Boozin' and Cruisin' through the East Midlands (Part 5)

 Day 9 - Sunday

This is the view from the canal as you leave Burton, heading south on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Next stop Alrewas...passing through several locks along the way. This stretch of the Trent & Mersey is quite pleasant, but there is the constant presence of the A38 that's never far away.

There are three pubs in Alrewas, but it is a few years since we stopped there. This time, we tied up at the first avaialble mooring and headed into the village. The first pub we came across was the William IV, a place we haven't visited for many, many years.

It's a comfortable village pub that was almost full when we arrived. We were informed that there was no space for us to eat Sunday lunch, but we could sit down and drink in the small area reserved for drinkers. However, the landlord did his best to retain us as his customers by suggesting that, if we waited about 45 minutes, he was sure that at least one table would become available...and he was right. One couple left after their meal giving us the opportunity to have the best value Sunday lunch you'll find anywhere (which explained exactly why the pub was so popular!)

This wasn't a carvery, but a plated full Sunday roast was a mere £5.99p, delivered to the table...I almost told him that he should charge a couple of quid more (and it would still be good value!), but decided against it! Certainly one of the best customer service experiences of the holiday!

Then it was back to Peggy Ellen for a somewhat drizzly afternoon trip to Fradley Junction (not the right time for the Swan Inn) and along the Coventry Canal to Hopwas and the Tame Otter.

We chose the Tame Otter because we knew that they served food till 8pm on a Sunday (it's a Vintage Inn) and it's always reasonable.

Day 10 - Monday

Since it was fully opened in 1789, the Coventry Canal has always been a busy route as it links the Trent & Mersey to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and the Oxford Canal giving a link to the Grand Union Canal to London. In the modern era it is still a busy waterway!

Since leaving the River Trent, the traffic had steadily gotten busier and the Coventry Canal was as busy as we could remember it ever being. It is a canal of few locks, but the two at Glascote can add hours to a day's journey. This time we were fourth in the queue, but at the head of that queue was a pair of traditional boats which were being hauled through the locks by a husband and wife team and their two young children. A magnificent sight, but an extra hour (plus) on our journey.

So, rather than pushing on to Polesworth, we stopped at the Gate Inn in Amington.

A pleasant boozer with a perfect location for us boaters as we moored up right outside the pub. It was very quiet (Monday lunchtime!), but both the beer/lager and food were very welcome.

Atherstone was to be our evening stop, but we didn't know at this stage whether we'd have to stop after six locks of the Atherstone flight, or whether we could make it through all eleven before darkness fell.

We were in luck - all of the boats we'd been following most of the afternoon either stopped or turned around...and the traditional pair from earlier had also moored up for the night. Once we'd entered the flight there was a fairly steady stream of boats coming down meaning less work and a quicker passage for us.

Mooring above the top lock at Atherstone was quite competitive, but we found a spot about ¼ mile from the bridge. So, we headed into town for the Market Square.

Considering it was a Monday evening, The Angel was doing a very nice trade and we struggled to find a seat...but the Citra was very nice! After a couple of pints we went in search of food. I think it's fair to say that Atherstone isn't a place for gourmet dining (we've had previous bad experiences!), but we managed to find an Indian restaurant which was perfectly adequate!

Then we moved on to the next pub we came across - the Black Horse (and a bit more Bass porn for the afficionados!)

A cosy little pub that we've been unable to get in previously, but it wasn't very busy on a Monday evening (despite/because of having hand pulled Bass available!!)

...and there I must leave you again! Our journey is nearing it's conclusion, but I didn't think it would occupy this many posts!

(To be continued)

Canal Cruising in a COVID World (Part 3)

 We resume our journey heading away from Birmingham via Farmer's Bridge and Aston Locks, hoping to reach the safety of Curdworth by nightfall.

Just as we were mooring up at lunchtime we were amazed to see NB Calypso and the bloke who'd stolen our lock at Lapworth (I only saw him after he'd passed by!). He'd obviously done a rapid circuit via Knowle and the Grand Union Canal and I'm glad I didn't actually see him!

Our lunchtime destination was The Bull in Birmingham's Gun Quarter which was under new ownership (but still had the hundreds of jugs hanging from the ceiling!)

The first thing I noticed was a shiny new pumpclip for Oakham Citra (my new first choice tipple) and then I realised there was no Carling pump (Pravha being the recommended swilling lager!).

Following the shutdown they hadn't restarted doing food so it was a lunchtime of crisps, nuts and scratchings. This got us into conversation with the new owner who said that trade had been too slow to warrant putting on food, but that it was beginning to pick up so they might start again fairly soon.

The other interesting part of the conversation was that The Bull is his fourth Birmingham pub...the others being; The Wellington, Post Office Vaults and The Woodman...all venues on our more recent Proper Days Out in Brum. He is a fan of Citra (apparently The Wellington sell more pints of Citra than any other pub in the country!) and he's also proud of the fact that someone once told him that he "couldn't run a pub in Birmingham that didn't sell Carling!" He now has four!

Back to the boat and the slog along the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal to Curdworth taking in Aston (11) and Minworth Locks (3). Our evening meal was in the socially distanced, table service only White Horse in Curdworth...very civilised, but an early closing (which we were well informed about!).

Next day was another long session consisting of the eleven Curdworth Locks and the five mile cruise into Fazeley.

The Fazeley Inn was fairly quiet, but there was a Scottish couple checking in to the hotel (unfortunately we never found out what tourist attractions they'd come for!). For us, the Carling was cold and the cling film wrapped rolls/baps/cobs/insert regional name here made for the perfect lunch.

We moved on to see whether the classic boozer the Three Horseshoes had survived. After seeing no mobility scooter outside, our fears were assuaged when we saw the open door!

As it is only a small pub, they've implemented social distancing by means of improvised perspex screens, strategically placed along the bench seating which works well (in conjunction with a garden out the back of the pub!). I can report (for the benefit of LifeAfterFootball) that Bass was being served...but I stuck with Carling!

Our next destination was Polesworth and the worst example of social distancing seen on our trip. Our first pint was in the Royal Oak. All of the signs were in place (as was the hand sanitiser), but many of the locals chose to ignore it all and shake hands with each other (and there was hugging!) This doesn't really bother me and it felt like a proper pub, but it was our first experience of this type of behaviour!

We wandered round to The Yard (formerly Foster's Yard) which was very quiet for a Friday evening so there were no problems with social distancing! Then we moved on to Little India, the restaurant above the Bull's Head for our evening repast.

Atherstone was our next intended stopping point with only the eleven slooow filling locks to delay us. We made it, but failed to get a pub lunch (Tesco Express to the rescue for a sandwich!) We did manage to get our drink quota in a couple of pubs we've visited before.

The White Horse is a proper small town boozer, but no food, sadly!

This was only our second ever visit to The Old Swan and despite signs saying to the contrary, food wasn't available.

After lunch we journeyed on, through Nuneaton, to our ultimate destination Hawkesbury Junction, home of one of the best canalside pubs in the country, The Greyhound. We were late, but got there just before the 8pm food cut-off. Quite frankly, we knew it was fully booked and expected to have to catch a cab into Coventry...but our expectations were surpassed! They were taking in 'Walk-Ups' and so they took us in, asked us to order quickly and everything would be fine. We were seated in the new plastic and aluminium gazebo by the canalside. The food arrived, the drinks arrived as did a massive thunderstorm which would have soaked us, but the gazebo did it's job.

As the pub began to thin out, we managed to get seats inside where social distancing was achieved by means of the (ubiquitous) black and yellow tape being applied to the edge of each table facing away from the bench seating. At first sight, this appears to halve the capacity, but in normal circumstances the bench seats are always occupied and the stools less so.

Next morning we left the Coventry Canal and entered the Oxford Canal via Sutton Stop Lock. William steered the boat through the junction and past the pub (above) whilst I had the tough job of operating the six inches deep lock...all by myself! (My dodgy back held up under the strain...I may be able to do a couple more on our next journey!)

Next stop, the Barley Mow at Newbold-on-Avon.

Social distancing worked quite well here and Sunday 'lunch' (Roast Pork Rolls with Roast Potatoes and Apple Sauce) was served in polystyrene takeaway trays (first time since the Blue Lias on Day 1!). The Carling was nice and cold!

We were almost on the final leg of our journey. Just the three Hillmorton Locks to negotiate and miles of lock free cruising to Braunston for the evening. After a bit of a delay at the locks we made good progress especially after a boat full of students (a dozen on one boat!) let us past after we'd caught them up. (Normally, it's the other way round as we get caught by 'speeding kids'!)

We made it to Braunston, just in time to get a meal at The Boat House.

Although we'd still got 5 miles to go this was to be our last drinking session of the trip...and it finished with some more minor entertainment!

Shortly after we'd got settled in, the boat load of twelve students arrived! Firstly they had to sit on two separate table (even though they'd been sharing a narrowboat for the weekend!). The two table were adjacent and not far from us, from where we could casually observe what turned out to be an epic drinking session (for them, not us!). Not all of them had food, but they all had shots, pints, cocktails, Jager Bombs and spirits...and not just one round...the drinks kept coming, wave after wave!

At times they got quite loud, but if you don't like the sound of young folk having a great night out then you probably shouldn't be going to the pub any more! At the end, a couple of the young women came over to apologise to us for the noise. To which I said, "It's fine! It's just over 40 years ago that I was in this very pub on my first canal trip (well the old version!) and we had an equally good time!"

The final test came with the bill. Like seasoned eavesdropping professionals that we are, we ascertained that their whole bill was £494! No-one batted an eyelid, no-one tried to do a runner, they paid up and left a substantial tip for the staff (acccording to the gaffer, who'd just seen his profits skyrocket in one night!)

And the moral of the tale...the future of pubs and drinking is safe in the hands of young folk like that...long may it continue!

Canal Pub Crawling - Part 3

We pick up our journey having spent an evening in Curdworth at The Beehive and White Horse, neither of which are canalside pubs.

DAY 5

BIRMINGHAM & FAZELEY CANAL - Curdworth to Fazeley Junction

COVENTRY CANAL - Fazeley Junction to Atherstone (above lock 6)

Again, we set out at about 09:30 with the aim of descending Curdworth Locks and having a lunchtime stop at Fazeley.

The first pub we passed was the Dog & Doublet, Bodymoor Heath B76 9JD at 11:30, but it was too early to think about stopping. We have visited there in the past and it is a great little pub.

Also, there were still a few more locks to be negotiated and we finally moored up at Fazeley Junction at 13:10. The pub we selected for our first pint wasn't, technically on our route (we were turning right at the junction and this pub is 100 yards to the left!) but we still went to the Three Tuns Inn, Fazeley B78 3QS.

This view from the A5 doesn't give the impression of a canalside boozer, but the garden at the back leads all the way down to the canal. It is under relatively new management and they don't do food anymore, but it is still a proper boozer. So, we had a pint and moved on to the Fazeley Victory (for Lunch) and the Three Horseshoes (still a great little pub).

So, it was back to the canal and onwards onto the Coventry Canal. It wasn't long before we were passing another watering hole.

The Gate Inn, Amington B77 3BY was the next canalside boozer we passed by at 16:25. Although the picture doesn't show it, the garden was very busy on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon. This is a pub we've stopped at previously, but not very often as it is only 90 minutes away from Fazeley, our preferred stopping place.

We continued our journey, passing another place we've never stopped at (16:55).

The Samuel Barlow, Alvecote B78 1AS is part of Alvecote Marina and is a relatively new addition to the canalside hostelries club having been built in 2003.

Again, it was way too early to stop as we pushed on to Atherstone. We passed through Polesworth which has several pubs, but none of them are overtly canalside. Having been caught in a late deluge, we moored up halfway up the Atherstone flight of locks just after 20:00. As we headed into town I took this picture of another pub we weren't going into today!

The King's Head, Atherstone CV9 2PA is another pub that we've occasionally visited, but when there are so many other pubs to choose from in the town, it tends to lose out! Today was no different and we walked into Atherstone for several pints and a curry.

DAY 6

COVENTRY CANAL - Atherstone (above Lock 6) to Hawkesbury Junction

OXFORD CANAL - Hawkesbury Junction to Newbold-on-Avon

We started off in drizzle and rain which didn't really abate much until our lunchtime stop, but we did pass another pub that we've visited in the past.

It was 11:05 and as tepmting a proposition as it was, it was still too early to stop at The Anchor Inn, Hartshill CV10 0RT. It looks as though it has been refurbished since our last visit, but being about 90 minutes 'sailing' time away from Atherstone it is generally a place we pass by.

After another couple of hours, passing through Nuneaton (no canalside boozers!) and close to Bedworth (and the now defunct Navigation which is a rather large private residence [that is up for sale]) we arrived at Hawkesbury Junction and a pub that it would be a crime to pass by.

The Greyhound Inn, Longford CV6 6DF is a proper 'old school' canalside pub that also does great food. There have been times when it has been so full that we've caught a taxi into Coventry! Being a cool, grey Monday, I was half expecting it to be closed, but it wasn't and we had our obligatory three lunchtime pints and some lovely food.

Now we were on the homeward stretch of the journey as we joined the Oxford Canal by passing through Sutton Stop Lock. The rest of the afternoon was grey and drizzly and we passed no canalside pubs before our evening stop. The Elephant & Castle closed many years ago (and we'd never visited it as it was only 20 minutes away from The Greyhound!) and I'm not counting the Rose & Castle in Ansty. Althoiugh the garden runs down to the canal, there's nowhere to moor and access is always via the road!

So, the next pub we came to was the Barley Mow, Newbold-on-Avon CV21 1HW, by which time it was 19:50.

Back in the day, this used to be two pubs actually next-door to each other! Now they've been combined to provide a pub and hotel. There were plenty of locals in the bar and there is a restaurant section, but we preferred to eat in the bar where there was some atmosphere...it was a fairly quiet Monday night!.

DAY 7
OXFORD CANAL - Newbold-on-Avon to Braunston Turn
GRAND UNION/OXFORD CANAL - Braunston Turn to Wigram's Turn Marina

This was the final leg of our journey and, as we both had to dash off to prior engagements as soon as we got back to base...we didn't stop for lunch!

After Newbold you get to Rugby quite quickly and we passed by a pub that we used a few times when it was first built, but it is now a Harvester which seems to have turned its back on the canal.

It was only 09:45 when we passed the Bell & Barge, Rugby CV21 1RG, so we wouldn't have stopped anyway, but you can see how the mooring has become so overgrown.

The next, and final pub we passed was something of a surprise.

It was 11:45 when we passed The Waterside, Hillmorton CV21 4PW and, on another day, we may well have stopped for an early lunch...but not today! However, that wasn't the surprise. The penultimate time we'd passed this way, we did stop at the Old Royal Oak which had been the name of this pub since my first visit on my first canal trip in 1980. Indeed, it was still the Old Royal Oak in September 2018 when we last passed this way, but (from what I can glean from TripAdvisor) it changed from a Hungry Horse into a Pub & Carvery in October/November 2018.

We pushed on, past Braunston (not passing any more canalside pubs) and on to Wigram's Turn.

So, on this leg of the trip we passed 10 canalside pubs and went into just three, which is the best percentage of the whole trip.

In conclusion, in seven days we passed 34 canalside pubs and actually went into just 8 of them. Of those 34 pubs, we have never been in 5 of them! (The trip was 104 miles, passing through 120 locks and took 50 hours 5 minutes)

Had we stopped at every pub, we would never have completed the journey in 7 days, but if time was not part of the equation, you could probably do it in about a fortnight without any stress.

What has really surprised me is that, before we did this, I'd have estimated that we stop at about 50% of the canalside pubs, whereas the reality is 23.5%. (Although, over the years, we have been in 85% of them).

#254 Barge & Bridge, Atherstone, Warwickshire : 1995 to 2018 RIP

Although we'd stopped at Atherstone on a fairly frequent basis it wasn't until the evening of Monday 4th September 1995 that we ventured into the Barge & Bridge which was situated by the canal bridge just before the Atherstone flight of locks begins its descent.

This was the first time that I'd had a proper chance to explore Atherstone as our previous visits had been quite short. I have no recollection as to what the interior of the pub was like. As I recall, we had a pint and moved on to the numerous other pubs in the town.

There are so many pubs in Atherstone that we didn't revisit the Bridge & Barge until the evening of Tuesday 26th May 2009.

I have a feeling that we didn't go inside because it was closed and up for sale. It had obviously been quite extensively refurbished since 1995, but seemingly to no avail.

On our most recent visit to Atherstone, on the evening of Saturday 29th September 2018, this was the scene that we found.

This was to be our last pub stop for the night as it was on the way back to our boat...but there was no trace! Fortunately the street light is still there as the lone sentinel for a long deceased pub.

I'm actually quite surprised that more of the Atherstone pubs haven't bitten the dust in recent years because it is one of those small towns with far more pubs than you'd expect. Always worth a stop!

#250 Market Tavern, Atherstone, Warwickshire : 1995 to 2018 (RIP??)

Atherstone is a place we visit fairly frequently on our boating trips and, for a small town, it still has a lot of pubs. One of our favourites is the Market Tavern which has a chequered past and an uncertain future.

Although we'd stopped in Atherstone previously, my first experience of the town itself was on the evening of Monday 4th September 1995. Even then there were a lot of pubs in the town and it was difficult to see how they could all survive, even in the halcyon days before the smoking ban.

Sadly, not one of my best pictures! This was probably our third or fourth pub of the night and gave us a taste of what was to come in the future. It was (and still is) a lovely two room pub, but when we arrived there was only the barman in the place. We ordered our pints of lager each and discovered that he was the stand-in manager as the previous incumbent had left. As we were chatting another customer came in, ordered a half, drank it in about 10 minutes and was gone! We finished ours and followed him shortly afterwards, looking for food.

We didn't return to Atherstone until lunchtime on Saturday 20th August 2005 to find the Market Tavern still going strong!

I don't recall too much about our visit, just that it had changed remarkably little in the intervening 10 years.

We were back again on the evening of Tuesday 25th May 2009 and still there was little discernible change.

Another five years passed and we returned on the evening of Sunday 5th October 2014.

Although it appeared unchanged, the Market Tavern was now owned by the Warwickshire Beer Company. Inside it had been tastefully refurbished and retained its character as a proper boozer.

We were back in Atherstone again on the evening of Wednesday 2nd September 2015.

It just so happened that Wednesday night was quiz night at the Market Tavern, thus killing two birds with one stone as there were sandwiches included with the quiz (so no need to search out a dodgy curry...or worse!).

Of course, we did the unthinkable and won the quiz (its a small pub so there weren't many teams...and there were only two of us!) The prize was a bottle of wine and a gallon of beer (in one pint vouchers). So we did what anyone else would (to maintain order and dignity) we took the wine had a pint each and gave the rest of the vouchers to the other teams...well, it was late and we'd never have managed to use them up.

On our most recent trip to take Peggy Ellen to her new moorings at Napton,   we stopped at Atherstone again. This was on the evening of Saturday 29th September 2018.

The Market Tavern was to be our first stop of the evening, but it was closed! As we discovered later, they were looking for a new tenant/manager, but from current internet searching it would appear that it is still closed.Whether it gets a resurrection is still unknown, but I hope it does survive.

#201 Angel Ale House, Atherstone, Warwickshire : 1995 to 2015

The Angel Inn, as it was called when we first visited it on the evening of Monday 4th September 1995, is a pub that has hardly changed externally, but has been transformed internally over the years.

I really don't remember too much about the inside, I think it was a fairly standard town centre boozer. (We visited quite a few pubs that evening as Atherstone was something of a revelation for the quantity of drinking options!)

We were next in Atherstone on for a lunchtime stop on Saturday 20th August 2005, but we didn't go into the Angel on that occasion. I do, however, have a shot of the pub from down the street that I've blown up for this entry!

There doesn't look to be too much change, but difficult to tell from this distance!

We didn't return until the evening of Sunday 5th October 2014 and, again, we didn't venture inside.

It had obviously been refurbished and, peering through the window I could see that it was done out in the more modern, open, rustic style that so many places seem to go for.

We were back in Atherstone about a year later on the evening of Wednesday 2nd September 2015.

Yet again, we didn't go inside, but obviously they've managed to make a success of the place judging by the banner hanging over the front of the pub. At least the hanging sign is back outside the pub denoting the change of name to the Angel Ale House. Also, there is the large shelter added onto the side (just visible in the 2014 picture) that no doubt is there to accommodate extra drinkers and smokers.

#171 Red Lion Hotel, Atherstone, Warwickshire : 1995 to 2014

Atherstone sits on the Coventry Canal and boasts a pretty, but maddeningly frustrating, flight of locks (they are very slow to fill, but empty quite quickly, thus leading to queues of boats even in not-so-busy times!).

Although our visits to Atherstone are quite sporadic, there are many pubs to choose from, although some have, sadly, disappeared over the last few years!

Our first visit to the Red Lion Hotel was on the evening of Monday 4th September 1995.

On this occasion we'd moored above the locks and the Red Lion was our second port of call for the evening. I don't remember too much about the inside and I suspect we had one pint and moved on!

We visited Atherstone several times in the following years, but didn't go back to the Red Lion until the evening of Tuesday 26th May 2009.

Although the outside appears to be superficially unchanged, there are several subtle alterations - a new hanging sign, flag poles with flags, outside seating and canopy. Also there is a new bench seat and the litter bin has had a makeover - not a great deal of change in 14 years! Inside? Still no recollection!

Finally, we move on to our most recent visit - another evening stop this time on Sunday 5th October 2014.

Again we'd moored part way up the lock flight and the Red Lion wasn't our first port of call. Some more subtle changes in the intervening 5 years - the outside seating has transformed into standing room only and the hotel has added an Italian restaurant to its offerings.

Indeed, it was this latter addition that attracted us there. As it was a Sunday evening we were struggling to find anywhere to eat and an Italian meal sounded like a good option - if only we'd known! The place was quite empty, but the staff were very helpful so we decided to have a meal. It is safe to say that it was the worst Italian meal I've ever had and one of the worst of any cuisine I've had anywhere! I ordered a pasta dish which had a cream sauce (might have been carbonara, but I've blocked the details from my mind!) It had no taste of Italy and apart from the overall complete blandness of it, there was an underlying, slightly rancid taste to it. I regret not sending it back, but the other dishes served to our table were no better!! (If only we'd seen the Trip Advisor reviews!)

Next time we're in Atherstone, we won't be going into the Red Lion Hotel!

#022 Anchor Inn, Hartshill, Warwickshire : 2000 to 2011

The first time I visited this pub was back in August 1982 on only my third canal trip, but to be honest I can't remember too much about it other than it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere between Atherstone and Nuneaton on the Coventry Canal, but it was a decent stop off for the night.

The next time we stopped there was in 2000.

This photo was taken on Wednesday 31st May 2000 during a lunchtime stop. It is difficult to get a good shot of the pub as it is right by the bridge over the canal and, over the years, the road has been built up to smooth out the humpback bridge leaving the pub a bit obscured.

Our next stop was again a lunchtime visit on Monday 30th August 2004.

Very little appears to have changed. I'm not sure why we haven't stopped at the Anchor more often, but I suspect that it is the fear that it may have closed and we'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere without food and, more importantly, drink!

We did visit there again and this time it was an evening stop on Tuesday 31st May 2011.

The exterior has obviously been redecorated and new signage added. They have also taken the trouble to clear out the vegetation making it a more attractive prospect for passers by. The pub has a large garden at the back and inside it is quite cosy, feeling like a proper canalside pub. The food was 'interesting' and it serves Everards beer.

On the night we were there I didn't have a completely wonderful experience, but some of it was my fault! Firstly the food - I ordered Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas. Except they weren't Mushy Peas, they were Puréed Peas! What's the difference I hear you ask? Mushy Peas are made with Marrowfat Peas that are, essentially overcooked until they go mushy. Often they come out of a tin and have a synthetic green colour. I like Mushy Peas. What I got instead were garden peas that had been through a blender with cream! Not nice...and NOT mushy peas!

The faux pas I made with the drink was largely my fault, though. At the other side of the bar I saw someone get a pint of bitter that was straw coloured similar to lager, so I asked the barmaid what it was. "Sunchaser" came the reply. The barmaid then pointed to a hand pump on my side of the bar and I obviously missed most of what she said, but I did hear "special offer" and assumed that was the same beer. So I asked for a pint of that...and got a standard looking bitter...which wasn't what I wanted! I tried to discuss it with the barmaid, but she'd served what I'd ordered and it really was my mistake (getting deaf in my old age!) so I paid for it and drank it. It was only £2.00 and tasted OK, so not really the end of the world! Next pint I did get the Sunchaser which was much better! In the end we had a pleasant evening and it was a very short walk 'home'!