#153 The Lock, Wolverley, Worcestershire : 1987 to 2013

Our first ever visit to The Lock at Wolverley was on Tuesday 7th July 1987 as part of an epic journey that took us down to Worcester and as far north as Middlewich.

For boaters like us it has the perfect location, being adjacent to the canal lock. This photo was taken from our boat as we passed through this lock before mooring up for a lunchtime stop. As I recall it was quite small inside, but felt cosy and welcoming in the traditional pub style - and the food was good as well.

We didn't return for another ten years, again for a lunchtime stopover on Wednesday 28th May 1997.

This photo (not one of my best!) is taken from the road bridge over the canal and you can see the lock gates through the barrier. As I recall the pub was pretty much as we'd found it last time.

We were back again quite quickly with another lunchtime visit on Wednesday 2nd June 1999. The weather wasn't as pleasant as on our previous visit, but the pub was as welcoming as ever. It had also undergone the Banks's exterior re-branding that was prevalent at the time. Inside it hadn't changed much.

 This view is from a little up the hill away from the canal and shows the re-branding at its best.

This view again shows just how close the pub is to the canal!

That was our last visit to The Lock as on the occasions we've been that way subsequently the timings haven't been right for a stop. However, on our most recent trip along the Staffs & Worcs Canal I took this picture from the lock as we were passing through on the morning of Thursday 16th May 2013.

From the exterior view it would appear that it is no longer a Banks's pub and a search of the Marston's website confirms this. Judging by The Lock Inn website it would appear that it is now an independent pub. Hopefully it will still be there when we next venture down the Staffs & Worcester Canal and, if the timing is right, we'll pop in to see how it has changed in the passing 27 years.

#145 The Swan, Kidderminster, Worcestershire : 2008 to 2013

Kidderminster isn't a place we often stop at on our canal trips being too close to Stourport. However, on both occasions that we did stop there we visited The Swan in the centre of the town.

This first visit was on the evening of Monday 26th May 2008. As I recall it was a reasonably lively, typically town centre pub where we had a pint and resumed our pub crawl.

Upon our return to Kidderminster, there was quite a change in the exterior appearance of The Swan.

This was at lunchtime on Thursday 16th May 2013 - what a transformation! Inside, the layout was pretty much the same, but I assume it had also been refurbished. There was quite an extensive menu of 'proper' pub food (including a 'build your own' sandwich feature), so we stayed and had lunch there. Although it looks to be an independent pub, it is part of Punch Taverns, a detail which is buried deep within The Swan website.

#138 Ye Olde Seven Stars, Kidderminster, Worcestershire : 2008 to 2013

As reported previously, we've only ever stopped in Kidderminster twice despite passing through on the canal on many occasions.

Our first stop was on the evening of Monday 26th May 2008 and Ye Olde Seven Stars was one of the pubs we visited on out pub crawl around the town.

As usual, I don't remember too much about the inside as we only had one pint there.

On our second visit to Kidderminster, at lunchtime on Thursday 16th May 2013, we only went in one pub, but we did stroll around the town centre so I could get pictures of how the pubs had changed.

Externally Ye Olde Seven Stars has had a complete makeover. 

In doing the background research for this post I've discovered that this is the oldest pub in Kidderminster and that I made a mistake in my blog entry about The Red Man (#127).

It was Ye Olde Seven Stars that allowed (in fact encouraged) people to eat their takeaway meals inside whilst enjoying their pint and, judging by the signage, they still do. The pub has its own website, but I'm not sure when it was last updated.

#127 The Red Man, Kidderminster, Worcestershire : 2008 to 2013

Despite the fact that we've done the Stourport Ring on several occasions, we've only ever stopped in Kidderminster twice! 

Before I get on with it, I'm not sure if there are any other pubs with this name - I've come across many a Green Man, but this is the only Red Man I know of - do you know any better? 

The first time, and indeed only time I've been inside The Red Man was on the evening of Monday 26th May 2008. We were having a bit of a pub crawl around Kidderminster whilst trying to find a suitable place to eat when we came upon The Red Man. Inside it was like many small town pubs; functional but lacking in any real character...and, as it was a Monday evening, fairly quiet. One rather different aspect was that it didn't just allow people to eat their takeaways in the pub, it was positively encouraged with various menus scattered about. At the time I thought it was a great idea for a pub that doesn't do food!

The next time we stopped in Kidderminster was on a lunchtime and we didn't go in The Red Man, but I took this photo as we strolled by.

This was taken on Thursday 16th May 2013. This is one of the most complete external makeovers I've documented in the time I've been doing this blog. Seemingly their innovative experiment with the food has gone by the board as it would appear that they now do their own. Here is their website.