#274 The Crossroads, Weedon, Northamptonshire : 2005 to 2019

Considering how many times we've visited Weedon over the years, I'm surprised to find that our first (recorded) visit to The Crossroads was on the evening of Sunday 29th May 2005.

I actually have no recollection of this visit...only this photo. Obviously, back in 2005 it was part of the Chef & Brewer chain of pubs.

Fast forward to 2019 when we made THREE separate visits to The Crossroads!

First time on the evening of Friday 19th April 2019, where I had as near perfect pub Fish & Chips as I've ever had! (I'm almost always tempted by pub Fish & Chips and, almost every time I succumb, I'm disappointed...this time not!)

After leaving Weedon we went to Northampton, but retuned on Sunday 21st April 2019.

Having explored the other half of Weedon (and found no food service - it was, after all, Easter Sunday) we managed to get to The Crossroads in time for a bite to eat.

Our third (and final) visit of the year was on the evening of Thursday 8th August 2019.

This was towards the end of our epic trip to Oxford, down the River Thames to Brentford and back home up the Grand Union Canal - sadly, the Fish & Chips wasn't as good as before (when will I learn!).

It is interesting to note the change of livery for the Chef & Brewer chain, but as I also discovered via Wikipedia, the Chef & Brewer chain itself has undergone quite a few changes over the years.

To summarise - "Grand Metropolitan, which later formed part of Diageo, sold the estate that became Chef & Brewer pubs to Scottish & Newcastle in 1993 in a part cash, part debentures deal of £708 million. 

 In 2003, Scottish & Newcastle auctioned off the Chef & Brewer chain, which was acquired by the Spirit Group. 

In 2005 the Spirit Group was acquired by Punch Taverns. 

 In 2011 the Chef & Brewer chain became part of Spirit Pub Company plc following its demerger from Punch Taverns. 

The Spirit Pub Company plc was acquired by Greene King in June 2015"

#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!)