#194 The Crown Inn, Alrewas, Staffordshire : 1997 to 2015

Alrewas is a lovely village on the Trent & Mersey Canal that we've only visited infrequently because of its position relative to our canal cruising round trips. There are at least three pubs in the village (at time of writing!) so it is always a welcome stop when we are passing through.

The first time we visited The Crown Inn was on the evening of Monday 1st September 1997 on our way back from Nottingham.

I don't remember much about the interior other than it being a comfortable village pub that served food.

We returned to Alrewas on the evening of Saturday 23rd August 2003.

This coincided with the Wychnor Boat Rally that is held each August Bank Holiday so the pubs in the village were packed. We couldn't get any food so we decamped to Lichfield for the rest of the evening.

Our next foray into Alrewas was at lunchtime on Monday 31st August 2009, this time heading towards Nottingham.

Again, there is little discernible change to the exterior, the only minor changes being the removal of the parasols and the disappearance of the crown sign that had appeared in 2003.

Our most recent visit to Alrewas was at lunchtime on Good Friday 3rd April 2015.

Now that's what I call a transformation! Twelve years and virtually no changes...and then this! Inside it is now done out in the modern pub and dining style, but fortunately it hasn't gone all the way to being a restaurant. To see pictures, The Crown website is here.

#130 Crown Inn, Alvechurch, Worcestershire : 1987 to 2013

The Crown Inn at Alvechurch is just a few miles away from me, but the only times I've drunk there has been on our canal trips as it sits (almost canal side) on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

My first visit was on the evening of Saturday 4th July 1987, at the start of a trip that would take us as far south as Worcester and as far north as Middlewich!

As I recall, we spent the whole evening there in a proper, cosy village pub.

A combination of circumstances meant that our next visit to the Crown Inn was on the evening of Monday 12th August 2002.

This shows how close to the canal it is without actually being canalside. The exterior had been extensively refurbished, but inside it was largely unchanged. This visit was part of a short local trip that we'd undertaken with the idea of doing some boat painting along the way.

We were back again in less than a year.

This was on the evening of Thursday 29th May 2003 near the end of our Stourport Ring journey. This view is from the canal bridge and shows that it hadn't changed externally.

Another five years passed before we did the Stourport Ring again and this time it was a lunchtime stop at the Crown on Thursday 29th May 2008.

Finally I took a picture from the front again so that the changes from 1987 are more apparent.

Another five years passed and we attempted the Stourport Ring one more time. This time we started from Worcester, so we popped in to the Crown Inn at lunchtime on Monday 13th May 2013.

It is quite remarkable that the outside has hardly changed in the past 11 years and is still advertised as an M&B pub. Inside it still has the same layout and is still the same cosy village pub that it was in 1987. If you're in the area, it is worth a visit and here is their website.