#279 The Old Thatch Tavern, Stratford-upon-Avon : 1996 to 2020

 The Old Thatch Tavern has been a feature of Stratford's pub scene for hundreds of years. We first discovered it on the evening of Friday 5th April 1996 on the first of, what was for fifteen years, our annual Easter canal trip to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Unfortunately, my early photos are all from an analogue age with my trusty Fuji ST-605!

As I recall, it was a small cosy pub that felt like a proper pub...but was often quite crowded, which explains why we didn't necessarily visit every year. The next time we popped in was on the evening of Friday 2nd April 1999.

No real change to the pub.

Another three years and we again popped in for a quick pint on the evenbing of Saturday 30th March 2002.

As you'd expect with an historic pub, no change!

Our next visit on the evening of Saturday 10th April 2004 finally shows off the complete pub!

Then again on the evening of Saturday 15th April 2006.

And we were back on Saturday 3rd April 2010 for another evening stop.

This was our penultimate Easter trip to Stratford and the Old Thatch Tavern was an unchanging feature of the town...always cosy, always a delight, often packed with happy folk!

This isn't the end of our story, though. In the summer of 2014 we hired a boat from Napton and, as an off-shoot of the Warwickshire Ring, we popped down the Stratford Canal 'for old times sake'!

This was on the evening of Tuesday 30th September 2014 and, for the first time there were some changes! Firstly, the hanging sign had changed and advertised it as being a Fuller's pub. Secondly, it had been repainted on the outside with 'Old Thatch' being more prominent. Inside it had lost none of its character.

Our most recent visit to Stratford was at lunchtime on Monday 20th July 2020 and The Old Thatch Tavern was closed...but not permanently so! (Definitely now open according to Trip Advisor).

The exterior had been redecorated again to revert back to black window frames from white previously. (As a Grade II listed building and the only thatched roof building left in the centre of Stratford, I assume that's about all they can do!)

I was very pleased to see that it is still in operation and it is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Stratford.

#268 Plume of Feathers, Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire : 2001 to 2019

Back in 2001 we visited Weedon Bec twice on our journey to Aylesbury and back. On the second visit we ventured into the lower half of the village where we made our first visit to the Plume of Feathers.

This was on the evening of Tuesday 4th September 2001 and I don't recall much about the pub.

With Peggy Ellen being moved to Napton our first opportunity to revisit Weedon Bec came on our Easter outing to Northampton and back. Again, it was on the return journey that we decided to venture into Lower Weedon and we popped into the Plume of Feathers.

This was on the evening of Sunday 21st April 2019. The pub is a standard village local style boozer, with most people being in the garden as the weather at Easter was remarkably warm.

In the intervening 18 years the exterior decoration had changed markedly, but the building itself is remarkably unmodified. It was good to see that it was still there and doing a reasonable trade.

#248 Wynnstay Arms, Llangollen, Denbighshire : 2007 to 2018 (RIP?) And A Flock of Seagulls Member!

Our boating trips to Llangollen are quite infrequent, but is is a great section of canal to travel along. The town of Llangollen has some interesting pubs (see previous entries) and I'm surprised that the Wynnstay Arms hadn't featured before.

We didn't go into the pub on our first visit in 1996, but we did venture in on the evening of Friday 31st August 2007.

As I recall, despite appearances from outside, it was quite a small, intimate local boozer on the inside (a sort of reverse Tardis effect!)

Our next visit to Llangollen was at Easter in 2014 when we hired a boat from Chirk Marina.

This visit was on the evening of Saturday 19th April 2014 and, as far as I could tell, the Wynnstay Arms was unchanged (outside or in).

On our most recent visit to Llangollen, on the evening of Friday 31st August 2018, this was the scene.

We'd already had a couple of pints, a meal and approx a bootle of wine (each) and were looking forward to seeing whether it was still a proper little boozer. At first glance it looked remarkably unchanged...but the closed front door is a bit of a giveaway (this was 10:40pm). Somewhat disappointed, my friends headed off to the Bridge End Hotel (where we'd started our evening) and this is where my evening turned into a somewhat bizarre experience.

As I was taking my pictures I got into conversation with a scouse gentleman who was having a fag outside the wine bar next door to the Wynnstay Arms. I think he started the conversation (but I'd had a lot to drink so don't really remember much detail!) by telling me his name and that he was a member of the band A Flock of Seagulls. I didn't recognise him and, quite frankly, I didn't really believe him, but I carried on chatting with him because...well, I'll talk to anyone! (And I quite liked A Flock of Seagulls, back in the day.) It was his idea that I take the picture.

Later, after a quick check on the internet, it looked as though I might have been talking with Mike Score who was the lead singer with the band. Subsequent research, back home proved that it wasn't him as he now has an American twang to his voice. I finally found a recent interview with the whole band and there he was...Frank Maudsley...in the same shades, wearing the same watch and crucially with exactly the same voice. Don't ask me what he was doing in Llangollen, because in my pissed state I couldn't remember!

Anyway, back to the Wynnstay Arms. Subsequent research shows that it is to be refurbished "to transform it into a destination bar, restaurant and cocktail bar" as outlined on the Welsh Government website. Whether this actually goes ahead is anybody's guess, but hopefully it will continue as a drinking establishment in some form. 

#234 Crown & Anchor, Stone, Staffs : 1991 to 2016

The town of Stone (between Stoke and Stafford) is a notable location on the Trent and Mersey Canal. Approximately at the mid-point of the waterway it was once home to the company that owned the canal and was the place where many of the original plans were formulated. 

However, more importantly, it is a town with a good number of pubs, so it is always a poipular stopping place for us. The Crown & Anchor isn't canalside, but it is only a short walk from the cut. Our first visit was on the evening of Friday 26th July 1991 during the journey that took Emma Jane from Adlington (on the Leeds & Liverpol Canal) to, ultimately, Cowley Peachey (on the Grand Union Canal).

I don't remember much about it and with plenty of other pubs to choose from, we didn't return until the evening of Tuesday 29th August 2000.

This was a completely unscheduled visit as we'd passed through Stone that afternoon and were moored at Barlaston. Unbeknownst to us the Plume of Feathers at Barlaston was closed and we needed an alternative! One of the good things about canal trips is that, although it may have taken 3+ hours to get somewhere, it's only a 10 - 15 minute taxi ride back...so we chose Stone as a safe bet. As I recall the pub was largely unchanged.

Our next visit was on the evening of Monday 22nd August 2005.

Subtle changes from 1991 are visible (if you look carefully enough) but to all intents and purposes it is stil the same as before.

It was quite a number of years before we ventured back to the Crown & Anchor, this time there were many changes.

This visit was on the evening of Sunday 27th March 2016 as part of our Easter trip to Stoke. The pub had been completely refurbished inside (as a more dining led pub) and some minor changes outside. The one main external change is the removal of the distictive  hanging sign from the gable end of the pub.

Good News & Bad News from Stoke-on-Trent

I know! You get no pubs from me for a couple of weeks, then two come along at once!!

#208 The Bird in Hand, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent : 1999 to 2016 (RIP)

First, the bad news. This is a pub that I don't think I ever went in, but it is one we've failed to find on several visits!

This picture was taken on the way back to our boat after a bit of a pub crawl around Hanley on Friday 3rd September 1999. It was closed by then...and we probably couldn't have drunk any more. But, we'd be able to visit it next time we were in the area!

Sadly our optimism was unfounded (and our sense of direction let us down, again) so that we didn't pass by until the evening of Saturday 26th March 2016.

The Bird in Hand is no more, now it is an Islamic community centre - a fate suffered by many pubs in inner city areas.

#209 Shoulder of Mutton Inn, Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent : 2011 to 2016

This is the good news story. On the evening of Friday 2nd September 2011 we stumbled across this magnificent looking back street pub.

At the time it looked as though the Shoulder of Mutton was gone forever, but no, this is what we found on Saturday 26th March 2016.

It was alive and well and open for business; so we had a quick pint. Inside it is all that you'd expect of an 'old school' back street boozer. The Carling was nice and cold, but there was no real ale (although there was a hand pump!). More information can be found here.  

UPDATE : #106 Jolly Tar, Wardle, Cheshire : 2005 to 2016 (RIP)

The text below in italics is what I wrote in my original post in 2013.

 

Whenever we pass through Barbridge Junction on the Shropshire Union Canal, there is only one place where we regularly stop...and it isn't The Jolly Tar! We'd normally visit Ye Olde Barbridge Inn which is right by the canal. However, many's the occasion when I've thought that we should pay The Jolly Tar a visit. So in 2005 we finally decided to pop in for a pint.

This photo was taken on Friday 26th August 2005. As I recall, the pub was fairly quiet and a bit of a throwback to the 70's and 80's in style.

We haven't been back inside since then, but I took this photo as we were passing by at Easter on Thursday 12th April 2012.

It has obviously been repainted in the intervening years and the colour scheme has changed from blue to red. This place always reminds me of a seaside pub.

Each year, in recent times, when we've passed by I've been surprised to see that it has still been open. Although it is advertised as a canalside pub, there is the slight problem of the A51 which runs between the pub and the canal, which must make it difficult to 'sell' to the visiting public. Sadly my fears have been confirmed and, as of writing, The Jolly Tar is closed. It would appear, from this statement, that the lease ran out on 10th March 2013 and new tenants have not yet been found. Sad, but in this current economic climate, not too surprising. 

 

It would appear that tenants were found and the pub was running into late 2014, but we passed by during our recent summer boating trip and found the following sad sight! 

 

I've tried to recreate the view from previous visits - not entirely successfully! These shots taken on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th August 2016. The whole pub has disappeared, almost as though it had been abducted by aliens who'd forgotten to take the pub sign! Grass grows where the pub once stood, but the car park continues to resist nature.  

#175 Sun Inn, Llangollen, Denbighshire : 2007 to 2014

As previously mentioned, we don't get to Llangollen very often, so we do like to have a look around.

Our first visit was on the evening of Friday 31st August 2007 and we only popped in for a pint. As I recall it was a typical local boozer which are all too rare these days - then it was only a couple of months after the Smoking Ban had come in!

We were back in Llangollen on the evening of Saturday 19th April 2014 and we decided to retrace our steps along the A5 to see what pubs were still there.

We didn't go in this time because the music was a bit loud (and we're becoming old gits who don't like music that's too noisy!!) and they don't do food. I was, however, pleased to see that it had survived, almost completely unchanged in seven years.

It seems to be thriving as a music venue - here's a link for more information.

#173 The Vaults, Knowle, West Midlands : 1999 to 2014

This is going to be a short post about a pub that I've only been into once...and I don't remember what it was like inside!

We don't visit Knowle very often on the canal and when we do go there we end up in any/all of the other pubs. Our first (and so far, only) visit was on the evening of Sunday 4th April 1999. It was Easter Sunday and we'd finished our regular Easter trip to Stratford and back. So, rather than drink locally in Lapworth we caught a taxi to Knowle to see what the village had to offer.

Although it has a High Street address, the entrance is on one of the side streets (next door to Loch Fyne restaurant). We must have had a pint in there because in those days I didn't take pictures if we didn't go in, but I have no recollection.

We were once again in Knowle on the evening of Sunday 28th September 2014 and, as we were strolling along the High Street, I took this picture.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if it would still be there, but it appears to have gone from strength to strength. (I discovered, whilst researching this entry, that it has been the Solihull CAMRA Pub of the Year nine times since 1992, most recently in 2013!)

The Vaults now advertises itself as a 'Real Ale Bar' that seems to have filled a niche in the area. Despite the major changes to the outside it is interesting to see that the hanging sign is still the same...even if it has been turned around in the intervening 15 years!

#169 The Red Lion, Knowle, West Midlands : 1996 to 2014

Although Knowle is only a few miles from Lapworth where our boat was moored for many years, we very rarely visit the village by boat. This is mainly because it is on a different canal (Grand Union) and the journey from there into Birmingham is far less attractive than the North Stratford Canal route.

In the days before I took a picture of every pub we visited we'd been to the Red Lion, but the first occasion I have a picture was from the evening of Sunday 7th April 1996.

Back then it had been renamed Felons & Firkin, but you can just make out that the red lion hanging sign is still there. This visit to Knowle came at the end of our first Easter trip to Stratford-upon-Avon as we had some time to kill on the way back to our moorings.

Our next visit was on the evening of Friday 31st May 2002 as the last stop on our one week trip to Banbury and back.

By this time it had reverted back to its original name and was now part of the Ember Inns chain of M&B.

It was quite a long while before we returned, this time on the evening of Sunday 28th September 2014.

This time it was at the start of a journey that started at Napton Junction and we visited Knowle before heading off to Stratford-upon-Avon. It is still part of the Ember Inns chain, but with an added 'The' to its name.

From the outside, very little has changed and I'm pleased to say that it has retained the quite magnificent hanging sign which I took a picture of a few days ago.

Inside, well that's a different matter. Back in 1996 it was a typical Firkin pub, then in 2002 it was a typical Ember Inn of that era - a cross between a pub and a wine bar - and in 2014 it was still typically an Ember Inn, but now a hybrid of a pub and a restaurant. 

#149 The Ram's Head, Grappenhall, Cheshire : 1991 to 2013

I've only ever visited Grappenhall twice and we went in The Ram's Head on both occasions.

The first visit was at lunchtime on Monday 22nd July 1991 as part of a trip to take our boat Emma Jane from Wigan to Hemel Hemstead.

I have absolutely no recollection about what the pub was actually like inside!

The next time we stopped at Grappenhall was on our Easter trip from Preston Brook to Manchester (and back) when we made an evening stop on Sunday 31st March 2013.

Unsurprisingly, in the intervening 22 years there have been some changes, but in keeping with the village, they are only superficial. Inside, I was initially quite disappointed as it had (to my eyes) been converted into a restaurant style pub. However, the food was good, the lager flowed well and a pub quiz started a 8:30 so we were well entertained (even though we didn't enter!).

To be honest it isn't as 'pubby' as I would've liked, but in this day and age it ticked the important boxes (beer and food and its still open!) so I can't be too critical. If you're in the area, here's The Ram's Head website for you to browse.

#120 Wickstead Arms, Nantwich, Cheshire : 2005 to 2012

This is going to be a short entry - the Wickstead Arms is a pub I've only visited twice and it didn't leave much of an impression. That's not to say it was a bad pub, far from it, but it falls into the class of 'bog standard' town centre pub and there are more interesting pubs in Nantwich.

This isn't one of my better photos as it was fairly late on the evening of Sunday 28th August 2005. As I recall it was reasonably busy.

We decided to pop in again when we stopped at Nantwich on Thursday 12th April 2012 as part of our evening pub crawl around the town!

In the intervening seven years the Wickstead Arms had hardly changed at all.

#118 The Junction, Moseley, Birmingham : 1998 to 2012

This is a strange one! Back in the late 70's when I was a student in Birmingham, The Junction in Moseley didn't exist! I'm not sure exactly when it became a pub, but back in 1998 it was called The Hogshead.

This was taken some time over the Easter Weekend of 1998 and, as I recall, we only had one pint and left quickly. It was typical of the Hogshead chain; busy, noisy and unattractively designed.

I've never been back, but now it has been reborn as The Junction.

This photo was taken on Sunday 11th November 2012 and it seems that The Junction is thriving.

#114 Ring O' Bells, Christleton, Cheshire : 2005 to 2012

The first time we visited Christleton on the outskirts of Chester we never got beyond the Old Trooper (#090) which is right by the canal. Next time we stopped there was a lunchtime and we decided to investigate the village further. Christleton is a very pretty village and we were pleasantly surprised to find the Ring O'Bells.

This was on Saturday 27th August 2005 and, as I recall, we had a very pleasant lunchtime stop there. In those days it was a fairly upmarket pub that did good food.

We weren't back in the locale for quite a few years and what a transformation!

This was again a lunchtime stop on Wednesday 11th April 2012. Although the picture is from the other side it is very obvious that the Ring O' Bells has been extensively redeveloped. It is now more of a restaurant than a pub, but the food was good and it was reasonably busy for a Wednesday lunchtime.

On the website, this is how they describe it - "In a nutshell Ring O’ Bells is a welcoming Cheshire pub combining high class food with the finest wines and beers". But, to my mind, if you can reserve a table it is no longer a pub!

#110 Ye Olde Custom House Inn, Chester : 2005 to 2012

This entry is going to be a short one - as I only (re) discovered that I'd been to Ye Olde Custom House Inn when I was looking through my old photos!

This was on Saturday 27th August 2005 on our second canal trip to Chester. I don't recall going in and have no idea what it was like! In my defence (meagre though it is!), there are a lot of pubs in Chester and I can't possibly remember them all!

We were back in Chester just after Easter in 2012 and stumbled across Ye Olde Custom House Inn by accident and only went in because the steak restaurant across the street was busy at the time.

This was on Tuesday 10th April 2012 on our way back from a lovely day trip to Ellesmere Port! In the seven years since our previous visit there has been little change to the outside apart from a new collection of signs.

Ye Olde Custom House Inn is on Watergate Street and their website is here. The restaurant across the street is Upstairs at the Grill and the steaks were fantastic, albeit a bit pricey!

#107 Bull's Head, Moseley, Birmingham : 1998 to 2012

The Bull's Head in Moseley was always at the bottom of the list of pubs we used to visit in Moseley when I was a student...but we did still go there quite a lot!! Back in those days (the late 70's), the Bull's Head was one of the pubs that was swapped and became a Courage pub in a ploy to give Midlanders more choice other than the M&B/Ansell's near monopoly in Birmingham.

I don't have a picture from those days, but I do have this one from some years later.

This picture was taken some time over the Easter Weekend in 1998 when we'd been thwarted by the elements in our attempts to get to Stratford on the canal. I don't remember too much about it, though I think the inside was relatively unchanged from previous years!

It was another four years before we returned to Moseley.

This was taken on Wednesday 15th August 2002 during an evening tour around the delights of Moseley. The Bull's Head was completely transformed. From the outside you can see that the entrance door had been moved (to what looks like it's original location) and the ground floor windows have been replaced. Inside was a complete revelation...not necessarily in a good way...the room had become open plan with lots of 'leather' sofas and armchairs - very modern. It no longer felt like a pub and the beer prices were noticeably higher than in the other nearby pubs. But, although it wasn't to my taste, it was good to see it reopened and under new ownership as it had been closed for a while.

I haven't been back for a drink for quite a few years now, but I took this photo on Sunday 11th November 2012.

As far as I can tell, the Bull's Head was almost completely unchanged, apart from the small advertising boards either side of the doors. I didn't go inside, so can't comment on the interior décor, however judging from the Bull's Head website, I'd guess that it has changed a bit, but it hasn't gone back to being a traditional boozer! Still, it is good to see it thriving which is the main thing! 

#106 The Jolly Tar, Wardle, Cheshire : 2005 to 2012

Whenever we pass through Barbridge Junction on the Shropshire Union Canal, there is only one place where we regularly stop...and it isn't The Jolly Tar! We'd normally visit Ye Olde Barbridge Inn which is right by the canal. However, many's the occasion when I've thought that we should pay The Jolly Tar a visit. So in 2005 we finally decided to pop in for a pint.

This photo was taken on Friday 26th August 2005. As I recall, the pub was fairly quiet and a bit of a throwback to the 70's and 80's in style.

We haven't been back inside since then, but i took this photo as we were passing by at Easter on Thursday 12th April 2012.

It has obviously been repainted in the intervening years and the colour scheme has changed from blue to red. This place always reminds me of a seaside pub.

Each year, in recent times, when we've passed by I've been surprised to see that it has still been open. Although it is advertised as a canalside pub, there is the slight problem of the A51 which runs between the pub and the canal, which must make it difficult to 'sell' to the visiting public. Sadly my fears have been confirmed and, as of writing, The Jolly Tar is closed. It would appear, from this statement, that the lease ran out on 10th March 2013 and new tenants have not yet been found. Sad, but in this current economic climate, not too surprising. 

#084 The Nag's Head, Henley-in-Arden, Warks : 2001 to 2011

As previously reported here, on our annual canal trips to Stratford-upon-Avon, we regularly make a drinking detour to the village of Henley-in-Arden as there are several pubs and eating establishments to choose from. The Nag's Head isn't the best pub in Henley and is often our last port of call in the village, so the following pictures aren't my finest works because of the lighting and the fact that I'd had a few!!

This was Friday 13th April 2001. The Nag's Head is a pretty basic village local pub.

Friday 9th April 2004.

Friday 25th March 2005.

Friday 2nd April 2010 and a bench has appeared outside, presumably for the smokers!

Finally, a daylight shot of The Nag's Head! This was our last visit on Friday 29th April 2011. Over the ten years we've been visiting this pub it has hardly changed. It is a Grade II Listed Building so that explains why the outside is unchanged, aside from a few minor tweaks, but it doesn't explain why the inside is still so basic after all these years!