Canal Pub Crawling - Part 2

Last time you left us at the Navigation Inn, Lapworth at the end of our second day of boating in our week-long trip around the Midlands.

DAY 3

STRATFORD CANAL - Lapworth (Lock 14) to Kings Norton Junction

WORCS & B'HAM CANAL - Kings Norton Junction to Worcester Bar

BCN MAIN LINE - Worcester Bar to Old Turn Junction

B'HAM & FAZELEY CANAL - Old Turn Junction to Saturday Bridge

 The day started off cloudy and dry, but this soon turned to persistent rain and by the time we'd passed through 13 locks and two lift bridges we were ready for a drink and some sustenance...but not here!

The Wharf Tavern, Hockley Heath B94 6QT is a place we've stopped at on many previous occasions, but it was only 12:05 and we still had a long journey into Brum. So we sailed on by.

The next pub along is also one we've stopped at on many occasions.

The Blue Bell Cider House, Earlswood B94 6BP was perfectly placed as it was now 13:15 and we were a few miles closer to our intended evening destination. Since our last visit the pub had been redecorated and had less of a 'tired' feel and the food was very good - still proper straightforward pub grub.

After the refreshment we were back on the water for the long afternoon's journey to Birmingham which necessitated passing more watering holes! First up was Lady Lane Wharf, Earlswood B94 6AH (at 16:05) which is a place we've never visited.

It gets good reviews for its food and beer (it has been, maybe still is, in the Good Beer Guide) but because of its position (relative to our other regular stopping places) and the lack of nearby moorings we are unlikely to break our duck any time soon.

A bit further on (16:55) is a place that we've stopped at on many occasions, usually when we're heading away from Brum, but not today.

The Drawbridge Inn, Shirley B90 1DD is situated next to an electrically operated lift bridge which is on a very busy cut-through so we tend to encouter quite a few impatient drivers as we operate the bridge. Today it was rush-hour on a Friday, so it was even busier than normal!

Further along towards Birmingham is another pub that we've stopped at on previous occasions, but nowadays there is nowhere to moor up as the banks have become overgrown.

The Horseshoe, Kings Heath B14 5EL is an old school boozer on the Alcester Road, not far from the Maypole (for those who know Brum). It was now 17:50 and it was still a couple more hours before we reached Central Birmingham for a safe place to moor.

Further on we come to Kings Norton Junction where we turn right and head in towards Birmingham on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. There are no canalside pubs along this stretch as the canal and railway line (Cross City) keep each other company all the way to Five Ways.

Once we hit the city centre there is a 90° turn by The Cube where, somewhat inevitably, we meet one of the party boats heading out of town, but manage to avoid any collision.

As we pass through Gas Street Basin we successfully negotiate the Worcester Bar which leads us onto the BCN Main Line for a short stretch. We pass by the Tap & Spile B1 2JT (not pictured) and the Canal House B1 2JR which was formerly the James Brindley. It is now 20:10 and we're ready for a drink!

But we're still not quite there; we pass through Broad Street Tunnel and turn right at Old Turn Junction to enter the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal where we moor up by Saturday Bridge - it is now 20:20 and we'd passed The Malt House B1 2NX, again without entering!

After mooring up, it was straight out to The Shakespeare B3 1JJ and an Indian meal at the Raj Doot, neither of which can be considered as canalside venues.

Day 4

BIRMINGHAM & FAZELEY CANAL - Saturday Bridge to Curdworth

Saturday started out grey and drizzly as we set off down the Farmer's Bridge flight of locks that head north taking you down and under Birmingham. Before we've even passed through the first lock there's a canalside pub.

It is way too early for a drink (09:50) in The Flapper B1 2NU. I haven't been there for many years and it is likely to have been closed and replaced by flats by the time we pass this way again. When I was a student this was the Flapper & Firkin, but now it is a music venue and feels more like an estate pub. A brief summary of the situation is here.

We pass no more canalside pubs until later in the afternoon following lunch at The Bull B4 6JU and after descending the Aston Lock flight. Towards the edge of the city comes a pub that I've never been in and, when you see the canal frontage, you'll understand why.

I give you...Tyburn House, Castle Vale B35 6AA. From this view, if you didn't know there was a pub there, you'd be none the wiser. It was now 17:15 and we had no plans to stop! Britain Beermat has visited the Tyburn House and put his thoughts on his blog Life After Football.

We still had the three Minworth Locks to negotiate before we passed by a pub that we've visited on numerous occasions, but at 18:10, we still had a bit more travelling to do.

The Boat Inn, Minworth B76 9AE is another lovely little local boozer that also does food and, for us, is more suited to lunchtime stops.

We passed one more (that I failed to photograph, being otherwise engaged) which was the Cuttle Bridge Inn, Minworth B76 9DP. This is a place we've frequented both in it's present guise and in it's previous incarnations as The Kingsley, but our destination of Curdworth was just along the cut, so we didn't stop.

So, two more days into the journey and we've passed by another dozen canalside pubs, but this time we only went into one of them! That is a pretty poor return. If we had stopped, and had a pint in each one, the trip would have taken three times as long.

However you dress it up, these statistics are a definite surprise to me!

TO BE CONTINUED.....

#071 Blue Bell Cider House, Hockley Heath, Warks : 1996 to 2011

The Blue Bell Cider House has long been well known around these parts as a good place to visit in the summer for a trip out into the countryside, just a short drive outside of Birmingham. I'm convinced that I'd been there before 1996, but it must have been by car as our first canal visit was on Saturday 25th May 1996.

We actually visited again on Friday 6th September 1996 on our way back from Llangollen and Chester, but I didn't take a picture! We'd moved our boat back to the Midlands in 1995 and so this became a more regular potential stop for us, especially as it has canalside moorings and does good pub food.

Our next visit was a on Saturday 24th May 1997.

The doors are now blue and the wall surrounding the large Blue Bell sign is white...and it was a much sunnier day!

Our next visit was on Saturday 10th August 2002 when we took a short break around the Midlands to do some much needed painting on Emma Jane.

It looks as though there's been a bit more painting done, but otherwise unchanged.

Saturday 26th August 2006 was our next visit at the start of a trip that took us to Northwich via the Anderton Boat Lift.

Again, largely unchanged, but the England flags were out, presumably left over following the World Cup. I also took a shot from the canal as you wouldn't know it was actually a canalside pub from the photos so far!

Next time it was Saturday 24th May 2008 at the start of a trip around the Midlands.

The doors are now Dark Blue and the large sign is on a Yellow background.

Our last visit to the Blue Bell was on Friday 26th August 2011 again at the start of a canal trip, this time to the Caldon Canal.

The pub itself was unchanged, inside or out, but the front had been tarmac-ed for car parking and the table had gone.

In all our years of visiting the Blue Bell it has hardly changed and is a good pub that does straightforward English food. There is now a website for the Blue Bell and it is well known for it's offerings of cider, which is a drink I've not drunk much of since I left school!

We only seem to visit the Blue Bell at the start of our trips because it is just the right distance away from our moorings, taking just under 3 hours to get there if things go well. If we get delayed, The Wharf at Hockley Heath offers an earlier stop off point for lunch.  

#028 James Brindley, Birmingham : 1986 to 2011

This is something of a sad tale. When Birmingham woke up to the potential of the canals in the city in the 1980's Gas Street Basin was one of the first parts to be opened up and developed. Part of this development was the James Brindley, a brand new pub on two levels with a nice airy feel. It was named after the first of Britain's great canal engineers.

James Brindley built the very first British canal, the Bridgewater Canal in 1761. He then went on to the Trent & Mersey Canal including the feat of constructing Harecastle Tunnel which opened in 1777. In all he was responsible for building 365 miles of canals and also for the design of the narrow lock that is the feature of many canals. He also built the original main line canal from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. The pub was built at the staring point of this canal. I'm not sure exactly when it opened, but our first canal visit was in 1986.

This photo was taken on Thursday 31st July 1986 near the end of our journey from Earlswood to Nottingham and back.

We were back again in 1987 on our summer trip that took us to Worcester, Market Drayton, Middlewich and back to Earlswood.

This was taken on Thursday 16th July 1987 and shows the view from Bridge Street rather than the canalside perspective.

Our next visit to the James Brindley was in 1995 as we passed through Birmingham near the end our trip from Winkwell on the Grand Union canal to Emma Jane's new (and current) home at Lapworth.

This was from Wednesday 6th September 1995 and best shows what a great canalside setting the James Brindley has. At this time the pub was still thriving, but soon the competition from the Broad Street area would take its toll.

This again shows the street entry view and was taken on Saturday 26th May 2001. I remember being surprised by how quiet it was on a Saturday night when the 'pubs' along Broad Street were so busy. Obviously the revellers want loud music and cheap 'shots' rather than a normal pub!

EDIT - 12th Feb 2012.

As I was searching through my photos for more pubs I came across this photo from 2006 that I'd missed in my collection!

This was taken on Thursday 7th September 2006 and the pub appears to be thriving at that time!

And so we move on to 2011 and this is the scene that presented itself on Tuesday 6th September 2011.

I'm not sure how long it has been boarded up, but it is sad to see a pub that has been open less than 30 years in such a state. Unless it turns itself into a 'nightclub' style venue I don't see too much hope for it judging by the way Broad Street has gone!

#002 Dog & Doublet, Bodymoor Heath : 1986 to 2011

I first visited the Dog & Doublet in the early 1980's when I lived in nearby Minworth. It is not easy to find from the road, but was a popular country pub. The photo above was taken in 1986 (30th July - lunchtime) on a canal trip which had taken us to Nottingham from our (then) mooring at Earlswood (and back). The pub is part way up the Curdworth flight of locks on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and is a welcome break on the journey for either lunch or an overnight stop.

Now we move on to 2000 (June 1st - lunchtime) and to all intents and purposes the pub hasn't changed at all. However, there is no M&B on the sign which is indicative of the change of pub ownership over the intervening 14 years. The pub is still owned by M&B (Mitchells & Butlers), but they are no longer a brewer, but are now a pub and restaurant company. Inside, the pub has been slightly modified and redecorated, but it still retained the characteristics of a good country pub.

We move on to a cool and damp lunchtime stop on 27th May 2007. No real changes, except that the trees/bushes need a bit of trimming. For quite a number of occasions, whenever we ventured through the Curdworth flight of locks it would be cool, damp and windy!

And so to 2011 (1st June - late afternoon) when we passed by on the journey up the Curdworth flight in, surprisingly, warm and sunny conditions. We didn't stop there this time as we were running a bit behind our schedule, but it is good to see that it is still thriving with many people enjoying the warm sunshine and the canal scenery outside.
Should you fancy a visit to the Dog & Doublet you can find their webpage here.