#190 The Bell, Brierley Hill, West Midlands : 1996 to 2015

Today you get a two-for-one bonus! As outlined in the previous entry (#189), we rarely stop at the bottom of Delph Locks and there are two pubs there. So, I thought I'd publish them together!

This was at lunchtime on Monday 27th May 1996 and I believe that we went in and had our lunch here, but I don't really remember much about it. The pub was managed by Holt, Plant & Deakin which meant little to me until I looked it up while researching this entry!

As I was looking through some of my early digital photos I came across this from the afternoon of Tuesday 27th March 2012.

Obviously it had undergone a complete refurbishment, but it was good to see it was still open! 

Fast forward to the evening of Friday 12th June 2015.

Now styled as The Bell Inn on the Delph, it had undergone a thorough exterior transformation over the passing 19 years. I have no idea who runs/owns/manages it now. Again, we didn't go inside as we spent the whole evening in the Bull & Bladder.

#076 The Posada, Wolverhampton : 1991 to 2011

Wolverhampton was never on the list of 'must stop' places on our canal trips, but since our first visit in 1991 it has become a regular place to visit. The main reasons for this are the good moorings at the top of the (21) locks and the fact that it is a long way in any direction to get to somewhere decent!

This was at lunchtime on Thursday 1st August 1991 on our trip that took our boat Emma Jane from Adlington (near Wigan) to Cowley Peachey (near Uxbridge). I don't remember too much about it except that it was a proper, old style, town centre boozer.

We didn't get back to Wolverhampton until Wednesday 4th September 1996 on our way back from Llangollen and Chester.

Very little had changed, but some metal seats had appeared outside!

It was another six years before we ventured into The Posada again. This time on Tuesday 26th August 2003 near the end of a journey that took us to Leicester and Burton-upon-Trent.

Although seemingly unchanged, all of the Holt, Plant & Deakin signage has disappeared.

Then, in 2005, we went on a sequence that saw us visit The Posada every year for the next three years!

Wednesday 31st August 2005.

Sunday 27th August 2006.

Saturday 25th August 2007.

Then we did the unthinkable...we went back to Wolverhampton - and The Posada - later on the same trip!!

Wednesday 5th September 2007.

Our most recent visit was near the end of last summer's trip along the Caldon Canal.

This was on Monday 5th September 2011, a few days earlier than intended, but we'd been forced to curtail our holiday as my back had gone and it was sometimes difficult to just steer the boat. Working locks was out of the question for me!

In all our years visiting The Posada it hasn't really changed much. It's a pub I really like, but it does seem from some of the more recent reviews, that it may be on a downward slide.

Hopefully it will continue to be a beacon for proper pubs!