#288 Old Bookbinders, Jericho, Oxford : 2004 to 2021

Still catching up with pubs from our recent jaunt down the Oxford Canal, although the Old Bookbinders is a pub we've only visited twice in almost 17 years.

The first visit was at lunchtime on Saturday 21st August 2004, but I have little recollection about it other than it was a pleasant backstreet corner pub.

As I recall, we'd had lunch in a nearby Lebanese restaurant and were embarking on a mini-crawl for the afternoon as we were not setting sail again until Sunday morning. I suspect we had the one pint and moved on.

So, moving on just the 17 years (almost) and we're back at the Old Bookbinders on the evening of Saturday 21st May 2021.

We'd spent the somewhat damp afternoon on a small pub crawl through the centre of Oxford and were planning a little wander through the streets of Jericho for the evening. However, we managed to snaffle the last available tabe, close to the bar, and so we stayed for the rest of the evening!

The Old Bookbinders is now much more a foodie place, but for the first time on this trip it actually felt like we were in a pub as it was as full as social distancing regulations allowed.

#287 The Boat Inn, Thrupp, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 We're back on the Oxford Canal and another pub that has hardly seems to have changed over the years, but look a little closer and you'll find the differences!

The Boat in Thrupp has appeared in "Inspector Morse" and there is a 'Morse Room' with pictures from the episode on the walls. Our first visit was at lunchtime on Friday 4th September 1998.

Back in 1998 it was still a quite upmarket dining pub, but still a pub nonetheless. It was a Morrell's pub, but research indicates that 1998 was the year that the brewery closed (after a family dispute) and the tied houses were bought by an American entrepreneur.

We didn't return until the evening of Sunday 28th July 2019 - on the surface it was largely unchanged.

However, on closer inspection you can see that it is now The Boat Inn and is a Greene King pub! After 19 years, I don't recall how much it had changed inside (not a lot probably), but it was definitely more of a restaurant than a pub.

Our most recent visit was another evening session on Saturday 22nd May 2021.

This picture better shows the changes from 1998 which, apart from the signage, are quite minimal. We were lucky to get a mooring close to the pub as, on the way down to Oxford there was no room at all, but on our return we managed to get a spot close enough that even I couldn't moan about the walk to the pub!

Yes, that's our vessel...the good ship Peggy Ellen...moored as close as you can get to The Boat Inn!

It will be a good number of years before we're back here as Peggy Ellen is moving back to Kings Bromley Marina in a few weeks time making journeys down the Oxford Canal less likely!