on the evening of Wednesday 9th September 2009 and again there were noticeable changes to the exterior of The Wheatsheaf. A new sign and yet another satellite dish!

Earlier this year I visited the Crick Boat Show for the first time and took the opportunity to pop into the village to get some updated photos of the pubs.

This was on Monday 27th May 2013. I think that the narrowboat mock-up is only there during the boat show. Other than that, there were some minor external changes...and the satellite dish has gone!

I haven't commented on the interior because, quite frankly, I don't recall what it was like. However, judging by the website, it looks as though The Wheatsheaf has gone a bit more upmarket.