#183 The Swan, Fradley Junction, Staffordshire : 1986 to 2016

The Swan at Fradley Junction is a classic canalside pub that really hasn't changed much throughout the years that we've been passing by. Our first stop there was back in 1983 before my cataloguing of our pub visits began.

Our first, recorded, visit was at lunchtime on Tuesday 29th July 1986 returning from a trip to Nottingham.

Fairly quiet, but it was midweek!

We returned a year later, again at lunchtime, on Wednesday 15th July 1987.

More people about this time, probably because it was a sunny day. Back in those days, you could moor up right outside the pub.

After this visit, our boat Emma Jane spent a few years moored near Wigan and then a few more years berthed on the Grand Union Canal near to Hemel Hempstead nd so our next visit to The Swan wasn't until lunchtime on Thursday 30th May 1996.

In the intervening years, the hanging sign had been renewed, the main pub sign had turned 'gold', the porch roof had been re-covered and the upstairs window shutters had disappeared. Apart from that, it was completely unchanged.

On this occasion, the pub let us down, from memory they'd stopped serving food at 2pm leaving us without lunch while we got our leaking shower tray fixed. Fortunately, we managed to acquire provisions from the shop next door.

Our next visit was an evening stop on Monday 30th August 1999.

Little seemed to have changed.

Next visit was on the evening of Tuesday 17th September 2002 on our way back from a trip that should've taken us to Chester but instead took us to Leek on the Caldon Canal.

No real changes but the hanging sign was starting to show signs of severe fading.

We returned the next year at lunchtime on Sunday 24th August 2003.

It was a Bank Holiday weekend that coincides with the Wychnor Boat Rally which led to the locks being very busy and progress was slow. Allied to it also being a hot day meant that we weren't best pleased to be told that the food was Sunday lunch only - NO sandwiches available! Once again we had to avail ourselves of the provisions available in the shop next door; the first, and so far only, time I've had Turkey Ham! Notice also that the hanging sign is missing, but hanging baskets have appeared below the upstairs windows.

It was another couple of years before we ventured back, this time on the evening of Sunday 21st August 2005.

Again no changes and the hanging sign was still missing!

We were back again at lunchtime on Wednesday 7th June 2006.

It looks like the hanging sign had returned and parasols adorned the outdoor tables.

Our next stop was on the evening of Sunday 30th August 2009 at the start of a two week trip that would take us up the Erewash Canal for the first time.

We returned almost exactly a year later on the evening of Sunday 29th August 2010, this time at the start of a journey that took us through Manchester.

The baskets below the upper windows had gone.

Again, almost exactly a year later we passed by on Sunday 28th August 2011, the last year of Emma Jane.

In the following years we hired boats that took us to parts of the canal system that we'd never visited before and it wasn't until 2015 that we returned. William's new boat, Peggy Ellen, is moored at nearby Kings Bromley so we've been visiting The Swan somewhat more frequently.

This was on the evening of Monday 25th May 2015 and, despite it being a Bank Holiday they didn't seem to have run out of anything. We were also treated to some unexpected entertainment when a man walked in with a parrot on his shoulder!

We were there again on Monday 15th June 2015 in the evening.

And again on the evening of Friday 3rd September 2015.

Since 2011, the main pub sign on the front wall had gone back to black lettering, but everything else was as on previous occasions.

All of our visits during 2015 were charcterised by excellent service and very good food, often served under quite stressful conditions as The Swan gets very busy and has a small bar for serving. Sometimes in the past it wasn't always so good as certain owners/managers/landlords didn't try too hard, essentially, because they didn't have to. The Swan is in such a good location that when the sun comes out people flock there and certain managers had realised that they didn't need to put in as much effort.

On the day before our most recent visit I'd learnt that The Swan was under new management, which I hoped was a good sign as we were making a very special trip. Our friend Mike was coming over from Canada (first time we'd seen him since 1995) and another friend Matt was coming up from near Oxford for a reunion of former crewmates of Emma Jane. (Mike's last trip was in 1981 and Matt's 1987!)

So, we boarded Peggy Ellen for the 90 minute journey to Fradley Junction. We negotiated the three locks with ease, found a mooring and went to the pub.

This was on Friday 6th May 2016. Mike and Matt are at the front; Andrew is steering and smoothly turning Peggy Ellen.

Lunch, however, did not go quite so smoothly. There have been some, so far minor, alterations to the inside of the pub and hopefully there will be some more to better utilise some of the space. 

Firstly, it took an age to get a round of drinks (the pub was quite busy and obviously the new staff aren't up to the speed required here) and there was no soda water on stream for my Blackcurrant & Soda. A minor irritation; I had tap water instead.

Then, on to the food. Our order was 3 x Cottage Pies, 1 x Cumberland Sausage and 1 x Ploughman's Lunch (for me). Except they didn't have any Ploughman's left! OK, another irritation, I chose Fish & Chips. Half an hour later I was told by the server that they'd run out of Fish & Chips as well! After ascertaining that they had some, I chose Cottage Pie.

We were finally served our food about an hour after we'd placed the original order. My Cottage Pie was alright, but it had an Italian ambience to it, and the accompanying vegetables were derisory; hardly more than a garnish!

I do hope the new management get a grip on things because if they don't it will be a disaster for them and the pub.

ADDENDUM (June 2019)
In all our subsequent visits the service has been faultless, so it looks like the teething problems were resolved.

#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.

#129 Parr Arms, Grappenhall, Cheshire : 1991 to 2013

This will be a short entry as I've only ever drunk in the pub once! Our first visit was at lunchtime on Tuesday 22nd July 1991 as part of a trip from Wigan to Lapworth.

As I recall it was a pleasant village pub, but over 20 years later the memory hasn't dragged out anything significant.

After we'd finished our journey in 1991, our boat Emma Jane went further south and for a few years was based on the lower reaches of the Grand Union Canal.

In the intervening years we've passed through Grappenhall a couple of times, but not stopped there.

This year, in a break from tradition, our Easter trip took us into Manchester, starting from the Claymoore Narrowboats hire base at Preston Brook. On our way back we took the opportunity to revisit the lovely village of Grappenhall.

This photo was taken on Sunday 31st March 2013. There are two pubs in the village, almost next door to each other, and we went in the Ram's Head first where we had a few pints and our evening meal. It was getting a bit late and I was keen to have a last pint in the Parr Arms...but it was closed having finished serving at 10:30 pm!

On my (very) brief visit inside it appeared to be a proper 'old school' village pub, but sadly with 'old school' opening hours! So we had another one in the Ram's Head!

As you would expect in 22 years the exterior had been extensively changed, but it is now a Robinson's pub and back in 1991 it was Greenhall Whitley. One trivial point to finish - it is unusual to get an orange car in one picture...but in two, 20+ years apart, that's just 'spooky'!

#083 Wharf Tavern, Hockley Heath, Warks : 1986 to 2011

The Wharf Tavern in Hockley Heath has been a regular watering hole on our canal trips ever since the first time Emma Jane was moored in the Midlands. Our first visit was in August 1981 and we were there again in August 1984, but I don't have the photographic evidence as it wasn't until 1986 that I started to take a picture of every pub we visited on our canal trips.

I took this photo of the Wharf Tavern, from the canal, on our next visit on Friday 18th July 1986 at the start of a trip that took us to Leicester and Nottingham.

In those days it was a Chef & Brewer, so we knew that we could get food which was a relative rarity 26 years ago.

In 1987 we visited the Wharf Tavern both on the way out and on the way back from our trip that took us along the River Severn from Worcester and then up the Shropshire Union Canal and back to the mooring at Lapworth vis the Trent & Mersey Canal. This photo was taken on our last night on that trip on Friday 17th July 1987.

Still a Chef & Brewer pub and still pink!

Over the next few years Emma Jane was based near Wigan and I was living in Melbourne, but on my first trip on my return to 'Blighty' we again stopped at the Wharf Tavern.

This was on Friday 2nd August 1991 towards the end of the first leg of the trip that took Emma Jane from Wigan to her new mooring at Cowley Peachey near Uxbridge. Still no apparent change to the pub.

We didn't stop at the Wharf for another eight years...and we visited twice! The first visit was on Saturday 29th May 1999 for a lunchtime stop.

Now it had become (returned to?) a proper pub (and no longer pink!), but the good news was that they still did food. We visited again on Saturday 28th August 1999, but I don't have a photo from that visit (presumably I didn't bother as I'd already taken one earlier in the year!).

We were back again at lunchtime on Saturday 26th August 2000 at the start of a trip to Manchester.

A slightly damp start to our journey!

Our next visit was on Saturday 29th May 2004 (lunchtime) at the start of a one week trip spent pottering around the Birmingham Canal network.

This s the view from the canalside and is a repeat of the original 1986 photo.

Our next time was on Friday 24th August 2007 at the start of our trip to Llangollen and Chester.

  The exterior signage had been changed and the pub completely repainted, but inside it was essentially unchanged.

Our most recent visit was on Friday 4th November 2011 at lunchtime (again!). This was before we'd even started our journey that was to become our last ever trip on Emma Jane. We'd tried both the Tom 'o' the Wood at Rowington and The Peacock at Lapworth only to find expensive 'messed up' food, so we went to the Wharf as we knew that we could get good, simple lunchtime food (Hot Pork or Beef baguettes!)

Even though it had been four years the Wharf Tavern was unchanged. They are part of the Spirit Group and their website is here. 

#076 The Posada, Wolverhampton : 1991 to 2011

Wolverhampton was never on the list of 'must stop' places on our canal trips, but since our first visit in 1991 it has become a regular place to visit. The main reasons for this are the good moorings at the top of the (21) locks and the fact that it is a long way in any direction to get to somewhere decent!

This was at lunchtime on Thursday 1st August 1991 on our trip that took our boat Emma Jane from Adlington (near Wigan) to Cowley Peachey (near Uxbridge). I don't remember too much about it except that it was a proper, old style, town centre boozer.

We didn't get back to Wolverhampton until Wednesday 4th September 1996 on our way back from Llangollen and Chester.

Very little had changed, but some metal seats had appeared outside!

It was another six years before we ventured into The Posada again. This time on Tuesday 26th August 2003 near the end of a journey that took us to Leicester and Burton-upon-Trent.

Although seemingly unchanged, all of the Holt, Plant & Deakin signage has disappeared.

Then, in 2005, we went on a sequence that saw us visit The Posada every year for the next three years!

Wednesday 31st August 2005.

Sunday 27th August 2006.

Saturday 25th August 2007.

Then we did the unthinkable...we went back to Wolverhampton - and The Posada - later on the same trip!!

Wednesday 5th September 2007.

Our most recent visit was near the end of last summer's trip along the Caldon Canal.

This was on Monday 5th September 2011, a few days earlier than intended, but we'd been forced to curtail our holiday as my back had gone and it was sometimes difficult to just steer the boat. Working locks was out of the question for me!

In all our years visiting The Posada it hasn't really changed much. It's a pub I really like, but it does seem from some of the more recent reviews, that it may be on a downward slide.

Hopefully it will continue to be a beacon for proper pubs!

#069 Clifford Arms, Great Haywood, Staffs : 1991 to 2011

Our first visit to the Clifford Arms in Great Haywood was on our 1991 canal trip taking our boat Emma Jane 'down south' after she'd spent a few years moored near to Wigan.

This was taken on Saturday 27th July 1991. At the time it was a welcome find, a nice pub that did good food. We probably did a bit of a pub crawl around the village once we'd eaten!

Our next visit wasn't until Sunday 24th August 2003 during a trip that had taken us to Leicester. Looking at our boating log tells me that we actually stopped at Little Haywood, but I have a feeling that there was no food available there on a Sunday so we took the short stroll to Great Haywood.

Surprisingly, the Clifford Arms was almost completely unchanged in the intervening 12 years.

Next visit was on the evening of Tuesday 6th June 2006 on one of our frequent trips taking in the Midlands north of Birmingham.

This time, the 'Bass' sign has gone, but apart from that it was unchanged.

The next time we were passing Great Haywood was on Tuesday 1st June 2010 on a repeat of the 2006 trip.

From this angle you can see that, in addition to the removal of the 'Bass' sign, the 'Clifford Arms' sign has been replaced with a smaller version.

Our most recent visit was last year on Monday 29th August 2011 on our way up to the Caldon Canal.

This was our first ever lunchtime visit to the Clifford Arms and, although it was a Bank Holiday, the service and food quality was as good as ever. No apparent changes in the year since our last visit. The Clifford Arms now has its own website.

#024 Radford Bank, Weeping Cross, Stafford : 1991 to 2011

My first experience of this pub was in 1991 on our journey from Wigan to Lapworth. In those days it was called The Trumpet and was a proper pub although I don't really remember too much about it.

 This photo was taken at lunchtime on Sunday 28th July 1991. All I really remember about the visit was that, when we left, the boat wouldn't start and I thought we were going to be stranded there. Mysteriously, though, the engine finally sprang into life and we didn't have any more problems with it on that trip!

It wasn't until 2003 that we made a return visit only to find that it was now called The Radford Bank Inn and that it had become a carvery pub. In many ways this wasn't a problem, except that it was a lunchtime visit and we only wanted a sandwich which they were unable/unwilling to serve.

Photo taken Monday 25th August 2003.

Our next visit was this year and the picture was taken on Sunday 4th September. The place is now called, simply, Radford Bank and is part of the Crown Carvery chain.

Since 2003 it has obviously had a lot of money spent on it to bring it up to standard. As this was a Sunday and one of the few nice days of our holiday the place was packed. This time we were prepared and were happy to eat a carvery which was reasonably good and good value for money. I'm not a great fan of carveries as the food tends to be quite good at best, but they do seem to be very, very popular!!

After finishing our meal in a very crowded downstairs area I discovered a very pleasant bar upstairs (at road level). It was well decorated, clean, modern and you could almost imagine that you were in a proper pub!

#017 Plume of Feathers, Barlaston, Staffs : 1991 to 2011

The first time I visited the Plume of Feathers was in 1991. I'd recently returned from a three year secondment to Australia and we were moving Emma Jane from Wigan on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to, ultimately, Cowley Peachey near Uxbridge on the Grand Union Canal. We were responsible for the first half of the journey and swapped crew at Lapworth, very close to where she is moored now!

This photo was taken at lunchtime on 26th July 1991. I don't really remember too much about it other than it was a fairly basic pub with all the required facilities - cold lager, hot food, serviceable toilets (a must on long canal trips!) and moorings at the 'bottom' of the car park!

We next visited in August 2000, but the pub was shut and we ended up catching a cab and drinking in Stone for the evening! It wasn't until 2002 that we could confirm that it had been redeveloped and reopened, although we didn't stop there again until 23rd August 2005.

It looked as though it wanted to be a 'gastropub', but in reality it had been turned into a modernised pub that did food and effectively fell between the two stools. Judging by the lunchtime crowd it felt that it should be a 'proper' pub, but judging by the décor it was meant to be more than just a pub. Anyway, we had a decent lunchtime visit.

We visited again in 2006 and 2010 with similar experiences.

And so to 3rd September 2011. Another lunchtime stop and this time we went into the Lounge for the first time. This side of the pub felt more like  a golf club...and then I noticed the large bowling green out of the rear windows. The food on offer is reassuringly simple and the service was good. The Plume of Feathers is a good lunchtime stop for us, but I'm not sure if it would be so good for an evening session!