#165 Bull Inn, Llangollen Denbighshire : 1996 to 2014

On our first trip to Llangollen we only stayed in the town for the lunchtime session with the Bull Inn being one of the pubs we visited.

I don't recall much about the interior as this was a long time ago on Tuesday 27th August 1996. It is a grand looking building that gained Grade II listed status in 1989. Back then it was a Burtonwood pub.

The next time we went back to the Bull Inn was for an evening stop on Friday 31st August 2007.

It was quite busy for a Friday night and seemed to be largely unchanged. I assume that it had changed brewery, but I can't make it out from this night-time photo.

Moving onto our most recent visit.

This picture was taken on the evening of Saturday 19th April 2014 and we chose not to go inside this time. It is clear from the hanging sign that it is now a Marston's pub.

It is interesting to note that the shop to the right of the pub is different on each visit, yet on the other side the Ladbrokes shop is a constant companion!

#164 Wharf Inn, Hinckley, Leicestershire : 1995 to 2014

Our first ever trip along the Ashby Canal wasn't originally planned. We were moving our boat from Winkwell near Berkhamsted on the Grand Union Canal to Lapworth on the Stratford Canal. Once we reached Hawkesbury Junction on the Coventry Canal we realised that we'd got a couple of days in hand, so off we went along the Ashby Canal.

We didn't stop at Hinckley on the way up, but made sure we had an evening stop on the way back down so that we could have a bit of a pub crawl!

This was taken on the evening of Sunday 3rd September 1995. Back in those days this was the nearest pub to the canal and was our first stop before we ventured into town. Beyond that I have little memory except that we did end up having a curry in the Indian restaurant next door.

As the Ashby Canal doesn't link to any other waterways, we didn't venture that way again for a number of years.

This picture of the Wharf Inn was taken on the evening of Sunday 29th August 2004. It had undergone a fairly extensive external refurbishment to bring it into line with the Marston's pub branding. Again it was our first port of call and again we ended up next door for a curry!

Our most recent visit was on Tuesday 7th October 2014, again an evening stop. The Wharf Inn is no longer the closest pub to the canal as there is now a Chef & Brewer as part of the Trinity Marina development. However, the Wharf Inn was our first port of call again.

In the intervening ten years the Wharf Inn has undergone another complete external refurbishment which has included the transformation of the front car park into a beer garden, but it is still a Marston's pub (and the curry house is still next door, although we didn't partake this time!) 

#163 The Railway, Ellesmere, Shropshire : 2007 to 2014 (RIP)

The Llangollen Canal is always a pleasant trip, but one we don't do very often. Ellesmere is a regular stopping point, but there are many pubs so we didn't discover them all on our first trip back in 1996.

In 2007 we stopped at Ellesmere both going to and coming back from Llangollen, so we had chance to pop into more hostelries than usual.

One of these was The Railway which we visited at lunchtime on Thursday 30th August 2007. As I remember it was a pretty basic boozer that didn't do food, so we only stayed for one pint and moved on.

We didn't return to the Llangollen Canal until Easter 2014 when we hired a boat from Chirk Marina. When we got to Ellesmere and had a wander around the town, this is the scene we saw.

The Railway was no more. Perhaps not too surprising given the devastation to pubs like The Railway throughout the country since the smoking ban came into force in July 2007, but still sad. This was at lunchtime on Monday 21st April 2014. It is interesting that the signage has been entirely removed, yet the satellite dish remains!

#162 The Wild Boar, Warwick : 1998 to 2014

Back in 1998 our trusty narrowboat Emma Jane let us down and we were stranded for two days in Warwick. It was the Bank Holiday weekend and so we couldn't get an engineer to look at the engine until Monday morning. Still, there are many, far worse places that we could have been stranded!

Over those two days we managed to visit a good number of the hostelries in the centre of Warwick. One such was the Park Tavern which we popped into on the evening of Sunday 30th August 1998.

As I recall, we only stayed for one pint and it was a typical boozer, but I don't really remember it much more than that.

Although we've visited Warwick many times since, we didn't venture back until the evening of Saturday 27th September 2014. This is what we found.

A complete transformation! New name - The Wild Boar - and a thorough refurbishment inside turning it into an upmarket real ale venue that also serves food. In a town like Warwick I imagine that it will be a great success, but as a lager drinker it's not necessarily going to be one of my favourites!

From The Wild Boar website I've discovered that it was refurbished and reopened in 2011 and that it is the brewery tap for Slaughterhouse Ales. If you are a real ale fan and you're in Warwick then this would be a great place to visit.

#161 The Bridge Inn, Chirk Bank, Shropshire : 1996 to 2014

Our first trip along the Llangollen Canal was back in 1996. This photo was taken on the evening of Tuesday 27th August 1996 on our way back from Llangollen.

Back in those days it was a Banks's pub and was a friendly local. In the distance you can see the Chirk Aqueduct and running parallel, but higher, the railway viaduct.

We didn't return until lunchtime on Saturday 1st September 2007, again on the way back from Llangollen.

The outside of the pub had had a complete makeover including an outside terraced seating area. Judging from the date, I assume this outdoor area was installed for the smokers as this was just two months after the smoking ban was introduced.

Our most recent visit was on the evening of Monday 21st April 2014.

It was late as we'd already eaten at The Poacher's where we'd moored. We decided that a stroll was in order to prevent us drinking too much too quickly if we stayed in the same place! There didn't appear to be too many changes and I'm assuming that it is still a Marston's pub.

Subsequently, I've found their website which makes interesting reading. A very pleasant pub and well worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood.

#160 Three Tuns Inn, Fazeley, Stafforshire : 1987 to 2014

At the northern end of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal is Fazeley Junction where it joins the Coventry Canal. The small town of Fazeley is a place where we've frequently stopped on our canal trips throughout the years. There are several pubs, but the one we've visited most, mainly because it is the nearest to the canal, is the Three Tuns Inn.

This first visit was on the evening of Wednesday 15th July 1987 as we were heading back home from a two week trip that had taken in Worcester, Stourport, Market Drayton, Middlewich, Stoke and Rugeley. I have no recollection of the interior, but I suspect that it was then, as now, a fairly standard boozer.

Our next visit was on the evening of Thursday 30th May 1996.

The outside of the pub had been completely refurbished with a new hanging sign and the introduction of a satellite dish. It would appear that it was no longer a Mann's pub.

Next visit was on Monday 30th August 1999, a lunchtime stop, but unfortunately the Three Tuns wasn't doing food, so we had a pint and moved on.

No real change to the exterior, but it is interesting to note how the net curtains have been removed in stages throughout the years!

We didn't return again until lunchtime on Sunday 21st August 2005.

Some changes to the outside, the hanging sign has gone as has the satellite dish...but the net curtains have returned!

Next visit was on Sunday 29th August 2010, another lunchtime stop.

The hanging sign has returned as has the satellite dish (in a different position), but the derelict building next door has finally been demolished!

And so, on to our most recent visit which was at lunchtime on Sunday 5th October 2014 when we had a large Sunday Roast lunch.

The outside had been completely redecorated with a new hanging sign, a third satellite dish with pastel green replacing the black...and the net curtains have disappeared again!

The pub has been under new management since December 2011 (see website) and, despite claims of refurbishment, the interior seemed to be pretty much as I remembered it from previous visits - namely, proper pub with no frills - just as I like it!

#159 George & Dragon, Stoke Golding, Leicestershire : 1995 to 2014

Stoke Golding is a village on the Ashby Canal which, until 1995, was virgin territory for us. We were moving our narrowboat Emma Jane back to the Midlands from a 4-year sojourn down south on the Grand Union Canal and found that we had some time in hand - so, up the Ashby Canal we went.

This visit was at lunchtime on Saturday 2nd September 1995. I don't really remember too much about the inside apart from the fact that it was a pleasant village pub.

The Ashby Canal is not a waterway we visit very often, mainly because it is a dead end. However, we were back again nine years later.

This was an evening visit on Saturday 28th August 2004 and, at first glance, the pub doesn't look to have changed at all. On closer inspection you can see that the upstairs windows have been replaced and the signage is subtly different. Inside, I still have no recollection!

We were back along the Ashby Canal another 10 years later for another lunchtime stop at the George & Dragon.

This was on Tuesday 7th October 2014 and this time there have been definitive changes! Firstly, the pub is now run by Church End Brewery which is a small brewer from Nuneaton. As far as I can ascertain, the George & Dragon is their only pub, but they do have a Brewery Tap as well. Externally it has had a complete makeover and, inside, it was a pleasant country/village pub serving good 'pub grub'!

It's also interesting to note that the street light by the front door is still the same, but at least it has been painted regularly!