#286 Brasenose Arms, Cropredy, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 Trips along the Southern Oxford Canal are quite rare for us and so the first time I ever visited Cropredy was on the evening of Wednesday 2nd September 1998 - just 18 years into my canal adventuring!

There are two pubs in Cropredy and on this first visit, we sampled both, but I'll concentrate on the Brasenose Arms this time.

Do I have any recollection as to what it was like? Err...no! Looks like it was an M & B pub from the lantern above the entrance.

Our next visit was a lunchtime stop on Tuesday 24th August 2004 on a trip that started out in Oxford.

It would appear, from my image library, that we again visited both pubs in the village. We probably ate in the Red Lion and had a final pint in the Brasenose Arms before setting off again.

All new exterior signage and it would appear to be one of Enterprise Inns stable of pubs (M & B lantern has also gone).

Our most recent visit was on Tuesday 18th May 2021, the day after the second relaxation that allowed eating and drinking INSIDE pubs and restaurants.

On this occasion, I chose the Brasenose Arms because it had been serving a large garden of customers with food since the first relaxation to outdoor drinking/dining and so, I reasoned, they'd be best set up to serve us a decent evening meal. If only I'd paid more attention to the website, which clearly stated (I saw later) that Tuesdays were the chef's days off. So, no food, also they'd taken the decision not to open the pub, just garden service!

Well, we tried the Red Lion, but not surprisingly, it was fuly booked. So, it was back to the Brasenose Arms for an evening of not-cold-enough lager, crisps, nuts and scratchings! Could've been worse, at least we managed a few pints!

From the outside, the pub appears to have changed little, but it is no longer part of Enterprise Inns, who are now part of Stonegate pubs. As far as I can ascertain it is now privately owned.

#285 Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn, Banbury, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 One of the joys of visiting Banbury on the Oxford Canal is getting the chance to revisit Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn.

Our first visit was at lunchtime on Tuesday 8th September 1998 as part of our return journey from Oxford.

Not my best composed picture, but it shows off the pub quite nicely. I remember it being a proper pub that served food and somewhere that was worth revisiting.

We duly returned four years later at lunchtime on Tuesday 28th May 2002.

At first glance it looks to be unchanged (apart from the window boxes), but the sign has been replaced with a subtle change of name to Ye Olde Reindeer Inn and the removal of the supporting beam.

It wasn't too long before our next return on the evening of Monday 23rd August 2004.

Still the same pub sign and still the same old unspoilt pub!

It was to be a good number of years before we returned to Banbury, this time en route to the River Thames at lunchtime on Saturday 27th July 2019.

Not surprisingly, the signage had changed in the intervening 15 years and the pub had reverted back to being Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn. With the added bonus that the sign is now parallel with the (now pedestrianised) street below! Inside, the pub was largely as we remembered it.

It was only a couple of years later that we returned (twice, both lunchtimes) on Wednesday 19th May 2021 and Monday 24th May 2021.

Our first visit included my first drink inside a pub for many months! It was very quiet inside on both occasions, but it is still a wonderful pub.