Boozin' and Cruisin' through the East Midlands (Part 6)

 Day 11 - Tuesday

We're on the final leg of our little tour of the Midlands and now moving away from the hub of Life After Football country!

The journey from Atherstone takes us through Hartshill (nice pub, the Anchor, but I haven't been for several years...bad timing!) and through Nuneaton heading for our lunchtime destination of The Greyhound at Hawkesbury Junction.

The gazebo/tent for outdoor service has gone and the pub is almost back to normal...except that it was table service via an app (which actually worked well!). This meant that for today's Bass porn you don't get to see the hand pump...just an 'interracial' threesome on a bar room table!

I've already played this game on Twitter - guess which is my pint!

Following a very pleasant lunchtime session we set off for a rare trip into Coventry - UK City of Culture 2021. The final 5-mile stretch of the Coventry Canal has become increasingly more pleasant over the past few years as decaying industry and derelict factories get turned into residential complexes. The canal basin at the terminus is still a lovely little haven, although mooring was at a premium as certain places had to be booked in advance because of Coventry's new-found status. We just managed to squeeze Peggy Ellen into a (semi) legal mooring spot.

And so, into Coventry we ventured! In the past we've struggled to find decent pubs in the city, but with the help of Retired Martin we headed for this gem!

Without Martin's excellent blog (and Google Maps) we would never have discovered this lovely pub...the Town Wall Tavern...a proper local in the city centre!

After a couple of pints we moved on in search of food - a lovely Italian - through the rain which always seems to accompany our jaunts into Coventry city centre (whether forecast or not!). Then it was onward to our final pub of the evening.

Yes, The Flying Standard is a Wetherspoon's, but it was now after 10pm and not much else was open! The rain finally eased and, after a couple of pints, we strolled back to Coventry Canal Basin and our slightly dodgy mooring!

Day 12 - Wednesday

 

In the morning we retraced our route out of Coventry to Hawkesbury Junction where we joined the (North) Oxford Canal. It was way too early to stop at The Greyhound again, so we pushed on to Ansty.

It is a good many years since I've been to the Rose & Castle and it has undergone a complete external transformation (#035 UPDATE). Inside, however, was pretty much as I remembered it. In reality the Rose & Castle is no longer a pub (and hasn't been for many years), but it was almost full on this Wednesday lunchtime so you can't really argue with their model! The food was good, the beer satisfied, so what's not to like!

The afternoon's cruising took us to Rugby with a brief stop for a pump-out at Rose Narrowboats. It was my intention to take my shipmates to some of the fine pubs we visited on our Proper Day Out to Rugby in 2019. As our mooring was well over a mile away from the town centre, we called a cab, first stop The Seven Stars.

My travelling companions were as impressed as I'd hoped, but we had to go after one pint as there were other pubs to see! Next stop the Alexandra Arms...except it only opens on Thursdays to Sundays (and it is now the Alexandra Tavern!)

 

So, it was back to an old favourite - The Squirrel.

Unfortunatey, for us, it was 'Open Mic' night so the place was packed, but we managed to get seats...without a table! It obviously works well for the pub, but not really our thing. We scurried out after a pint, had a Chinese meal across the road and finished off in The Rupert Brooke.

Yes, I know it's the town Wetherspoon's (two nights running!), but both the Victoria Inn and Merchant's Stores were in the wrong direction for us!

 

Day 13 - Thursday

 

Next morning gave us a pleasant session of Hillmorton Locks which can, sometimes, take ages to get through, but with the help of the Canal & River Trust volunteers, we traversed the three locks without delay. This meant a relatively early lunch stop at a pub that I'd visited on my first ever canal trip in 1980 (and moored in the exact same spot!).

Back then it was a proper country pub called The Old Royal Oak, now it is a Greene King Pub & Carvery called The Waterside.

Despite the fact it was Thursday lunchtime, carvery was the only menu choice (or hot roast baps!). Not ideal, but we coped...as usual!

 

Our afternoon was taken up with the relatively short stretch to Braunston where our first pub of the trip became our last pub as well.

Our final evening of the trip, back in The Boat House, which was as pleasant and satisfying as ever.

 

Day 14 - Friday

 

This just left us the 90 - 110 minute journey back to Wigrams Turn Marina. We'd agreed on a breakfast free, early start, but a mis-communication between the Captain and his crew saw us get underway at the ungodly remarkably early time of 7:10 am! The crew had been expecting an 8:00 am start (after the Captain's morning walk, which never happened!) and were somewhat startled as the engine started up just after 7 am! 

 

Our Captain (and proprietor) was under the impression that this was normal procedure for the final morning trip back to the marina, but I do believe that he had mistaken us for a different crew that he also journeys along the waterways with! No real hardship and we were back at the marina and on the road home by about 10:00 am at the end of another thoroughly enjoyable trip aboard Peggy Ellen!

 

THE END

#288 Old Bookbinders, Jericho, Oxford : 2004 to 2021

Still catching up with pubs from our recent jaunt down the Oxford Canal, although the Old Bookbinders is a pub we've only visited twice in almost 17 years.

The first visit was at lunchtime on Saturday 21st August 2004, but I have little recollection about it other than it was a pleasant backstreet corner pub.

As I recall, we'd had lunch in a nearby Lebanese restaurant and were embarking on a mini-crawl for the afternoon as we were not setting sail again until Sunday morning. I suspect we had the one pint and moved on.

So, moving on just the 17 years (almost) and we're back at the Old Bookbinders on the evening of Saturday 21st May 2021.

We'd spent the somewhat damp afternoon on a small pub crawl through the centre of Oxford and were planning a little wander through the streets of Jericho for the evening. However, we managed to snaffle the last available tabe, close to the bar, and so we stayed for the rest of the evening!

The Old Bookbinders is now much more a foodie place, but for the first time on this trip it actually felt like we were in a pub as it was as full as social distancing regulations allowed.

#287 The Boat Inn, Thrupp, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 We're back on the Oxford Canal and another pub that has hardly seems to have changed over the years, but look a little closer and you'll find the differences!

The Boat in Thrupp has appeared in "Inspector Morse" and there is a 'Morse Room' with pictures from the episode on the walls. Our first visit was at lunchtime on Friday 4th September 1998.

Back in 1998 it was still a quite upmarket dining pub, but still a pub nonetheless. It was a Morrell's pub, but research indicates that 1998 was the year that the brewery closed (after a family dispute) and the tied houses were bought by an American entrepreneur.

We didn't return until the evening of Sunday 28th July 2019 - on the surface it was largely unchanged.

However, on closer inspection you can see that it is now The Boat Inn and is a Greene King pub! After 19 years, I don't recall how much it had changed inside (not a lot probably), but it was definitely more of a restaurant than a pub.

Our most recent visit was another evening session on Saturday 22nd May 2021.

This picture better shows the changes from 1998 which, apart from the signage, are quite minimal. We were lucky to get a mooring close to the pub as, on the way down to Oxford there was no room at all, but on our return we managed to get a spot close enough that even I couldn't moan about the walk to the pub!

Yes, that's our vessel...the good ship Peggy Ellen...moored as close as you can get to The Boat Inn!

It will be a good number of years before we're back here as Peggy Ellen is moving back to Kings Bromley Marina in a few weeks time making journeys down the Oxford Canal less likely!

Canal Cruising in Continuing COVID Times (Part 2)

 You left us last time as we were staggering back to Peggy Ellen after a 3/4 pub lunchtime session in a cool and damp Oxford. This gave us a couple of hours rest before we headed out into Jericho for the evening.

This was our mooring on the Oxford Canal and, after a short stroll over the cut, this (below) was to be our residence for the evening.

It was 7:30pm and, fortunately there was a small table available, right in front of the bar, so table service worked well for us. It is now as much a French restaurant as a pub, but they didn't mind that we only wanted to drink. We did get quite comfortable as it felt like we were back in a proper pub with some atmosphere for the first time on our trip.

Our plan had been to explore more of the pubs in Jericho, but we got so comfortable that we stayed all night...even pushing the boat out for some Garlic & Chilli Chips and a Tomato & Onion Salad to keep us sustained!

Next morning we were up and ready to resume our journey back to Napton, but there was the little matter of turning the boat. Our previous trips had been in the 35ft long Emma Jane which could be turned easily without leaving the canal. Peggy Ellen is 57ft long which necessitates the use of Isis Lock to descend onto a backwater of the Thames, turn the boat and negotiate the lock again to get back onto the canal.

This was our first real queue for a lock on the trip; we were fourth in line which is quite ironic as we were moored so close to it overnight! The delay was exacerbated by one boat not following instructions which resulted in them having to be towed away from the weir on Castle Mill Stream! To be honest, if the instructions hadn't been pointed out to me I'd probably have done the same thing!

This delay meant that by the time we reached The Highwayman we were too late for lunch as there was no food served between 2pm and 6pm!

So, it was another session of nuts and crisps washed down with cold lager. Not ideal, but we survived! It is also an hotel and it had fairly modern décor inside. By the time we'd downed our third pint it was way too late to expect to get to Lower Heyford and find a seat, so we made a momentous decision to have a 10 minute afternoon cruise to The Boat Inn at Thrupp. This time there was plenty of mooring space (which was filled within half-an-hour of us pulling up)!

Another long walk to the pub! We'd booked in advance because The Boat Inn is really a restaurant these days and a bit of a tourist destination as it has featured in "Inspector Morse" - indeed, we were seated in the Morse Room. This was another pub that closed when most people had gone home. Unsurprisingly we were last out! Not overly busy for a Saturday night; a combination of the weather and the pandemic restrictions I suspect.

 

Next destination, The Bell at Lower Heyford for Sunday lunch (booked in advance!)

The journey had taken somewhat longer than anticipated, but after ringing the pub from one of the locks, they held onto our table. It was quite busy and the Sunday lunch was served differently to anywhere else I've encountered before. Essentially, you bought a sharing platter for two (for £28-95p) and that was your Sunday lunch! It seemed to work and it was all cooked and presented well.

Our next stop, for Sunday evening, was Aynho Wharf. We knew that there was no way we'd get there before the 6pm Sunday closing time (not to be blamed on the pandemic as this was becoming increasingly common before the plague struck!)

 

Our plan had been to get a taxi into Banbury, but after an afternoon of cold and rain followed by an increased downpour shortly after we moored our plan was abandoned. There was no point in wandering around Banbury in the rain trying to find pubs that might be open...and boy, did it rain!! So, it was an evening of beer/lager and sandwiches.

 

Next day we were back in Banbury for lunch...and no guesses for which pub we visited!

It was even quieter than before, but it was a Monday lunchtime!

Our afternoon trip to Cropredy should have been fairly uneventful, but for the first time in many a long year, I was caught outside during a hailstorm! Whilst the hailstones weren't particularly large there were moments during the downpour that I couldn't see the front of the boat from my position on the tiller. We were in a lock, so this wasn't critical!

 

At Cropredy, the sun finally reappeared giving a lovely evening glow. To avoid the problems we had on the way down to Oxford, this time we'd made a booking!

The Red Lion was fairly busy again, mostly with diners, but discovered quite a few locals in the other rooms. The food was good and the landlady (same one as on our visit in 2019) was as attentive and chatty as ever. So, again feeling close to being back to normal.

Next day brought us the final, long leg back to Napton...unless The Wharf at Fenny Compton was open. (The landlady of the Red Lion seemed to believe that it was closed!)

 

As we passed by, it looked as though she was correct.

It didn't look open, but there was someone watering flowers so it may be on the way back. However, up-to-date internet information is not to be found. So, another lunchtime of sandwiches on the move!

Another pub we passed by (that was definitely open) was The Folly at the bottom of Napton Locks.

It is many years since we last stopped at The Folly - this time it was because our mooring is only half an hour away and the King's Head is only a short walk from the marina.

...and so this is where we finished our journey.

It's fair to say that the King's Head is more restaurant than pub, but I doubt that it would have survived in it's previous incarnation just as a pub that did food.
 

So, after a week-long trip how is hospitality holding up? We didn't manage to get into as many pubs as I expected and we missed more pub sessions than I thought we would. This was partly due to the route we chose as there are long stretches of canal with no pub making the ones that have survived even busier. It was also, in part, because we'd set off the day after the restrictions had lifted.

 

It was quite an eye-opener to see the magnificent efforts taken by those pubs with outdoor space to maximise that area with some fantastically inventive structures. Hopefully they will reap the rewards from their efforts.

 

Our next trip is planned for August - will the pubs be fully open by then? I would hope so, but given the record of this government and it's loose regard for consistency, who can say?

Sunny Selly Oak under Shutdown

Since the 'lockdown' started, I've grasped the opportunity to take pictures during my permitted daily exercise. 

Selly Oak is probably my next nearest suburb with pubs (Bournville is nearer, but publess!). I've also recently updated the previous Selly Oak pub entries on this blog.

So here we go with a wider view of Studentville Selly Oak.

Bristol Road, Selly Oak - April 2020

This is the classic picture postcard view of Selly Oak from the middle of the Bristol Road outside Selly Oak Station. It was about 2pm and you can see how little traffic there was, enabling me to get exactly the view I wanted (without much chance of getting run over!). Sadly, in reality, the bridge is sporting lots of grafitti that I've 'painted over' to give the view as it should be.

As I'm not a regular visitor, pretty much all of what I know about Selly Oak is the pubs, three of which I've reported on earlier.

Bristol Pear, Selly Oak - April 2020

This is the view from under Selly Oak Railway Bridge and shows the last pub I had a pint in before the lockdown. The Bristol Pear is a pub we pop into on the odd occasions when we're having a few drinks in Selly Oak, but it was on our last visit when I noticed this, directly opposite the pub, for the very first time!

Selly Oak Library - April 2020

Selly Oak Library (currently closed) is a replica of Stirchley Library (operational before the lockdown) and was built in 1909 (four years after Stirchley's). It is a Carnegie Library, has it's own Wikipedia entry and is Grade II listed.

Moving further down the Bristol Road towards town, we come across a 'new' pub that we had the chance on our most recent visit of going into for a pint, but we decided against!

The S'oak, Bristol Road - April 2020

Back in the late 70's when I was a student this was a row of shops, one of which was a very good secondhand bookshop. When The S'oak first opened (and I don't remember exactly when that was!) it only really occupied the corner part of the building, but has expanded over the years to occupy the whole ground floor.

As I was searching for details about the history of the pub, I came across this review on Pubs Galore by the late, pubman extraordinaire, Alan Winfield: -

"The S'oak looks like a modern pub that is housed in an old building,this was one of my Sons locals when he was at Birmingham University a few years back.
Once inside there is a very large single room with the bar in the middle area,the floor is bare boarded,the seating is tall tables and chairs and normal tables and chairs,there is a pool table to the rear right,the TVs were showing the FA Cup Final.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Daleside G&P which went down well,the other real ale was GK Radio X Amplified.
I thought this was a decent enough pub to have a drink in."

Next door is the third of the 'student' pubs on the main drag of the Bristol Road.

Goose at the OVT, Selly Oak - April 2020

In the years that I've known this pub it has had four names (Bournbrook Hotel, Farce & Firkin, Old Varsity Tavern, Goose at the OVT) and been transformed, from a quite rambling multiroom pub, into something of a 'beer barn', originally, as M&B's answer to Wetherspoon's.

There is just one more pub on the Bristol Road and it is in the other direction. The Bear & Staff has an interesting back story!

Bear & Staff, Selly Oak - April 2020

Back in the day, near the junction of Bristol Road and Oak Tree Lane stood The Oak pub which was demolished in 1983 to make way for road widening. It was replaced by the Great Oak in 1985. A shiny new pub which I visited on the opening night. Less than 10 years later it was demolished to make way for Sainsbury's to expand their carpark in 1994! (see details here on this and the rest of Selly Oak's lost pubs!)

This was when the Bear & Staff came into existence, about 100 yards from where the Great Oak stood. It wasn't a new build. Much to our frustration this was, apparently, one of the best Italian restaurants in Birmingham (according to a taxi driver we met who regularly ferried people from BBC Pebble Mill to the restaurant!). Right on our doorstep and we never knew!

It is now a fairly bog-standard Marston's pub which was recently refurbished.

Finally, we come to the one Selly Oak entry not on the Bristol Road...and no prizes for guessing which pub it is...I give you the Country Girl!

Country Girl, Raddlebarn Road - April 2020

I've written plenty about what is, essentially, my local. So, I'll leave you with an image of it on a bright, sunny, early Spring day during the lockdown of 2020.  

#274 The Crossroads, Weedon, Northamptonshire : 2005 to 2019

Considering how many times we've visited Weedon over the years, I'm surprised to find that our first (recorded) visit to The Crossroads was on the evening of Sunday 29th May 2005.

I actually have no recollection of this visit...only this photo. Obviously, back in 2005 it was part of the Chef & Brewer chain of pubs.

Fast forward to 2019 when we made THREE separate visits to The Crossroads!

First time on the evening of Friday 19th April 2019, where I had as near perfect pub Fish & Chips as I've ever had! (I'm almost always tempted by pub Fish & Chips and, almost every time I succumb, I'm disappointed...this time not!)

After leaving Weedon we went to Northampton, but retuned on Sunday 21st April 2019.

Having explored the other half of Weedon (and found no food service - it was, after all, Easter Sunday) we managed to get to The Crossroads in time for a bite to eat.

Our third (and final) visit of the year was on the evening of Thursday 8th August 2019.

This was towards the end of our epic trip to Oxford, down the River Thames to Brentford and back home up the Grand Union Canal - sadly, the Fish & Chips wasn't as good as before (when will I learn!).

It is interesting to note the change of livery for the Chef & Brewer chain, but as I also discovered via Wikipedia, the Chef & Brewer chain itself has undergone quite a few changes over the years.

To summarise - "Grand Metropolitan, which later formed part of Diageo, sold the estate that became Chef & Brewer pubs to Scottish & Newcastle in 1993 in a part cash, part debentures deal of £708 million. 

 In 2003, Scottish & Newcastle auctioned off the Chef & Brewer chain, which was acquired by the Spirit Group. 

In 2005 the Spirit Group was acquired by Punch Taverns. 

 In 2011 the Chef & Brewer chain became part of Spirit Pub Company plc following its demerger from Punch Taverns. 

The Spirit Pub Company plc was acquired by Greene King in June 2015"

#271 The White Bear, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire : 1993 to 2019

Even when our boat was moored in the area, Rickmansworth was not one of our regular stopping places, but we did manage to visit The White Bear on a couple of occasions.

Our first encounter was on the evening of Friday 25th June 1993 as we moved our boat Emma Jane from Cowley Peachey to Winkwell - just a couple of days by narrowboat.

It was (& still is) a large(ish) pub on a busy road junction quite close to the canal and that's about all I remember of it.

We did return a couple of years later on the evening of Friday 9th June 1995 as we made our way back from a trip that had taken us to Lime House Basin in London.

Not much change, but it was now demonstrably advertising itself as a 'Free House'.

So, fast forward through just the 24 years and we found ourselves moored above Batchworth Lock looking for a pub for lunch. None of us could remember exactly what to expect and this is what we found on Sunday 4th August 2019.

In some respects it is remarkably unchanged, but in others it is radically different. Now run by Greene King and also it is now a desi pub in that it's food offering is entirely Indian Cuisine. So, we had a very pleasant Sunday lunch curry in a pub that is still a proper pub, but with a very extensive menu.

#265 The Wheatsheaf, Banbury, Oxon : 1998 to 2019

This pub is one to file away under..."What? Really? We've Never Been Here Before!"

And I'm going to break with a tradition that I've maintained over the years I've been doing this blog...I'm going to give you the 'Now' picture first!

It was lunchtime on Saturday 27th July 2019 and we were slightly lost, trying to find Ye Olde Reindeer. It was a number of years since we'd been to Banbury and we couldn't get our bearings having ventured through the Castle Quay Shopping Centre. We were getting a bit thirsty, saw The Wheatsheaf and went inside.

Not a particularly inspiring place; a typical back-street town boozer decorated inside in 'music venue black'. Neither I nor my fellow traveller believed that we'd ever been here before. I didn't give it another thought until I'd returned home and was going through my old pictures looking for candidates for the blog. This is what I discovered.

Obviously the same pub although the exterior decoration has been completely changed over the past 21 years. Checking back through the old logs, we were in Banbury on the evening of Monday 7th September 1998 when we'd obviously done a bit of a pub crawl.

This vindicates my whole raison d'etre for taking these pictures, but it is still frustrating to have forgotten whole pubs!

At least it is good to see that it is surviving and found it's own niche!

#247 Horse & Jockey, Grindley Brook, Shropshire : 1996 to 2018

Grindley Brook is a small village on the Llangollen Canal just outside Whitchurch. The only pub in the village is the Horse & Jockey which we've visited on the few occasions that we've stopped there.

 

Our first visit was at lunchtime on Sunday 25th August 1996 and this was the welcoming sight. As usual, I have little recollection of the interior, but as the sign says Food was served from 12 - 2 pm and 7 - 10 pm Every Day so we obviously were well fed. (as an aside, whatever happened to those sorts of food serving times? Admittedly, 2 pm is a bit early to stop. Definitely shows the changing times and eating out habits over 22 years.)

 

The Llangollen canal isn't one we take on too often and so we didn't return to the Horse & Jockey until another lunchtime on Sunday 2nd September 2007.

In the passing 11 years, the Horse & Jockey appears to have changed hands and was no longer a Banks's pub. Interestingly, aside from the complete redecoration, a 'porch' has appeared around the front door and a chimney has sprouted from the low roof on the right.

 

Coincidentally, it took us another 11 years to return and on this trip, we paid it two visits.

Firstly on the evening of Wednesday 29th August 2018 and then again - 

 on the evening of Sunday 2nd September 2018 (exactly 11 years to the day from the previous visit!). It has undergone yet further refurbishments both outside and in. One thing that hasn't changed is the civilised food times on a Sunday (til 9 pm).

 

The décor is what I would call, modern rustic, a style many food led country pubs have now adopted. The food was good with an interesting menu that changes monthly, but I have one quibble - why is it a modern trend to serve a meal with the various components piled on top of each other?

 

My fish and chips arrived with the battered cod on top of a stack of chips (piled Jenga style) meaning that the fat from the batter inevitably softens what were crisp chips! On the second visit, the roast beef (and Yorkshire Pudding) were on top of a pile of assorted vegetables which hid the abomination that is cauliflower cheese. The manner in which this was rectified was exemplary, which is the sign of a well-run establishment.