#243 Toby Carvery Festival Park (aka China Garden), Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire : 1991 to 2017

Wherever possible, we try to avoid chain establishments on our canal trips, but sometimes they are the only option when we need food. Wetherspoons, Vintage Inn, Hungry Horse, Crown Carvery and Toby Carvery have all come to our rescue on our travels.

When passing through Stoke, on the Trent & Mersey Canal, there are few easily accessible places for a lunchtime stop. (In the evenings, we have more time to wander and there are plenty of options.)

Our first encounter was on the evening of Thursday 25th July 1991 as we moved Emma Jane from her northern mooring. I have little recollection of the evening (or the pub), but my photographic records indicate that we didn't venture any further into Stoke on that evening.

Since that time, we've travelled through Stoke on many occasions, sometimes mooring up outside, but we didn't go back inside until lunchtime on Sunday 15th March 2015 (Mother's Day).

This was, again, on a boat moving trip; we were moving the new boat Peggy Ellen from the boat builders (Braidbar) down to her mooring at Kings Bromley. We stopped quite early (for us) just after midday expecting it to be fairly quiet having forgotten that it was Mother's Day! Nevertheless, after a bit of a wait, we were seated and had a reasonable carvery lunch. 

We'd noticed that the name 'China Garden' had long since disappeared (as with the previous names of all other Toby Carveries), but were unaware of the name change until now (when I looked it up on Google; although I suspect many people still know it as China Garden rather than Festival Park!)

Our most recent visit was at lunchtime on Friday 9th June 2017 on the morning after THAT General Election!

We had another pleasant lunch (as befits a Toby Carvery) and went on our way heading up the Caldon Canal.

#077 Old Royal Oak, Hillmorton, Warks : 1993 to 2011

The first time I ever visited the Old Royal Oak at Hillmorton was on my first canal trip in 1980. Sadly I don't have a picture of the pub from that trip, but I do remember that we had a great evening there and moored the boat right outside the pub.

It took us quite a few years to 'rediscover' it in September 1993. Our boat was moored at Winkwell on the Grand Union Canal near to Berkhamstead and our annual trips took us north as far as we could get, then we'd turn around and retrace our steps. On this trip we got as far as Stretton-under-Fosse before turning around and we actually visited the Old Royal Oak on the way up and on the way back. It has a superb location as it sits right on the bank of the Oxford Canal.

As I recall, it was no longer a 'proper' pub, but was aimed more at the family market. However, we stopped because they did food which wasn't as common then as it is now.

The next time we came this way was in 1995 when we moved Emma Jane back to the Midlands. My only picture of the pub, though, is a somewhat blurry night time reflection shot from across the cut. From memory, the pub was largely unchanged.

It wasn't until 2004 that we returned to the Old Royal Oak on a return trip from Oxford.

This was at lunchtime on Thursday 26th August 2004 and the Old Royal Oak had become a fully fledged family pub - it was now a Hungry Horse!

We were there again in 2005, this time on a Spring trip that took us to Coventry.

 This was in the evening of Monday 30th May 2005 and I took the photo from the road bridge as we walked into Hillmorton to find some 'proper' pubs (which was a successful decision!).

Our next visit was on Wednesday 30th May 2007, a lunchtime stop.

Little to report, apart from the extra growth of ivy on the front!

Our most recent visit was on our last ever trip on board Emma Jane and this was the last ever pub we visited from Emma Jane.

This was on Sunday 6th November 2011 and the pub was still a Hungry Horse. It is still possible to moor right outside and I managed to get this shot from inside.

Again, we used the Old Royal Oak as a useful stopping place and ventured into Hillmorton to revisit the numerous 'proper' pubs to be found there. It's not that there's anything wrong with the Old Royal Oak, but we weren't in family pub mode. As a lunchtime stop it is great, but for an evening, it isn't ideal for us.