More Canal Cruising in a COVID World (Part 3)

 The sun rose, the water levels dropped and, after a day and a half at Holt Lock, we were allowed to resume our journey upstream to Stourport-on-Severn. It was clear, sunny, with a chill breeze, but we made good time. We negotiated the two staircase locks up to the basin, filled with water and saw Andrew off on his return home all before taking lunch in, what was for us, a new pub in Stourport.

Stourport Basin

The Angel overlooks the River Severn and is next door to what was The Tontine (which probably explains why we've not been there before!). It was quite busy in the garden and we managed to get the last table in the Bar area. It seemed to be quite a local's bar, from the banter, and I suspected that we'd taken someone's regular table...but nobody said anything to us!

The 'banter' got a bit more interesting when one bloke (his two mates - all middle aged - had popped out for a fag or a comfort break) upped the ante on his banter with another table by pulling down his trousers in the middle of the bar and, when this didn't get enough of a reaction, he pulled his pants down as well! (Fortunately, his shirt was long enough for there to be no real exposure of his parts!)

Once this table of people left, the three blokes moved to that table...and then...when we left they moved onto our table before we'd even got out of the door! (I'd had a feeling all along that we were in 'their spot'!)

We then had a long afternoon of boating along the lovely Staffs & Worcester Canal, passing up several potential stopping places, ending up at Kinver for the first of our three-in-a-row fine dining and drinking sessions.

Yes, we were entering Batham's Country! The Plough & Harrow was taking the COVID restrictions very seriously and we almost had to sit in the garden, but a table became vacant just in the nick of time. Several pints and a few cobs (plus Scotch egg) later and we were sated.

Next morning we continued north along the Staffs & Worcester Canal and turned off at Stourton Junction onto the Stourbridge Canal for our lunchtime stop in Stourbridge itself. It was the first time for many years that we'd ventured along the Stourbridge Arm, but I had a particular pub in mind for our Sunday lunch!

We've visited Stourbridge on several occasions in the past, but never before ventured outside the ring road where this gem, the Royal Exchange, is located.

...and this was our sumptuous Sunday lunch! (I did manage to squeeze in another cob!)

After an afternoon of ascending the Stourbridge Sixteen and Delph Locks we moored up quite late in the gathering gloom before setting off on a longish stroll to our pub for the evening.

Our third Batham's pub in three sessions, the home of their operations The Vine...or...Bull & Bladder as it is more commonly known. More fine dining on cobs, crisps, nuts and scratchings! I must be becoming more attuned to the subtleties of real ale because I could detect that each of the three pubs had a slightly different taste to the bitter! Nothing unpleasant and I'd probably not have noticed if we hadn't done three Batham's pubs in 24 hours.

After a couple of long boating days, it wasn't a long journey to our final Black Country experience.

It's a bit of an uphill slog from the canal but, The Old Swan...or...Ma Pardoe's as it is colloquially known is well worth the effort. The price was £2.60p per pint (Batham's had been a massive £3.10p!) and I had the proper Black Country fine dining experience with a plate of Faggots, Chips and Mushy Peas...luxury!

After this it was, literally, all down hill from here both physically and in terms of the beer! Next stop...Birmingham!

From here onwards our itinerary was exactly the same as for our previous trip in July, so I'll only dwell on the different pubs we visited.

In Brum, whilst The Shakespeare remains closed, the Prince of Wales has reopened and we had a couple of pints there before revisiting the Rajdoot!

The next stage of our trip took us to The Bull (in Birmingham's Gun Quarter), The White Horse at Curdworth, The Fazeley Inn and then The Royal Oak at Polesworth. We had a curry in the same place as before and then popped downstairs for a pint (or two) in The Bulls Head.

This is a pub that has taken a 'light touch' to the COVID regulations, but backed up by a no-nonsense gaffer who knows his customers (mostly of my vintage!) It was interesting to chat with him about how much trade they've lost - no darts, no bowling, no dominoes which would all have been big nights for the pub.

Next day and our destination was Atherstone which we reached in a reasonable time. (Having several volunteer lockkeepers can be a great help!) This time we found that the Market Tavern had reopened and, despite not doing food, we stayed there for the whole session. Sharp's Atlantic Pale Ale (keg version) was very pleasant!
 

Lunch was taken on the boat, on the move, following the acquisition of Cornish Pasties from a local shop...our sumptuous fine dining knows no bounds!

Our next stop was, again, The Greyhound at Hawkesbury Junction which operates by table service and ordering via their app. (No change from previously).

Then we were headed for Newbold-on-Avon where we decided to pay a visit the the Newbold Crown, just a couple of hundred yards from the Barley Mow which is canalside (and our usual go-to pub).

This is a proper pub with two rooms, but I don't think that we've been into the lounge. The COVID signs were all evident and procedures followed that didn't detract from the experience...plus a nice lunch and Sharp's Atlantic Pale Ale on draught.

Our last evening was spent at The Boathouse in Braunston - a fairly uneventful night...no boatload of heavy drinking students this time!

This just left us a short journey back to the marina, pack our bags and get on the road home...but there was still time for one final calamity!

Whilst we are travelling, my car key and my house keys are hidden away in the bottom of a bag and, normally, I retrieve them as I get to the car with my bags. On this occasion I put both in my shorts pocket before we'd moored up. We moored up without incident and, bags ready, William went to find some trolleys to get our stuff to the cars.

Whilst he was gone, as I was standing on the mooring pontoon, I felt a ticklish nose starting to turn to a sneeze so pulled my handkerchief from my pocket. Unfortunately, my house keys came out as well...straight into the water!

It is a well equipped marina (also a boat hire base) and I was confident that they'd have a magnet that we could borrow. William knew the people to speak to and a few minutes later he was back with the magnet. Fortunately, I'd taken note of where I'd been standing and followed the 'flight' of my keys. So, first throw of the magnet...nothing! Second throw...I changed my technique as I'd noticed that 'magnet fishers' tend to drag the magnet along the bottom. So I did this and there were my keys firmly stuck to the magnet!

That's one of the great things about canal boating, some trips pass off without a hitch and the only worry is a bit of rain or whether the pub is open. Others are beset by calamity throughout...we've had a fire in the engine room and floods on the same trip; lock flights closed and 12+ hours a day travelling; vandals emptying lock flights...but that's often what makes these trips more memorable!

#242 The Bridge Inn, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire : 1997 to 2017

Stourport-on-Severn isn't a place we visit frequently on our canal trips, but it is always a joy for those of us who like a good variety of pubs.

Usually, when we've moored on the canal, The Bridge Inn is the furthest pub from us and so, we often don't make it there. So, although we'd been to Stourport on a few occasions, this was our first visit to the pub.

It was on the evening of Tuesday 27th May 1997 after a day's trip up the River Severn from Worcester. I have little recollection about the inside of the pub.

Our next visit was six years later on the evening of Tuesday 27th May 2003.

Although it looks very different, it is hard to ascertain how many changes there were because I've taken the photo from the opposite side! What is 'interesting' though, is that a new street light has appeared outside the pub.

Our next visit to The Bridge Inn was on a rare lunchtime stop in Stourport on Tuesday 27th May 2008. (Amazingly the same date as the previous visits!)

A fair amount of re-signage had taken place over the intervening period, but the pub maintained its basic character.

In 2013 we were stranded in Stourport as the River Severn was un-navigable. It wasn't in flood, but the levels were well up on normal. We didn't venture into The Bridge, but I also didn't take a photo even though we walked past it twice!

On our most recent visit to Stourport, we didn't go into The Bridge, but I did take this photo.

This was on the evening of Tuesday 8th August 2017 and it is plain to see that the exterior has undergone a complete renewal.

Having done a bit of research, The Bridge Inn is now part of Star Pubs & Bars which are the managed pubs run by Heineken which may indicate a long-term future for it...although they are looking for a new landlord/tenant!

#240 The Anchor Inn, Cross Green, Staffordshire : 1991 to 2017

For our first visit this pub was known as The Anchor, Inn then it became the Fox & Anchor (when it became a Vintage Inn) but, as I recently discovered, it has now reverted back to being The Anchor Inn.

There also seems to be some controversy over its location - our canal books have always placed the Fox & Anchor in the village of Coven, but a couple of years ago we were 'put right' by a local who said that it is actually in Cross Green. (Search on Google and it appears to be an even split between the two!)

Our first visit was at lunchtime on Monday 29th September 1991 as we were moving our boat Emma Jane from the North to down South.

I have absolutely no recollection of the inside.

We didn't revisit until lunchtime on Tuesday 26th August 2003, by which time it had been converted into a Vintage Inn and renamed as the Fox & Anchor.

Obviously it had undergone a thorough redevelopment in the intervening years and inside it was a typical Vintage Inn.

Quite a number of years passed before we stopped there again on the evening of Monday 31st May 2010.

Although it was still a Vintage Inn, it had undergone a redecoration and refurbishment inside, but it was still recognisably a Vintage Inn.

We were back again the next year at lunchtime on Monday 5th September 2011. No real change.

It was a few more years bfore we returned in the new boat Peggy Ellen, another lunchtime stop on Thursday 11th June 2015.

With Peggy Ellen being moored at Kings Bromley, the Fox & Anchor has become a more frequent stopping place especially as it is one of the few food based pubs along that stretch of the Staffs & Worcester Canal.

We made two visits in 2016 - first at lunchtime on Thursday 9th June 2016.

Our second visit was an evening stop on Saturday 6th August 2016.

This second picture was taken the next morning.

Our final visit (so far) was on the evening of Sunday 6th August 2017...and again we got a mooring right outside!

I've also given this photo the Photo Digial Art treatment!

I look forward to revisiting and seeing whether there has been much of a refurbishment inside to go along with the name change.

#207 The Boat, Penkridge, Staffordshire : 1991 to 2016

Our first experience of The Boat was back in 1981 on my second ever narrowboat journey. This turned into an epic trip because the lock flight at Audlem was closed and we had to travel for at least 12 hours per day for three days to get to Birmingham for our scheduled rendezvous. Our normal day would have been 8 hours max.

At lunchtime on Friday 14th August 1981 on this trip we were passing through the lock adjacent to the pub and it was my job to get a pint for each crew member as we didn't have time to actually stop. These were consumed as we passed through the lock and the glasses returned before we were on our way again.

We didn't pass this way again for many years and the location of this event became somewhat of a mystery until the evening of Sunday 28th July 1991 when we once again passed through the lock and moored up at Penkridge.

Sadly not my best photo. I don't really remember much about it inside, probably not unrelated to the fact that it was our last port of call for the evening!

Emma Jane then spent a few years on the Southern Grand Union Canal, but we were back at The Boat at lunchtime on Wednesday 29th May 1996.

I took this picture to give the view from the lock, but it doesn't give any idea of changes that may (or may not) have taken place.

The next visit was on the evening of Monday 25th August 2003 and again, it is a poor picture as it was our last stop of the night having gone into the village first.

The exterior signage had changed over the seven years we'd been away.

We were back again at lunchtime on Tuesday 1st June 2010 and, as you can guess, it was a World Cup year...just before England's dismal failure in South Africa!

It was during this visit that I remember finding the interior somewhat sparse and not particularly welcoming, not helped by the lack of clientele.

We were back again just over a year later on the evening of Sunday 4th September 2011.

Not sure whether we actually went inside, but I made it a point to take the picture before setting off for the village! It looks so much better without the England flags!

Our next foray into Penkridge came on the evening of Wednesday 10th June 2015.

Again we used it as our last port of call, but now I have a digital camera (and more technical proficiency!) so I can manage to get much better night time shots. Enough to be able to see that the exterior signage had again changed.

Finally, our most recent visit to Penkridge was on the afternoon of Saturday 6th August 2016 and we were just passing through so I took this shot as I was working the lock.

It is good to see that The Boat continues to survive. It has the perfect location for warm summer days and must generate enough trade during the rest of the year to keep going. For more details their website is here. 

#187 The Round Oak, Wombourne, Staffordshire : 1991 to 2015

The Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal is one of the prettiest on the system and is always worth the journey. Although it is a canal we visit on a regular basis, our stops at Wombourne are somewhat infrequent.

My first canal visit to Wombourne was at lunchtime on Tuesday 30th July 1991. I'd visited and passed through Wombourne many times by road, but this was my first experience of the Round Oak.

Our next visit was almost ten years later on the evening of Monday 28th May 2001.

I'll leave discussions about the exterior changes until after the final photo.

It was even longer before we ventured back to Wombourne for a stop (although we'd passed by on many other occasions!). Our most recent visit being on the evening of Thursday 11th June 2015.

It is rare for me to get the same angle each time we visit a pub, but the Round Oak lends itself to this as being the best view of the pub.

So, in nearly 25 years, it has gone from being the Round Oak an M&B pub to being The Round Oak, a Marstons establishment with a period in between as a Banks's pub.

The conversion from M&B to Banks's appears to have been quite drastic with the loss of a chimney and a part of the building on the left hand side. (I suspect that this coincided with the canalside extension at the back of the pub which is only partly visible in the later photos.) The windows have all been replaced and a porch added to the front door. The park bench has gone, the hanging sign has been relocated and the burglar alarm moved and yet the TV aerials remain at the same jaunty angle!

The change from Banks's to Marstons is less drastic (they are, in essence, the same company) with a complete repaint, the disappearance of the hanging sign and a straightening of the main TV aerial!

Outside the pub, railings appeared between 1991 and 2001 and, on each occasion, the street light has been changed.

One final observation, that I didn't notice on any of our visits, is what looks like a post box just to the left of the street light! I'll have to check that next time I'm there (in about 10 - 15 years time!!)

#181 Littleton Arms, Penkridge, Staffs : 1991 to 2015

The village of Penkridge sits on the Staffs & Worcs Canal and, although we haven't passed through too often down the years, it is always a worthwhile stopping place as there are quite a few pubs to choose from.

The first time we visited the Littleton Arms was on the evening of Sunday 28th July 1991.

I really don't recall what it was like inside, but from the outside, it is an imposing building. In those days, it was an M&B establishment.

We didn't return for five years, this time, it was a lunchtime stop on Wednesday 29th May 1996.

The pub had undergone a complete transformation as a Vintage Inn restaurant/pub (still part of the M&B estate).

We didn't return until the evening of Tuesday 29th May 2001 to find no real change in the exterior.

Two years later, on the evening of Monday 25th August 2003, it was still a Vintage Inn, but the wooden window shutters had been removed.

It was quite a while before our next visit to Penkridge and this is what we found on the evening of Sunday 4th September 2011.

Another complete transformation, this time into an independent restaurant/pub.

Our most recent visit was on the evening of Wednesday 10th June 2015.

Little had changed over the four years. Inside it is now in the currently popular 'rustic' style and the food was very good (as was the free bottle of wine which, on hindight, I should probably taken away for later consumption, rather than drinking it all with my meal!).

If you are passing it is worth a stop to have some refreshment in the Littleton Arms - here's their website.

#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.

#151 The Wheatsheaf, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire : 1997 to 2013

It's back to Stourport-on-Severn for yet another pub that town has to offer. Our first visit to The Wheatsheaf was on the evening of Tuesday 27th May 1997.

Back then it was a Banks's pub that wasn't particularly memorable, but Stourport is about quantity, not necessarily quality! (That's not a bad thing in my book!!)

We didn't go back there until the lunchtime of Tuesday 27th May 2008 discovering that it'd had quite a makeover.

It was now branded as a Marston's pub with a more contemporary 'feel' to the outside. Inside it was no more memorable than before.

And finally we move on to the evening of Thursday 16th May 2013, when we'd been stranded in Storport because the River Severn was flowing at least 2 metres above safe levels!

Seemingly unchanged externally apart from the hanging baskets and the signs (from Marston's) saying 'Make it a success' and 'Retail Opportunity...Call 0844.....' We didn't venture inside as there were many more pubs to potentially visit...and we did pop into a few!