#059 Tom o' the Wood, Rowington, Warks : 1986 to 2011

When I first visited the Tom o' the Wood it was a great country pub in a perfect location just by the Grand Union Canal.

This shot was taken from the canal bridge in July 1986 before we started a canal trip that took us to Leicester.

The next visit was in 2000. In the intervening years our boat, Emma Jane, had been 'up north' on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and then 'down south' on the Grand Union. Although we moved the boat back to the Midlands in 1995, the Tom o' the Wood wasn't a regular stop, but we did visit at lunchtime on Saturday 27th May 2000.

The main sign on the side had changed and the ivy was starting to take over, but inside it was pretty much the same as before...apart from the extension/conservatory that had been added.

We were back again in 2001 at the start of our trip that took us to Aylesbury for the first (and so far only) time.

This was taken at lunchtime on Saturday 25th August 2001 and, apart from the extra growth of the ivy, it was still unchanged.

The next time we stopped at the Tom o' the Wood was on Friday 27th May 2005 on our way to Nuneaton where Emma Jane was going to get a new roof.

And what a disappointment it was! It was no longer a country pub that did good meals, it was an up market restaurant where you could get a pint! As I recall, it was lunchtime, but there were no sandwiches on the menu! On the outside, the ivy seemed to be taking over and the traditional pub sign had disappeared.

Over the next few years it went through several owners and,I think, was just called The Wood for a short while!

Our most recent visit was on Friday 4th November 2011 on what turned out to be our final ever trip on Emma Jane.

The Tom o' the Wood is under new ownership and it is their intention to turn it back into a country pub again, but on the evidence we saw it is still more of an eating place than a proper pub, but in rural Warwickshire, that's what will be successful. At least they've reinstalled the pub sign and trimmed the ivy!

Here is the above photo converted to a 'painting' which is my current project under the name Photo Digital Art.

Finally, where does the name come from? According to their website the name goes back to a 17th Century corn mill.